Anti-Tank Dogs at Stalingrad

 "10th NKVD Internal Troops Rifle Division
October 1st, 1942
#1/81

To the commander of the 62nd Army, Lieutenant General comrade Chuikov

The 28th Independent Dog Tank Destroyer Group was composed of 202 men and 202 dogs. It was operationally subordinate to the 10th Rifle Division as of August 24th, 1942 and took a direct part in combat actions in defenses of Stalingrad alongside the division's forces.

Video: Soviet Anti-Tank Dogs

The anti-tank dog is one of the least researched weapons in the Red Army's anti-tank arsenal. Few publications dedicate more than a few paragraphs to this unusual weapon. In my most recent video, I explain how these weapons were used and discuss some of the most common myths associated with them.

Anti-Tank Dog Instructions

Check the equipment of both the soldiers and the dogs.

 "Instructions on using anti-tank dogs in various types of combat 
1942

A. Main points

1. Anti-tank dogs are an auxiliary weapon for infantry in anti-tank defenses, but they can be used in all types of combat.
2. Anti-tank dog units are subordinate to the Army command. Individual companies or platoons are subordinated to infantry divisions as reinforcements of anti-tank defenses.
3. The reserve and rear line elements of the anti-tank dog unit are located in the rear of the Army. There the personnel and the dogs systematically train and prepare themselves for service.
4. An anti-tank dog company has 81 anti-tank dogs. The company is split into three platoons of 27 dogs. The platoon is split into three squads of 9 dogs each.
5. The main method of destroying tanks is by releasing the dog from cover at a range of up to 200 meters from the enemy tank.
6. If correctly used at a close range of 100-150 meters, the anti-tank dog is an effective weapon for the destruction of enemy tanks.
7. Anti-tank dogs carry a bundle of explosives with a trigger on top. 
   A dog will dive under the front part of the enemy tank. The lever touches the floor of the tank and the tank is destroyed by an explosion.
8. Anti-tank dogs work precisely and flawlessly only if the dogs are systematically trained and correctly fed. To achieve this, anti-tank dog platoons and companies must be removed from forward positions every ten days and recalled to the rear for training.
9. The infantry division commander allocates one functional tank, preferably a captured one, for training the anti-tank dog company.
10. For additional maneuverability, the anti-tank dog company commander must be allocated two GAZ-AA (1.5 ton) trucks to move one anti-tank dog platoon rapidly.
11. Soldiers of anti-tank dog platoons chiefly fight individually, and thus must display initiative, courage, discipline, decisiveness, and calmness.
12. The anti-tank dog soldier is armed with an anti-tank dog, an automatic rifle, an anti-tank grenade, and two bottles of incendiary fluid. 
13. Having released his dog, the anti-tank dog soldier continues to fight with his rifle, anti-tank grenade, and bottles with incendiary fluid as a part of his squad.
14. Anti-tank dog soldiers that released their dogs return to the rear after the completion of the battle to continue service according to their speciality.

Pigeons at War

The use of pigeons for communication is nothing new.

However, what if you didn't have much space for holding pigeons? You had to get creative.

Pigeons can also be used for another, more creative purpose.

"In some cases, pigeons were released 1500-2000 meters from us. They circled around the vicinity and hovered above our column when spotted, marking us for artillery and mortar fire (see p. 27). At the same time, small groups of Japanese suicide bombers moved out in front of us with prepared explosives or mines to destroy our tanks and SPGs."

Tank Dogs in Combat

I've described the mechanisms that anti-tank dogs used, but here is a record of them being sent into combat.

"To the chief of the Moscow Military District HQ

CC: Mozhaisk reinforced region chief, Volokolamsk reinforced region chief, commander of the 43rd Army, commander of the 30th Army

Based on the order of the People's Commissar of Defense (cipher #13701, 13703 issued on October 13th, 1941), send tank destroyers with dogs to the following regions:

1. One company to Mozhaisk, under the command of the Mozhaisk reinforced region commander.
2. One company to Volokolamsk, under the command of the Volokolamsk reinforced region commander.
3. Another company to Lesser Yaroslavets, under the command of the commander of the 43rd Army.
4. Reshetnikovo railroad station, Kalinin railroad (army HQ at Zavidovo), under the command of the commander of the 30th Army.

Upon sending, report.

Western Front HQ Commander, Lieutenant-General Sokolovskiy

Western Front HQ Commissar, Brigade Comissar, Kazbintsev

October 14th, 1941"

Since by October 14th these regions have already been largely lost, it is unlikely that the dogs have actually fought there.

Let Slip the Dogs of War

"To the chief of the 2nd department of GABTU BTU, Military Engineer 2nd grade, comrade Demyanenko
[date cut off] July, 1941

I report that trained dogs carrying an anti-tank pouch filled with high explosives can be considered a viable method of combat with enemy tanks.

Trials of this anti-tank method were conducted by the Communications Directorate and Engineering and Armoured Directorate in 1939-1940. The results of the trials proved that this method is effective.

On the BTU KA proving grounds at the Kubinka station, an MS-1 tank moving at second gear was destroyed by a dog carrying an AT pouch, which caused the following damage: torn track, torn out tank side, torn off and destroyed drive wheel, damage to the upper front plate and lower hull, tank turret torn off. During all other trials with dummy pouches, dogs dove under a moving tank without fail.

The Central Dog Training School of the Communications Directorate has staff that can train these dogs, as well as staff that can use them. 3000 AT pouches were produced at Gromov factory #2 (Solnechnogorsk) in 1939-1940.

Principle of operation:

A dog that is trained to dive under a tank is equipped with a special AT pouch filled with explosives. The pouch is equipped with a lever. When the dog dives under the tank, the lever pulls out the safety pin, the striker hits the detonator, and the explosives go off underneath the tank.

Materials on trials with conclusions, blueprints, and AT pouch and detonator samples, as well as a production run of 3000 units, are available at the Communications Directorate of the Red Army.

Attached: a diagram.

Senior Engineer of the 2nd department, Military Engineer 2nd grade, Gulik."
CAMD RF 38-11355-141

And here's the diagram:

"BB" marks the explosives. The things that look like stakes at the bottom are belts for attaching the device to a dog. The dog runs from right to left. A note on the diagram lists the mass of the device as approximately 4.5 kilograms.

This document conveniently dispels two often repeated rumours about anti-tank dogs. One is that they were hurriedly trained in 1941 as a desperate measure against German tanks. As you can see, training and trials began long before the German offensive. Another is that the dogs, smelling familiar diesel tanks, ran towards their own tanks and blew them up. I always suspected that using brand new T-34 or KV tanks for dog training was wasteful, and this document confirms it. Obsolete gasoline powered tanks were used for training, ones that the dogs were not going to see (or smell) on the battlefield.