ABSTRACT
In November 1918, at the close of the First World War, the British Empire counted 791,696 draught and riding animals with its armies in all theatres: 510,000 horses; 225,311 mules; 36,834 camels; 8,425 bullocks; 11,028 donkeys and 100,000 carrier pigeons. The antiquity of the relationship between humans and dogs is well appreciated but its origins are mysterious. Traditionally, and predictably, historians and pre-historians have assumed that humans were the principal actors in the story of domestication. For most European and Asian polities up until the middle of the twentieth century, the ability to wage war successfully was dependent upon access to an adequate supply of animals either as mounts or for draught purposes. The particular significance of the horse to the conduct of war is well illustrated by considering the impact of its introduction into regions where it had hitherto been rare or unknown.
