Some dogs were just mascots<\/a>, others acted as real soldiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the German campaign on the Eastern\nfront, a lieutenant leading an attack fell under the heavy Russian fire. Heavily\nwounded and unable to move, he sent back his men. At the same time back in the\ntrenches, the lieutenant\u2019s own dog, a Great Dane – Mastiff – hound mix, had\ngnawed his leash to set himself free. Steif, the dog, dashed o his master\u2019s\nside through the rain of bullets and, with love and determination, he pulled\nthe severely wounded man to safety. The dog only lost his grip once, when a\nbullet \u201ccreased\u201d him from shoulder to flank. Right at the end, when his master\nwas safe, another bullet penetrated the dog\u2019s front legs, braking them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Man and dog were rushed to the hospital and were both operated on. Wilhelm II, the German Kaiser (emperor) and king of Prussia came to their hospital bed and awarded each, man and dog, an Iron Cross ( military decoration instituted in 1813 by Frederick William III).<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is their true story, as told to Kaiser Willem II:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Lieutenant von Wieland led a party of men in an attack on the Russian trenches. Seeing the task hopeless on account of the Russian fire, he, wounded, sent back the men who had set out with him and lay there in the blood and muck and filth of the battlefield: The Russian fire was so murderous that no one dared bring him in. Presently a dark form bounded from the German trenches, rushed to Lieutenant von Wieland’s side, grasped his coat between his teeth and, foot by foot, dragged him to safety. Once, but only for a moment, did he loosen his hold, and that was when a bullet creased him from shoulder to flank. The blood gushed from the wound, but the dog took a fresh hold and finished his job at the edge of the trench where willing hands lifted the lieutenant down to safety. They had to lift the dog down, too, because just then a bullet broke both his forelegs.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Battle of Verdun took place between German\nand French soldiers on the Western Front between February and December in 1916,\nand more than 300,000 men lost their lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A section of French soldiers, outgunned and\noutnumbered, were ordered to hold out their area until reinforcements arrived.\nYet days passed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Their eyes cats on no man’s land, expecting death to rush towards them at any moment, the soldiers were stunned to see a blackish dog wearing a gas mask heading their way. Dog handler Duvalle recognized his boy, Satan, arriving with a vital message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s when the German’s spotted Satan and\nopened all available fire on him in a desperate attempt to stop the messenger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Duvalle called and encouraged his dog, urging him\nto push forward and directing him over the open death trap that was the\nbattlefield, reminding him what they both learned during their training. The\ndog began running in a zigzag pattern to avoid\nthe impact of the bullets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just meters before\nthe French trenches two bullets found Satan causing the brave canine to crash\nin the dirt. His master could not take it and sprang from the trench, calling\nand encouraging his brave companion. ‘Satan – have courage my friend. For\nFrance!’ – were his last words yet they echoed into the dog\u2019s heart who\nmiraculously crawled to the French trenches, delivering his message of hope:<\/p>\n\n\n\n ‘For God’s sake hold on. We will relieve you tomorrow.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The astounded French\nsoldiers noticed that Satan had been fitted with two wire cages to his harness,\neach containing a messenger pigeon. Quickly, an officer penned the co-ordinates\nof the German artillery onto two pieces of paper. Luckily, one pigeon\nmade it through the German fire and back to the French HQ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only one hour later\nthe German battery fell silent, minced by the French guns a short distance\naway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ‘The garrison was able to hold out until reinforcements came all because one hairy mongrel refused to die while his errand was still uncompleted and because he was too loyal to quit.’ (Albert Peyson Terhune, American War Reporter)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Taki was a Belgian Sheepdog (Belgian Malinois).<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was 1914 and the German troops, on their\nway to occupy UK, were rolling through Belgium. A unit of French Army found itself stranded between a river and the\nGermans. They were desperate to send message and call for reinforcements. Who\nwill dare brave the bullets?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taki, the youngest of\nthe trained dogs volunteered. Or was chosen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A message was written in code and placed into a waterproof capsule that Taki had been trained to carry in her\nmouth. She left and everyone prayed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Taki successfully went through the shell-worn fields, under a rain of Nazi bullets and poisonous gas and, soon enough, help arrived. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I hope you enjoyed the blog posts about dogs and the incredible help they gave during WW1. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Come back for new stories about the role of dogs during WW2 and so forth. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Do check out my book Joyful Trouble<\/a>, A humorous read about an incredible dog and how he had found his true, yet unexpected calling. It is a book for all ages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n My adult fiction<\/strong> book, Silent Heroes<\/a>, is a #1 New Release, a contemporary fiction novel, filled with action and emotional twists and turns. \u201cSilent Heroes\u201d has a strong historical and cultural feel of the area when the action takes place, Afghanistan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you read my previous posts you surely discovered the incredible variety of tasks that dogs performed, willingly, during the Great War, Lest We Forget. No matter their size or breed, dogs found a place in the hearts of the troops, saving a great deal of lives in between.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1328,1808,1334,1,1329,1571],"tags":[953,1594,1595,1555,1559,1506,958,200,1445],"class_list":["post-2574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dogs","category-history","category-mwd-military-working-dogs","category-nature","category-pets","category-ww1","tag-lestweforget","tag-cute-dogs","tag-dog-pictures","tag-dogs-of-war","tag-great-war","tag-history","tag-the-great-war","tag-true-story","tag-ww1"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1939-September-A-Bulldog-stands-guard-outside-a-block-of-flats-in-South-London.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2481,"url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/amazing-roles-dogs-played-during-ww1-part-1-dogs-in-trenches-and-ratter-dogs-via-patfurstenberg-dogs-war-trenches-ratters-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":2574,"position":0},"title":"Amazing Roles Dogs Played During WW1, part 1, Dogs in Trenches and Ratter Dogs","author":"Patricia Furstenberg","date":"18\/08\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Although still informal, dogs helped a great deal during the Great War, WW1, especially in the trenches, and as ratter dogs. \"War is hell\", said Union Army General Sherman referring to the Civil War, but he could have just as well referred to the Great War, a war of trenches,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dogs in History"","block_context":{"text":"Dogs in History","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/category\/dogs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"captain_with_dog_in_trenches 1914","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/captain_with_dog_in_trenches-1914-e1616692764958.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2488,"url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/amazing-roles-dogs-ww1-scouts-sentries-ambulance-messenger\/","url_meta":{"origin":2574,"position":1},"title":"Amazing Roles Dogs Played during WW1, part 2: Scouts, Sentries, Ambulance and Messenger Dogs","author":"Patricia Furstenberg","date":"20\/08\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Prepare to be amazed by the scouts, sentries, ambulance and messenger dogs of WW1. During the Great War the military dogs first trained by military Scotsman Lt Col Edwin Hautenville Richardson proved invaluable as trench dogs. Other dogs of smaller size, did an amazing job as ratters. Dogs used as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dogs in History"","block_context":{"text":"Dogs in History","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/category\/dogs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Amazing roles of dogs played during WW1. Part 2: Scouts, sentries, ambulance, messenger dogs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2-The-dogs-were-also-trained-to-carry-first-aid-and-supplies-for-soldiers-at-the-front-Getty-source-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2-The-dogs-were-also-trained-to-carry-first-aid-and-supplies-for-soldiers-at-the-front-Getty-source-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2-The-dogs-were-also-trained-to-carry-first-aid-and-supplies-for-soldiers-at-the-front-Getty-source-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2517,"url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/amazing-roles-dogs-played-during-ww1-part-3-sled-dogs-pulling-dogs-via-patfurstenberg-dogs-ww2-sled-winter-snow\/","url_meta":{"origin":2574,"position":2},"title":"Amazing Roles dogs Played During WW1, part 3: Sled Dogs, Pulling Dogs","author":"Patricia Furstenberg","date":"25\/08\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I can easily imagine sled dogs, even during WW1, but pulling dogs? How were they different and, mostly, what were they pulling? Dogs PULLING wheeled machine guns Before the Great War, in some European countries such as Belgium and Netherlands, strong dogs were used to pull the milk carts. Before\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dogs in History"","block_context":{"text":"Dogs in History","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/category\/dogs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Amazing roles dogs played during WW1, part 3: sled dogs and pulling dogs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/poilus-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/poilus-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/poilus-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/poilus-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2535,"url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/dog-mascots-ww1-cute-faces-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":2574,"position":3},"title":"Dog Mascots of WW1 and Their Cute Faces","author":"Patricia Furstenberg","date":"29\/08\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"With their cute, innocent faces it is understandable how in times of pain and sorrow, like WW1, any kind of dog made a great mascot. We saw already what amazing roles dogs played during the Great War and how many lives they saved. They've been helping in the trenches, acted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dogs in History"","block_context":{"text":"Dogs in History","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/category\/dogs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Dog Mascots of WW1 and Their Fascinating Stories","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/hero_mascot-pooch.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/hero_mascot-pooch.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/hero_mascot-pooch.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2468,"url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/why-were-dogs-indispensable-in-warfare-how-dog-training-began-pat-furstenberg\/","url_meta":{"origin":2574,"position":4},"title":"Why Dogs Were so Indispensable During Warfare, How Dog Training Began","author":"Patricia Furstenberg","date":"13\/08\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Ever wondered how dog training began? It was 1895 when Lt Col Edwin Hautenville Richardson, a Scot military man, noticed a German man buying a sheepdog from a shepherd.On engaging the two, Richardson learns that the German army was buying British collies to train and use in their own military\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dogs in History"","block_context":{"text":"Dogs in History","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/category\/dogs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Why were dogs so indispensable during warfare AND how dog training began","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/helpful-dog.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/helpful-dog.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/helpful-dog.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2753,"url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/british-dogs-ww2-amazing-cute-incredible\/","url_meta":{"origin":2574,"position":5},"title":"British Dogs of WW2, the Amazing, the Cute and the Incredible","author":"Patricia Furstenberg","date":"20\/09\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Training dogs to be used in the military has been a slow start for the Allies during WW2, with Germany secretly taking the lead. Perhaps the one quality that was often taken for granted and all canines possessed was their ability to empathize with humans, the millennial bond between man\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dogs in History"","block_context":{"text":"Dogs in History","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/category\/dogs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"US Marine Private John Drugan and his war dog, Okinawa, Japan, May 1945 ww2dbase","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/US-Marine-Private-John-Drugan-and-his-war-dog-Okinawa-Japan-May-1945-ww2dbase-e1773808164189.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Kh37-Fw","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2574"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17810,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2574\/revisions\/17810"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}WW1 True Story: Steif, a mixed-breed German dog, saves the life of his master, Lieutenant von Wieland<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"Amazing,](\"http:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Steif-2-153x300.jpg\")
WW1 True Story: Messenger dog Satan helped the Allied forces<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"Amazing,](\"http:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Satan-Battle-Verdun-saves-French-contingent-300x180.jpg\")
WW1 True Story: Taki, first war dog to carry messages for the Allies in World War 1<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"If](\"http:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/RAMBO-sits-TARA-stands-300x300.jpg\")
![\"Messenger](\"http:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/messenger-dogs-in-training-messenger-dog-needed-to-know-what-he-had-to-do-and-sometimes-he-had-to-solve-the-problem-of-how-to-do-it-on-his-own.-alpinepub.files_-300x201.jpg\")
![\"Amazing,](\"http:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Messenger-dog-with-its-handler-in-France-during-World-War-I-300x224.jpg\")
![\"Joyful](\"http:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Amazon-Bestseller-1June-ribbon-300x217.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Silent](\"http:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Silent-Heroes-desert-night-Nowzad-300x150.jpg\")
<\/a>