Some of the most effective weapons against war elephants were pigs. on fire. Learn why.

Some of the most effective weapons against war elephants were pigs. on fire. Learn why.

When we think about large-scale warfare we usually don't consider ancient times. However, the size of battles during Roman times was never reached again until the nineteenth century!

In the First Punic War Rome lost over 100,000 men in a single day! With all of these men, however, just a handful of elephants could completely change the tide of battle.

Most famously, Hannibal led elephants over the Alps and wreaked havoc on Rome. So how did they combat these gigantic animals?

Funnily, pigs were the best defense! Well, flaming pigs to be precise. It turns out elephants are terrified of fire. The squealing of pigs also seems to disgruntle them.

Ancients realized this and thought they might as well throw the two together. So they would cover pigs in tar, light them on fire, and wait for the elephants to charge. When the elephants got near they would be terrified, break rank, and run!

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3d wooden brain teasers for you to try from Net Sauce http://netsauce.blogspot.com/2013/12/some-of-most-effective-weapons-against.html