What were donkeys used for in World War 1?

Answer 1

In the modern age, where cars and trucks (and airplanes) are ubiquitous and carry practically everything, we tend to forget that this was not always so.

At the start of WW1, the practical Internal Combustion Engine was less than two decades old, and the mass-production of the truck or automobile had just barely begun. Consequently, all the armies on both sides had yet to acquire any significant number of motor vehicles. For the most part, those vehicles which had been purchased were tractors, whose primary use was for towing heavy artillery pieces. So, armies relied on the methods they'd always used to carry their supplies.

As the logistics of any army are a key to its success, huge quantities of ammunition, weapons, food, clothing, and the myriad of other supplies that are required to feed, clothe, and arm soldiers must be transported from the nearest railhead to the fighting front. Donkeys, mules, and horses filled this use, pulling wagons or merely with supplies thrown over their backs. That is, donkeys provided the same service they had to all armies back through antiquity: they were beasts of burden, hauling supplies back and forth behind the lines. Practically everything that the armies needed were hauled by animals for the majority of the war - even when motor vehicles became more available, the horrible ground conditions over much of the battlezones prevented their effective use. So, both sides relied heavily on animals for most of their battlefield logistics needs.

Overall, mules and horses made up the vast majority of animals used - donkeys were less useful, as mules are steadier animals and horses are stronger.

Answer 2

Simply because enlisting the help of animals to pull cargo was a lot cheaper than having trucks made for the same purpose.

More importantly, horses and donkeys were the main logistical transportation method of armies in the field for all of prior human history. WW1 was the very first time that trucks and motor vehicles were used in this role at all. Thus, all armies came into the conflict using horses and donkeys as standard, and only partially replaced some of them with motor vehicles (in reality, none were replaced, only supplemented by the new vehicles).

The use of railroads to transport armies was relatively new (having been primarily pioneered during the US Civil War), but armies still needed methods of moving all their supplies from railheads to the combat zone. This was done via horses and mules, in the same way that ALL army materials had been carried since before railroads. Horses and mules were flexible, could be taken over rough ground, and didn't depend on time-consuming rails to be built.

Answer 3

what were donkeys used for during ww1