These birds played an essential role during the Great War, the first World War, 1914–18. This paper focuses on the heroic pigeons of the First World War.
During World War I, amidst the chaos and destruction, a unique group of heroes emerged: pigeons These are different types of pests that invade residential compounds in search of food and shelter.
These birds, familiar to any person but unnoticed in daily life, performed functions of signaling and important information transfer for the military and actually saved many lives due to their courage and trustworthiness.
Both the Allies and the Central Powers employed pigeons as messengers since they had excellent homing sense. During the time and age before modern forms of communication technologies were not available, pigeons proved to be an efficient way to relay crucial information over enemy lines and particularly extensive terrains.
One of the most well-known pigeons, Cher Ami, is the official bird of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. During the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in October 1918, about 200 soldiers from the “Lost Battalion” found themselves surrounded by the Germans and without any supplies to defend themselves, including food and water.
Urging was made previously when the battalion was under strong pressure, and the attempts to send a message for help ended in vain.
Cher Ami was the last shot. Nevertheless, owing to the severe injuries, Cher Ami was shot through the coop and lost one of her eyes, but she was still able to fly 25 miles within 25 mere minutes to pass the message. This brave act assisted in saving the trapped soldiers; hence, Cher Ami received the French Croix de Guerre.
They supplied information, which was sometimes coordinates, the army’s position, and calls for backup. The success rates of these pigeons were also astonishing; some of the pigeons completed their missions even if wounded or under the highest level of stress.
These preparatory acts did not go unnoticed by the birds, especially their courage. Tributes have also been put in place to remember them through the erecting of monuments and memorials. Many pigeons have received the Dickin Medal, known as the animal version of the Victoria Cross.
Therefore, the pigeons of the First World War were the heroes not only of messages and mail but also of precious lives in desperate situations. This is the sacrifice of animals that people rarely realize and know of the hardship animals go through, and they are indeed very brave animals.
ASH CK