War Elephants

John M. Kistler is a freelance writer and runs a small business. He received his mahout certificate from the Elephant Conservation Center in Thailand while assisting consultants on Oliver Stone's film Alexander.

"War Elephants provides the full history of pachyderms in battle, presenting an animal historian's in-depth history of evidence tracing the use of elephants in battles from 1100 B.C. to the 17th century. From how the elephants participated in battle to strategies against them, War Elephants provides quite a different perspective and is an unique military survey."—The Midwest Book Review - California Bookwatch "War Elephants is flawlessly written and researched. . . . If you are interested in reading about ancient warfare, or the role of elephants in war, then this book is highly recommended."—Armchair General "Kistler provides a range of interesting facts about elephant behaviour, not least the actual difficulties of managing a force of war elephants in terms of voracious appetite, enormous thirst, expensive armour and long term commitment to training and care. . . . John Kistler's account is often entertaining and certainly wide ranging."—Times Literary Supplement "Avid military buffs and students of ancient, medieval, and modern warfare, animal rights, and non-Western warfare will find much of interest in this comprehensive resource."—Library Media Connection "Generals used elephants as tanks, bulldozers, and cargo trucks long before such vehicles existed, and, until gunpowder reduced the utility of elephants in battle, these beasts built roads, swung swords, and terrified opposing forces. Kistler tells the story of the elephant's largely forgotten role in the history of warfare."—Reference & Research Book News

• Foreword by Richard LairIntroduction1 Useful Orphan2 Early Contests3 Beauty and the Beasts4 Fill of Blood5 Improvements6 The Elephant Memory7 The Horror8 Alexander's Opinion9 Death on the Nile10 Elephants Marching11 Siege12 Cavalry Killers13 The Elephant Industry14 Unmitigated Gauls15 The Elephant of Surprise16 Flaming Pigs17 Chaos in the Streets18 War Elephants of Carthage19 Proud Mahouts20 Cruelty and Inhumanity21 The Lion's Brood22 Dangerous Waters23 Treacherous Paths24 The Best Laid Plans25 Stalemate26 Hasdrubal27 Rome's Genius28 Africa versus Asia29 Day of Slaughter30 Weapons of Massive Destruction31 Guerrilla War32 The Running of the Bulls33 Pompey's Circus34 The Herd of Julius Caesar35 Arrogant Emperors36 Sackcloth, Ashes, and Prayer37 Breach of Faith38 The Year of the Elephant39 Early and Medieval Asia40 Charlemagne and Frederick41 Plump and Ready42 Mongol Hordes43 Pyramids of Skulls44 Thais, Burmese, Khmers, and Others45 The Great Mahout46 Beasts of Burden47 Mighty Engineers48 Targets of OpportunityEpilogueEndnotesGlossaryBibliographyIndex