Crazy Military Techniques and Tactics

When you think of war, you probably picture swords, machine-guns, and nuclear bombs. But behind the blazing battlefield, every conflict is decided by creative tactics that attempt to outsmart the enemy! With boiled bullets, animal warfare and naval whack-a-mole, military leaders have utilized bizarre strategies to win battles. Let's head to the frontline and check them out, as we march through the craziest techniques and tactics used in military history!

Why Soviet Soldiers Boiled Their Bullets

Every soldier knows how to load, chamber and shoot bullets. But did you know that Soviet troops in the 1980s used to boil them too? In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to help establish a communist Afghan government and fight against an anti-communist militant force called the Mujahideen. But the invasion was a disaster, and by the mid-80s the Soviet troops were so undersupplied, that they had to source their own clothes and food to survive.

The only thing the soldiers did have in abundance was ammunition, so, they started trading their bullets with vendors at Afghan bazaars for their much-needed provisions. Unfortunately, they knew the vendors would immediately sell their bullets onto the Mujahideen, and their ammunition would be used against them at a later date. So, they came up with a plan to boil the ammo in water for 4-5 hours before they traded it, to damage the bullets and render them useless, or so they hoped.

This practice likely stemmed from the fact that in the 19th century, most bullets contained a chemical called mercury fulminate that would decompose when boiled and make the ammo unusable. However, the Soviets were misguided, because since the start of the 20th Century modern bullets have been made without mercury fulminate, meaning they’re heat-resistant and can fire after being boiled.

So, while there’s a chance some of the Soviet’s bullets were really old, most of their ammunition was still perfectly usable when they traded it away in the bazaars. As a result, although the struggling troops had to trade their bullets to get enough supplies to survive, they were actively arming their enemy in doing so, making this tactic a giant game of Russian roulette!

Night Witches

Most people know that World War 2 was fought between the Axis Powers and the Allies, but you probably weren’t aware that one of its most interesting tactics was developed by a unit consisting of witches! These terrifying troops flew on wooden planes instead of broomsticks, and dropped bombs instead of spells, but they sure did work some magic!

In 1940 the German Luftwaffe’s pilots were better trained, better equipped, and had more combat experience than the British and Soviet Air Forces, giving them total air superiority. So, in 1941 a famous Soviet pilot called Marina Raskova came up with a plan to strengthen the USSR in the air.

Prior to the war, Raskova had gained fame and won a "Hero of the Soviet Union Award" for her proficiency as a pilot, which was the highest possible distinction in the USSR. But the Soviet Military had banned women from serving in combat, so when war broke out Raskova wasn’t allowed to fly against Axis.

By 1941 she knew the Allies needed all the pilots they could get, so she used her reputation to speak with the USSR’s leader Joseph Stalin, and successfully talked him into letting her form an all-female aviation group to fight against the enemy.

This group included the 588th Night Bomber Regiment; a force of 80 female pilots that were provided with cheap wooden biplanes called Polikarpov Po-2. These flimsy planes were previously used as crop dusters and training aircraft, so when they were fitted with bombs, the extra weight meant that they had to be flown at low-altitudes.

But, the regiment wasn’t deterred, as they discovered that the Po2’s small-size and wooden construction meant that they didn’t show up on radar, making them practically invisible to the enemy when flown at night. This allowed the pilots to approach German bases in the dark without being spotted.

Then as they got close, they’d switch off their engines and glide over their target, making their aircraft virtually silent as they unloaded their bombs before disappearing back into the night. In fact, the only discernible sound was the planes swooshing like broomsticks as they passed overhead, which is how the regiment came to be known as the Night Witches amongst terrified German soldiers.

This death-defying bombing technique was incredibly effective, and over the course of the war the Night Witches flew on 30,000 missions and dropped over 23,000 tons of explosives on the enemy! Their success helped the Soviet Air Force bring the fight to the Germans, and by the end of the war, 23 Night Witches were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

British Anti-Submarine Hammers

Let’s move from sky to sea, as we check out the underwater invention that Germany used to dominate the ocean in World War 1; the submarine. This was the first war that saw widespread use of submarines on both sides, and Germany used their so called U-Boats particularly effectively. In fact, they were so powerful that in 1914, one famously took-out three British ships and 1,500 sailors in under an hour.

Back then nobody had invented anti-submarine weapons or technology that could detect them while they were submerged, which allowed the U-Boats to freely approach British ships and attack. But the Brits did know that the submarines relied on their periscopes to spot their targets, which briefly gave away their location.

So early on in the war the British Navy proposed a tactic that involved using small boats to patrol the area around a battleship and search for enemy periscopes peeking out of the water. If the sailors spotted one, they were instructed to approach, climb onto the enemy submarine and hit the periscope with a hammer until it broke!

This would mean that the U-boats wouldn’t be able to target the British battleships unless they fully surfaced, which would let the Brits blast them away! There aren’t any confirmed cases where this proposed tactic was used successfully. But in early 1915, blacksmiths were enlisted on the HMS Exmouth to carry it out, due to their accuracy with hammers!

However, by the second half of 1915 the Brits had developed more advanced anti-submarine weapons, like underwater explosives called depth charges. So, the hammer plan was retired before it was used and unfortunately British sailors never got to take part in the world’s most high-stakes game of whack-a-mole!

War Animals

By the end of World War 2, the US had birthed the ultimate weapon. But before developing the nuclear bomb, America experimented with some more primitive weaponry, like explosives strapped to the chests of bats.

After Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the American army wanted to retaliate with a huge show of force. So they developed a plan to attach incendiary bombs to bats and drop them from planes onto Japanese cities. They knew that a large amount of Japan’s older architecture was built from wood and paper, so letting the booby-trapped bats settle in the ceilings before they exploded would kickstart giant fires!

They put serious thought into this plan, as they developed special bomb carriers that could drop 1,000 bats at a time, like a deadly piñata. By 1945, they’d spent the modern-equivalent of $35 million on development, but ultimately, the atomic bomb was finished before this batty idea was perfected. So the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs were deployed instead, ending the war and cancelling the bat-bomb project.

But this isn’t the only crazy instance of animals being used in war. From 1000-500BCE, ancient Indian kingdoms famously used elephants to charge at the enemy, and this famous image shows an American corporal operating a machine-gun from the back of one during World War 1.

Experts believe this specific photo was just some soldiers messing around, because the US Army didn’t really use elephants as weapon platforms. But elephants were genuinely used during WWI for transporting goods and ploughing crops in England, after most of the country’s horses were purchased by the British military and sent to the frontline. These beasts were taken from zoos, and they could be seen in the UK towns of Horley and Sheffield, doing their bit for the war effort!

But it’s not just land animals that have reported for active duty. Bottlenose dolphins have been used by the US Navy to clear mines from the ocean since 1959. When a mine is nearby the dolphins are trained to recognize it and approach. The creatures can stake the bombs out within 30 seconds, and a location tracker and camera on their flipper lets human-divers follow them, remove the mine and give the dolphin a fish as a reward.

But why dolphins? Well, these incredibly clever mammals have impressive sonar abilities, which allow them to locate objects in murky waters much faster than human divers or submarines! During the Cold War The Soviets even attempted to utilize these underwater abilities and develop attack dolphins. They attached harpoons to the creatures backs and tried to train them to attack enemy divers. But this proved difficult, and when the war ended they abandoned the project!

How Cats Helped Persia Defeat Egypt

With their pyramids, pharaohs and hieroglyphics; ancient Egyptian culture is incredibly iconic. But it turns out their day-to-day lives weren’t so different from ours because they too spent a lot of time doting on their pet cats!

Cats were revered in Egypt for their hunting skills, as they stopped rodents and snakes from eating crops and spreading disease. So over time, the Egyptians came to believe that the animals brought good luck and started to worship them.

They even changed their goddess Bastet from a lioness deity to a major cat deity, and anyone that harmed a cat would automatically get the death sentence, and according to their religion, receive eternal damnation in the afterlife.

This is pretty wholesome, but unfortunately, their love became a weakness around 525BCE, when the Persians attempted to take over Egypt and add it to their expanding empire. As part of this conquest, the Persians attacked the Egyptian city of Pelusium, and they advanced by holding cats out in front of them as they charged, and painting them on their shields.

The Egyptians couldn’t fire arrows or charge back at the enemy without risking harming the cats. So, they had to wait for the enemy to reach them, which let the Persians easily take the city.

The Egyptians lost 50,000 men, and subsequently retreated to the city of Memphis. But later, the Persians sieged Memphis too, captured the Egyptian Pharoah and ruled Egypt for the next 150-years, all because the Egyptians at Pelusium refused to risk hurting a group of kitty-cats! Never underestimate the love of a furry friend!

The Drip Riffle

You might have heard of an Irish goodbye, but what about an Australian exit? During WWI, the Allies fought against the Ottoman Empire in Gallipoli, Turkey, and they devised a clever trick to make it look like they were still engaging in battle after they’d retreated!

After 8-months of fierce trench warfare, the Allies were completely outgunned, and they needed to withdraw and evacuate all their troops from the area. So, to create a quick escape, an Australian soldier called William Scurry invented self-firing guns, by fixing two small ration tins to the top and bottom of a rifle and tying the lower one to the trigger with a piece of string.

When it came time to retreat, a soldier would fill the upper tin with water and punch a hole in its bottom, which would cause the water to trickle down into the other tin. They’d leave these drip-rifles in their trench facing the enemy as they fled. Then as the lower tin filled, its weight would tug on the trigger and fire the gun, convincing the Ottomans that there were still soldiers fighting them and buying the Ally troops time to escape.

When water was scarce, it’s likely other liquids were used too, so it’s entirely possible an Ottoman soldier was struck down by a gun fired with pee. This innovative tactic was so successful, that over 100,000 men were safely evacuated from Gallipoli with only a handful of casualties.

Corned Beef Grenades

Canadians are known for being incredibly friendly, but during the First World War, their soldiers utilized some surprisingly bloodthirsty battle tactics.

The war was pretty miserable for both sides, so the soldiers occasionally fraternized with the enemy, as British and French troops traded supplies with Germans and made small-talk in-between battles. But on one occasion, a group of Canadian soldiers took advantage of this good-will.

A unit of undersupplied Germans were starving in their trench, when a nearby Canadian trench started throwing them tins of corned beef. The hungry Germans collected them, and as they excitedly shouted for more, the Canadian soldiers threw their grenades instead. The Germans ran to the grenades thinking they were cans, and by the time they realized they’d been tricked it was too late.

Today, this would be classed as a War Crime in the Geneva Convention, so thankfully, the modern Canadian army can’t repeat the cruel tactic with the help of planes and modern-rations. This is definitely for the best, and it’s probably a good thing modern-day Canadian’s reserve most of their aggression for the Hockey rink!

Operation Mincemeat

They say you miss every shot you don’t take, and in 1943 British Intelligence Officers took a huge long-shot that completely changed the tide of the second world war! At this point Italy was one of the three-main Axis Powers, so the Allies wanted to invade them and knock them out of the war. They knew they’d have to start by invading the island of Sicily, which was heavily guarded by Axis troops. So, the Brits came up with Operation Mincemeat; an ingenious plan to weaken Sicily’s defenses without using any physical force!

To set the plan in motion, British Intelligence took the body of a deceased homeless man called Glyndwr Michael, and forged documents to make it look like he was a fictional Royal Navy Officer called William Martin. They dressed him in uniform, and filled his pockets with fake letters to family-members, a picture of a fictional fiancée, and detailed plans for a fake Allied invasion of Greece.

Then, they released the body into the ocean near Spain, and hoped it’d be found by the pro-Axis Spanish authorities. It was, and when the planted possessions were handed over to the Germans, they were fooled into thinking they’d found real secret documents.

So they moved their troops from Sicily to defend Greece instead, which allowed the Allies to invade the island and take it in just 38-days. Then, they used it as a jumping-off point to attack the mainland, forcing Italy to promptly surrender and starting a year-and-a-half long invasion that took the country from Germany and directly contributed to the end of the war in Europe! Operation Mincemeat is possibly the greatest trick pulled in history!

Trent Park: Secret Intelligence Base

Lots of people associate spies with silenced pistols and car chases. But in a war, some of the best spy-work involves charming the enemy instead of fighting them. During World War 2, Britain treated their German prisoners of war pretty well, and around 25,000 of them elected to stay in the UK after the war and build a new life instead of returning home.

But, the Brits also tricked their POWs into giving them enemy intelligence, as they housed some of their highest-ranking prisoners at a North-London mansion called Trent Park. This grand-manor housed 59 German generals and a number of lower-ranking officers who were treated like VIPs, with regular walks around the grounds and rations of whisky. They also left the generals completely unguarded and allowed them to talk freely with one another, which is exactly what the British wanted!

As the Germans drank whiskey and talked war plans, battle strategy and politics, the British were secretly listening in through hidden microphones planted in the walls, light fittings, and garden benches! Down in the basement, British agents would note down what they said, allowing them to gain enormous amounts of useful information!

For example, they overheard a general discuss the location of a top-secret V2 rocket site in Germany, that had missiles set to launch at Britain. Thanks to Trent Park, the Brits were able to bomb the site and prevent the missile launch, proving that sometimes, treating the enemy with kindness can help win a war!

Roman-Persian Tunnel Wars

Nowadays, chemical-warfare is associated with gas grenades and nerve agents. But while this feels like a relatively modern military tactic, it turns out chemicals have been used in battle for a long time. Back in the 3rd Century AD, an ancient Roman city called Dura-Europos in modern-day Syria was sieged and taken by Persia. The Persians started by digging tunnels under the city, which prompted the defending Romans to build counter-mines to block them.

But, when archaeologists discovered the mines in the 1920s, they found that the defensive counter-tunnels were full of Roman skeletons that showed no signs of injury or battle-wounds. They had no idea how the Romans were defeated without being injured, until 2009, when another study found residues of bitumen and sulphur in the Roman tunnel.

This let them deduce that as the tunnelling Persians heard the Romans digging towards them, they filled braziers with a mixture of bitumen and sulphur, before lighting them on fire and fleeing as the Roman’s broke through.

This created a cloud of toxic sulphur dioxide, that choked out the Romans in seconds as they entered the Persian tunnel. The Persians were then able to enter Dura-Europos and take the city with minimal resistance, and this is arguably the first archaeological evidence of gas being used in battle.

But it wasn’t the first time that the Romans faced unorthodox tunnel tactics. Back in 72BCE, the Romans besieged the ancient city of Themyscira, in modern-day Turkey. Like the Persians, they started their siege by digging wide tunnels under the city walls, so they could enter it from below. But as they wormed their way under the city, the Themysciran’s defended themselves by cutting wide openings into the Roman tunnels and dropping swarms of bees and bears onto the tunnelling enemy!

Suddenly, the Roman miners had to fight against the angry creatures in the pitch-black tunnels, briefly swinging the battle in the Themysciran’s favor. But unfortunately it was all for nothing, as the Romans did manage to defeat all the animals and go on to capture the city. Still, it was a bold defensive tactic, and it's hard to imagine anything scarier than fighting a bear deep underground!

Hastein: The Viking Who Faked His Way Into The Wrong City

Dying in battle is every warrior’s dream but one Viking leader managed to surpass this goal by successfully taking a city after his funeral. Legend tells of a Viking chieftain called Hastein who attempted to invade Rome in 860AD. But breaking through the city’s heavily guarded gates was no picnic, so Hastein came up with a cunning ruse to surpass them by faking his own death.

He sent a messenger ahead who told the Romans that Hastein had recently passed away, but he was a born-again Christian who’s dying wish was to have a Christian burial in their city. The priests generously agreed, so Hastein set up a phony funeral procession and hid inside the coffin. His accomplices carried him into the city, and once he’d passed the gates, he jumped out and began to pillage and plunder. The enemy was caught off-guard, and the Vikings easily took the city.

However, after the battle Hastein discovered that he’d besieged the wrong city, and had mistakenly taken the ancient Roman town of Luna instead! So, Rome was able to live on, and Hastein never did capture the famous city, making him one of the smartest dumbasses ever!

Ghost Army

Of all the military tactics ever employed, this next one might be the most like a practical joke. Seriously, it’s like something out of Punk’d. In 1944, the US wanted to try their hands at tricking the Germans, like the British did during Operation Mincemeat. So, they employed over 1,000 artists, designers, and engineers to form the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops; a unit that was designed to deceive the enemy.

The unit installed inflatable tanks, planes, and empty tents in Europe to simulate real military units and camps. This made the Allied force look larger than they were, and they’d paint the insignia of real military units on their fake vehicles and broadcast phony radio messages to mislead the enemy about the true location of America’s troops.

When the Allies crossed the Rhine into Germany in 1945, the Unit fooled the Germans into thinking 40,000 soldiers were advancing on them from a specific direction, when the real crossing point was 10-miles away! This caused the Germans to bolster their defenses in the wrong place, letting the Allied troops invade Germany with less resistance!

The unit was so successful in Europe that they were nicknamed the Ghost Army. But its existence was kept secret from the public for 50-years, until it was declassified in 1996 and its deceased and 7-surviving members were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for their service in 2022!

General Chai Shao's Tactics

We all have our guilty-pleasures, and mine is definitely food. I could be tricked into doing almost anything if someone supplies dessert, and in 7th century China, General Chai Shao used his enemies appetites against them.

Shao was defending the Gansu Province from the advancing Tartar army, but his troops were being overpowered by the enemy, and he knew they were going to lose. So, he decided to prey directly on the enemy soldier’s weaknesses by sending women to a hill above the Tartar camp, where they’d dance and play guitar for the enemy troops.

As the women performed, the Tartar soldiers were mesmerized and forgot about the enemy. So, as they stared at the women on the hill, Shao took the opportunity to sneak his army behind them and charge, quickly cutting all of the Tartar warriors down.

Being so thirsty you lose a battle is pretty embarrassing. But to be fair, if you put a freshly baked donut in front of most of us we’d have done the exact same thing!

Syndrome K: How A Fake Disease Saved Lives

You know when you were a kid and you faked being ill to get a day off school? Well, a similar scheme was actually used to save lives back in 1943, whilst the Germans were trying to capture Jewish people in Italy. At the Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Rome, sympathetic Italian doctors took Jewish people in and listed them as patients with a fake illness called Syndrome K.

When German soldiers came looking, the doctors explained that the disease was incredibly dangerous, and the entire Syndrome K ward was treated as a highly contagious zone that nobody could enter. If the Germans pressed the issue the patients would cough and imitate diseases like tuberculosis, making the Germans leave the hospital out of fears of getting infected.

There’s no knowing how many people were protected with this tactic. But the ruse worked successfully until the Allies liberated Rome in June 1944, and historians estimated it could’ve saved hundreds of lives! There you have it folks. A sick day can save your life.

Zhuge Liang: Empty Fort Strategy

Would you believe that a battle could be won by doing absolutely nothing, and one of the most impressive military tactics of all time was also the laziest? Back in the 3rd century AD, a Chinese General called Zhuge Liang was defending the Shu Han Kingdom against the two rival Kingdoms of Wei and Dong Wu. Liang had sent his large army to a faraway camp on a mission, whilst he stayed behind in a town with only a hundred soldiers. But surprisingly, the enemy sprung a surprise attack on the town, advancing with an army of 150,000 men.

Liang knew fighting back was pointless, so instead of facing the enemy, he told his men to hide and leave the town gates wide open.

As the enemy approached, Liang sat on top of a wall completely unarmed, and began playing a song on his lute. The Wei Kingdom general Sima Yi spotted him and immediately ordered his men to stop marching, assuming the open gates and musical routine were part of an intricate trap!

Sima Yi was so concerned that he ordered his army to retreat entirely, leaving the unguarded town alone! So, Liang had successfully won a battle without lifting a finger; well apart from the fingers he used to give that rad concert to his enemy!

If you were amazed at these crazy military techniques, you might want to read about the tunnelers that won WW1! Thanks for reading!