The relationship between elephants and human warfare goes back thousands of years. Many species of elephant saw extensive use as mounts across the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia. The North African elephant’s use in military campaigns by the Phoenicians and Macedonians is particularly well documented, but gradually declined in Europe as their combat and Roman gladiatorial use hastened their extinction (via Scoop Empire). In Asia, elephants continued to see front-line combat into the age of gunpowder, at which point they became a liability in this role (via Culture Trip). 

Unlike Europe, however, where there was no longer easy access to the massive animals, Asian elephants were still a relatively common sight. As they could still be used to carry massive amounts of materials, elephants remained useful to militaries for many more centuries. During World War II, an Indian elephant named Lin Wang was so valued that he and others were on multiple occasions captured alive by the Japanese and Chinese militaries (via CNN).

Not only a war veteran, but the oldest captive Asian elephant

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