The war elephant was a feature of the armies of the Orient many years before it was known in Italy. We have seen that the huge animal was especially effective in spreading terror among the opposing hosts, from its gigantic size and peculiar form: and nations that had never heard of, nor seen, an elephant, were so demoralized at the sight, that they often fled without giving battle; their horses and other animals, equally alarmed, completing the rout and confusion. The Romans were no exception to this; and, with all their valor and courage, they quailed before the astonishing array of monsters—for so they considered them—that King Pyrrhus of Epirus brought upon the field in the reign of Heraclear (280 B.C.). His elephant detachment was a small one, being composed of twenty animals, which bore upon their backs tall wooden towers filled with armed bowmen. The Romans soon rallied, however; but their defeat, according to Floras, was directly due to the terror inspired by the elephants. When Fabricus went to Epirus to negotiate with Pyrrhus for an exchange of prisoners, the latter endeavored to bribe him, and then to frighten him, by producing one of the largest of his elephants. But the old Roman replied on leaving, “Neither your gold yesterday, nor your beast to-day, has made any impression upon me.”
Four years later the Romans had become perfectly familiar with elephant warfare; and Curius Dentalus organized his men especially to demoralize the elephants, ordering them to attack the animals with burning torches in one hand, and sharp swords in the other. This plan was successful, and was aided by an unforeseen accident. An elephant calf accompanied its mother upon the field of battle; and, becoming wounded early in the fight, its roars so enraged its mother, and demoralized the others, that they charged, and threw the troops of Pyrrhus into complete disorder. They were finally captured by the Romans, and four led in triumph to Rome,—the first ever taken there.
To show what vague notions of the elephant the Romans had, they called the great creatures Lucanian oxen; and, according to Pliny, the Roman writers, in general, gave them this name, probably because they first saw them in Lucania.
King Pyrrhus was extremely unfortunate in the management of his elephants. At the siege of Argos, when his men had battered in the gates of the town, the mahouts lost control of the beasts in the excitement, and they attempted to rush through the low gates; but the tall towers struck them, and forced them back in great disorder, and many of their own soldiers and masters were trampled under foot, and killed. In describing this event, Plutarch relates that one of the elephants exhibited remarkable courage and affection for its rider; keeping a large number of enemies at bay when its master was dismounted, finally taking him in its trunk, and removing him to a place of safety. The animal doubtless received some instruction from its master.
The old writers were fond of accrediting to the elephant many more virtues, courage, generosity, and self-sacrifice, than they seem to possess to-day; and, undoubtedly, they often gave the animals credit for spontaneous actions, when they were really obeying a command of their mahout, or driver. I have referred particularly to this and the opinions of Sanderson in the chapter devoted to the intelligence of the elephant. Plutarch and Ælian both record the story of an elephant of Porus that drew darts from its master’s body. Such may have been the case; but I think, if true, it was at the direct order of Porus, and not actuated by compassion, as the old authors would have us believe.
It was fortunate that the Romans had acquired some experience with Asiatic elephants, as, soon after, they became involved in a series of wars in which the enemy employed large numbers of African elephants. Their familiarity with the Asiatic elephants did not always avail them. In the first Punic war, Regulus, the Roman consul, the Buonaparte of his time, captured a division of eighteen elephants in the battle of Adis; but on another occasion, Xantippus, the Lacedemonian, the general of the Carthaginian troops, used his elephant batteries, as we may call them, so judiciously, and with such marked skill, that the Romans were utterly routed. The elephants, under direction of their enraged riders, and infuriated themselves by their wounds, charged into the fleeing Romans, trampling them under foot, tossing them high in air, and goring them with their tusks; committing such frightful carnage, that for a long time the Romans dreaded to meet them.
The Carthaginians not only fought with elephants on their own soil, but they carried them into Sicily. At the siege of Panormus (Palermo), they employed one hundred and forty African elephants in a solid phalanx, a most impressive sight, and moved upon the city. But the Romans fired at them with darts from the city-walls, and turned the huge animals upon their own men. Then taking advantage of the confusion, Metellus, the Roman consul, who was in command, led his troops upon the Carthaginians, and utterly routed them, and captured one hundred or more of their finest war elephants.
Such a victory offered a rare opportunity to Metellus to exhibit his prowess and the spoils to his countrymen: so he commanded that an immense raft be built, composed of empty barrels covered with planks, and in turn packed with earth; and upon this the elephants were floated over the straits to Rhegium (Reggio). For some time the Romans kept the noble creatures on exhibition, and treated them with great indignity, driving them about the circus with blunted spears; all of which was undoubtedly done to convince the people that the elephant was not the terrible beast he had been pictured, and to erase from the public mind the terror they had inspired when Regulus was defeated. Again, it was the custom to parade captive kings before the populace in chains, and treat them with great indignity; and the elephants probably came under this head. When the Roman citizens were surfeited with the display, it occurred to the state that a herd of animals that could devour seventy-two thousand pounds of green food in twenty-four hours was a great luxury; and in a moment of economy, according to Verrius, who is cited by Pliny, the unfortunate captives were killed.
That the Romans overcame their fear of elephants did not prevent the Carthaginians from retaining them as an important branch of the service. Hannibal carried them into Spain; and after the capture of Saguntum (218 B.C.), we hear of him sending to Africa for a new supply.
In the second Punic war, which commenced about this time, Hannibal began operations on Roman soil with an army of fifteen thousand men, and, according to Appian and Eutropius, thirty-seven elephants. He crossed the Pyrenees, and the Rhone at Orange. Livy, Silius Italicus, and Polybius, all describe some of the events of this campaign; but that of the latter is the most comprehensive and valuable, giving, evidently, a correct account of the management of war elephants at this time. The Greek historian says,—
“Hannibal having posted his cavalry as a reserve on the side towards the sea, commanded the infantry to begin their march, while himself waited to receive the elephants, and the men that were left with them on the other side of the river. The passage of the elephants was performed in the following manner: When they had made a sufficient number of floats, they joined two together, and fastened them strongly to the ground, upon the bank of the river. The breadth of both together was about fifty feet. To the extremity of these they fixed two more, which were extended over into the water; and to prevent the whole from being loosened and carried down the river by the rapidity of the current, they secured the side that was turned against the stream, by strong cables, fastened to the trees along the bank. Having in this manner finished a kind of bridge, which was extended to the length of about two hundred feet, they then added to it two other floats of a much larger size, which were very firmly joined together, but were fastened in so slight a manner to the rest, that they might at any time be separated from them with little difficulty. A great number of floats were fixed to these last floats, by the help of which, the boats that were designed to tow them over might hold them firm against the violence of the stream, and carry them in safety with the elephants to the other side. They then spread a quantity of earth over all the floats, that their color and appearance might, as nearly as was possible, resemble the ground on shore. The elephants were usually very tractable upon land, and easy to be governed by their conductors, but were at all times under the greatest apprehensions whenever they approached the water. Upon this occasion, therefore, they took two female elephants, and led them first along the floats; the rest readily followed; but no sooner were they arrived upon the farthest floats, than, the ropes being cut which bound them to the rest, they were immediately towed away by the boats towards the other side. The elephants were seized with extreme dread, and moved from side to side in great fury and disorder. But when they saw that they were every way surrounded by the water, their very fears at last constrained them to remain quiet in their place. In this manner, two other floats being from time to time prepared and fitted to the rest, the greater part of the elephants were carried safely over. There were some, indeed, that were so much disordered by their fears, that they threw themselves into the river in the midst of their passage. This accident was fatal to the conductors, who perished in the stream: but the beasts themselves, exerting all their strength, and raising their large trunks above the surface of the river, were by that means enabled not only to breathe freely, but to discharge the waters also, as fast as they received them; and having, by long struggling, surmounted likewise the rapidity of the stream, they at last all gained the opposite bank in safety.”
Hannibal’s march along the bank of the Isère, in his approach to the famous pass of the Little St. Bernard, was attended by many dangers. The natives mounted the sides of the high passes, and hurled huge rocks and bowlders down upon the elephants and men. But everywhere the strange beasts produced the greatest terror; and, as they approached the Alps, forces that had gathered to oppose them fled at the sight of them. The march was accomplished in fifteen days, at an enormous loss, the passes being strewn with men and beasts.
Many elephants were lost in the mountain passes, but enough were saved to make a formidable appearance in the battles of Ticinus and Trebia. How so many were taken over, considering the nature of the Alpine passes, is somewhat astonishing; and it is stated by Livy, that in some places the elephants of Macedon were delayed while special bridges were constructed for them to cross. Hannibal, on the other hand, pushed through with the energy that characterized all his movements; and the passage of his army and elephants through the Alps is one of the most remarkable feats in military history, ancient or modern.
Ancient history contains interesting accounts of the battles in which the elephant took part. Livy says that the Gauls, who were the allies of the Romans, fled before them. According to Appian, the Roman horse were alarmed at the sight and smell of the strange animals; and Silius Italicus gives the elephant of Hannibal full credit for all his victories. The poet of the Punic war thus, in characteristic language, describes a fight between an elephant and a Roman soldier:—
After the battle of Trebia, the elephants were marched with the army, over the Apennines; and Livy tells us that seven starved to death; later, in passing the Arno, which was a raging torrent, numbers of men, elephants, and horses were swept away, the only elephant left being the one the great general himself rode.
Previous to this, in crossing the Po, Hannibal had arranged his elephants in a long line across the shallow river, to break the force of the stream by a living dam. Perdiccas did the same, in an unfortunate attempt to cross the Nile near Memphis; but the waters of the Arno were too swift, and, notwithstanding the fact that elephants are fine swimmers, they were carried away and drowned. Hannibal was not cast down by his misfortune, and immediately sent for a new supply of elephants from Carthage. At the battle of Cannæ (216 B.C.),’the Roman forces attacked the elephants with torches, and succeeded in firing the towers upon their backs. This terrible scene is thus described by Silius Italicus:—
It would seem that Hannibal was sometimes actuated by motives similar to those of our Indians of the West, who, in former days, sometimes offered to release prisoners of war, if they would defeat a number of warriors in a struggle. After the battle just referred to, he offered some Roman prisoners their liberty if they could conquer the elephants. One of the Romans accepted the offer, and actually killed the elephant single-handed. But Hannibal broke his word, perhaps fearing, that, if such an instance was circulated among the Roman soldiers, they would lose their fear of the animals; so he had the courageous Roman murdered.
When the Carthaginians were before Capua, they had a strong force of elephants, and we read of their obtaining re-enforcements from Carthage as early as 215 B.C.; so that this city must have been a central depot of elephant supplies.
The management of war elephants in Spain was mostly conducted by Asdrubal, who was in command of the Carthaginian forces in the absence of his brother. According to Livy, he was defeated in the famous fight between the two Scipios at Tortosa, but managed to save his elephants. In other battles, large numbers of these animals were killed and left upon the field.
The effect of a panic among the war elephants was greatly dreaded by the generals who owned them; and Asdrubal provided his drivers with a knife and mallet, with instructions, if the elephant became unmanageable, to drive the knife between the junction of the head and spine. In the battle of Metaurus, this expedient was also employed. The Romans attacked them with such ferocity, that the elephants turned, and began trampling their own troops; and, in obedience to their instructions, the drivers slaughtered six while in their headlong flight, falling with them to the ground. This, however, did not prevent the utter rout of the forces; and, in a frenzy of rage, Asdrubal threw himself single-handed at a battalion of the enemy, and fell, opposed by thousands.
It is evident that in these days the range of the African elephant extended farther to the north; and that they were much more abundant, is shown by some passages in the old works. Thus, when Scipio was about to invade Africa, the Carthaginians made great preparations to prevent his advance; and, according to Appian, a large number of elephants were taken in a short time, and trained for war. This could not have been done if they had to be sought at a great distance. They may have been found in Barbary, which would explain the ease with which re-enforcements were made in all these wars.
When Scipio invaded Africa, Mago, the brother of Hannibal, proceeded against Italy with a new and magnificent army; and the vast array of elephants he drew up before the Roman cavalry on the field of Insubria, is said to have been almost unequalled in the annals of ancient warfare. Notwithstanding this, the Romans were successful. Scipio was followed into Africa by Hannibal; and the two warriors, both equally famous, met on the field of Zama. Hannibal had eighty elephants in line, a formidable array; but Scipio, aware that his horses were useless, sent them to the rear, and ordered his archers to direct their arrows at the trunks of the elephants of the enemy. So vigorous was the assault, that the elephants, panic-stricken, turned, and in a moment were rushing wildly to the rear; their trumpeting, and the cries of the dead and dying trampled under foot, producing an indescribable scene. The entire right wing of the Carthaginian general was broken, and, utterly routed, he retreated to Adrumetum; the action of his own elephants bringing to a close the second Punic war (201 B.C.). A treaty of peace was now arranged; and with due respect for the elephant, as an engine of war, the Romans bound the unfortunate Carthaginians to deliver up all their war elephants, and never tame others for military service. The elephants captured by Scipio were forwarded to Rome; and in his triumphal procession to the Capitol, they followed the sacrificial victims.
Curiously enough, for a period of eighty years after the Romans became familiar with the advantages of the elephant as a valuable adjunct to the service, they did not employ them. The warriors, however, were specially drilled in elephant warfare; and many devices were invented by the skilful generals to discomfit the huge animals. The great object was to turn the elephants upon their own masters, as we have seen; and to this end, the men were directed to fire their darts and arrows at the trunk of the elephant, which was known to be the most sensitive point. Chariots were constructed to bear men who carried enormously long spears. The horses were clothed in mail, and trained to charge at the elephants at full speed; and, as they passed, the spearmen would prod them in the trunk, and endeavor to demoralize them. This branch of the service was, necessarily, one of great danger, and the courageous lancers often lost their lives; horses, chariots, and men, all being crushed to death by the infuriated animals.
Another corps of elephant-men were armed with a peculiar armor, covered with long, sharp spikes, so that the elephant would not attempt to seize them with its trunk. Other soldiers were armed with slings, with which they threw stones at the driver of the elephant, it being their sole business to dismount him; while instruments that could propel their own darts were employed against the body of the elephant. Besides these offensive movements, the troops were drilled in the manner of receiving an elephant’s charge. They executed manœuvres in falling back as the animal came on, and in closing in to surround him. Such were a few of the methods employed against the elephant, which serve to show its importance in ancient warfare.
Rome was finally forced to use the elephant herself; and in the first action of the Macedonian war, they formed no inconspicuous corps of the Roman army.
In the third year of the war, according to Polybius, Titus Quintius Flaminius used them with signal advantage against the Macedonian king. In the second Macedonian war, thirty years later, Q. Martius Philippus employed them against Perseus, the last king of Macedon. The latter, unlike his predecessor, who conquered India, had neglected to provide himself with a corps of elephants; and his horses were utterly demoralized by the animals possessed by his enemy. Finding that elephants were necessary to success, he conceived the idea of manufacturing some bogus ones, after the fashion of Semiramis, quoted in a previous chapter, and had a number of wooden elephants made, in the interior of which was concealed a man, who blew upon a trumpet which led into the wooden throat, when the charge was ordered; hoping in this way to imitate living elephants. But the ruse did not succeed; and, after a war of four years, the Macedonians came under the Roman yoke.
In some of these wars, it often happened that the African elephant was marched against its Asiatic ally. This was the case in the battle of Magnesia, when the Roman arms were turned against Antiochus, king of Syria; and, according to the old writers, the African elephants of Scipio were much inferior in size and strength to the Indian ones of Antiochus. The reverse, at least regarding size, is true to-day; and the same was probably true then, African male elephants being at least a foot taller than their Asiatic cousins.
When Scipio found that his elephants were inferior, he placed them in his rear as a reserve; but they were routed, only fifteen escaping: while fifteen thousand men were slain. The Romans utterly defeated them, and insisted upon the same terms which we have seen the Carthaginians made,—Antiochus agreeing to deliver all his war elephants to Rome, and to train no more. If both parties had kept their word, the elephant would have fallen into disuse as a war-factor.
The Romans exacted a similar bond from Jugurtha (111 B.C.); killing large numbers, and continuing the war until the Numidian king consented, and delivered his elephants to Metellus (108 B.C.).
Julius Cæsar probably considered that elephants retarded active movements, and did not have a large corps of them; though a certain number were kept, presumably to re-assure the soldiers, in case the enemy should be supplied with an elephant corps. In his battle with Scipio in Africa, he was confronted with thirty of these animals, having towers of archers; but he sent his elephants to the rear, and succeeded in defeating his enemy.
Some idea of the manner in which elephants fought in battle is given by Cæsar:—
“A wounded elephant, furious with rage, attacked an unarmed follower of the troops, and, kneeling upon him, crushed the life out of his body. A veteran of the fifth legion rushed forward to attack the beast, who was roaring, and lashing with his proboscis. The elephant immediately forsook his victim, and, catching up the soldier in his trunk, whirled him in the air. But the intrepid warrior did not lose his presence of mind: he wounded the elephant in his sensitive proboscis, till, exhausted with pain, he dropped the soldier, and fled in terror to his companions.”
The elephant was probably not used to any extent in war by the Romans, after the establishment of the imperial government. In A.D. 193, we read that Rome was filled with horses and elephants, ready for use in the proposed war between Didius Julianus and Septimius Severus. In the famous battle between Alexander Severus and Artaxerxes (A.D. 230), three hundred elephants were taken from the Persians, and a number marched to Rome in solemn state. The introduction of new appliances of war, and the successful attempts in routing bodies of elephants, probably did much to render them unpopular, for a time at least, among the Roman conquerors.