Animals on the front line: The brave dogs, horses and other creatures that helped turn the tide during World War One
- Photographs show horses, dogs, pigeons, camels and elephants used by both sides in the Great War
- Among them is Sgt Stubby - a Boston bull terrier who was arguably the conflict's most decorated service dog
- Millions of animals died agonising deaths in the four-year war as their natural instincts made them invaluable
These remarkable images show the animals that were enlisted by both sides to serve and die alongside soldiers during The Great War.
Horses, dogs, donkeys and a variety of other creatures were put to work to make use of the vital assistance their natural instincts could offer.
Many suffered agonising deaths in the midst of one of the most deadly wars in human history with more than eight million horses alone killed.
Among the historic photos is one of Sgt Stubby - a Boston bull terrier who was arguably the Great War's most decorated service dog.
Millions of dogs were enlisted as 'military mascots' during the conflict as a means of maintaining morale among the troops.
But Sgt Stubby ended up becoming a full-fledged combat dog and was used to warn soldiers on the front line of gas attacks and help find wounded fighters.
He even captured a German spy who was trying to map allied trenches.
The series of photographs also show pigeons, elephants and camels, which all played essential roles in the war effort.
In 2004 a memorial dedicated to all the animals that served under British command in conflicts was unveiled on Park Lane, London.
A soldier on the front line retrieves bandages from the kit of a British Dog, ca. 1915.
This picture taken in 1916 shows two horses used to carry artillery shells on the Western Front. Exact figures are hard to come by, but an estimated 8 million horses died during the four years of war
This photo shows Sergeant Stubby was the most decorated war dog of World War I and the only canine to be promoted to sergeant through combat. Brought up to the front lines, he was injured in a gas attack early on, which gave him a sensitivity to gas that later allowed him to warn his soldiers of incoming gas attacks by running and barking
A messenger dog with a spool attached to a harness for laying out new electric line in September of 1917
An Indian elephant, from the Hamburg Zoo, used by Germans in Valenciennes, France to help move tree trunks in 1915. As the war dragged on, beasts of burden became scarce in Germany, and some circus and zoo animals were requisitioned for army use
Belgian Army pigeons are unloaded from a military truck. Homing pigeon stations were set up behind the front lines, the birds themselves sent forward to return later with messages tied to their legs
War animals carrying war animals: At a carrier pigeon communication school at Namur, Belgium, a dispatch dog fitted with a pigeon basket for transporting carrier pigeons to the front line
Several draft horses lie dead in front of a wagon on the Western Front, ca. 1918
German officers in an automobile on the road flanked by a convoy of wagons and soldiers
A soldier stands alongside a camel in front of Red Crescent Hospital at Hafir Aujah, Palestine, in 1916
Camels line a huge watering station, Asluj, Palestinian campaign, 1916
Horses requisitioned for the war effort in Paris, France, ca. 1915. Farmers and families on the home front endured great hardship when their best horses were taken for use in the war
The 6th Australian light-horse regiment, marching in Sheikh Jarrah, on the way to Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, in 1918
German Red Cross Dogs head to the front to be used to carry medical supplies to wounded soldiers
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