Size & strength aren't everything: A lesson from war elephants on India's battlefields

A ceremonial 'ankus' – elephant goad – with delicate silver inlay, used by mahouts to control the massive power of an elephant.

There are many stories of elephants being used in battle by the Mughals and the Marathas. They were big and made ideal vantage points for generals to view the progress of their armies; they were strong and could haul heavy loads over long distances; armoured elephants were extremely tough and difficult to take down; they were surprisingly fast and a charging elephant would scatter panicked enemy soldiers. Yet, of all the animals that have served in India's wars, the elephant was withdrawn from frontline service. The reason was gunpowder. Elephants are gun-shy. The bang of a musket or cannon would startle them and they would turn and trample their own soldiers as they stampeded away from the sound. And no amount of goading would reverse that. Or the history that would follow.