#8142 Indian Elephant

Dated: August 19th, 2005, updated September 2, 2005, March 5th 2007.

War elephants were among the most impressive and prestigious elements of ancient Indian armies. Their use in warfare developed centuries before Alexander the Great reached the subcontinent, and by the fourth century BC elephants were already a familiar part of the military forces of Indian kingdoms. A ruler's elephant corps could serve both as a battlefield weapon and as a visible symbol of royal power and wealth.

Box art.

On the battlefield, elephants were used to break enemy formations, frighten horses and create confusion among troops unaccustomed to facing them. Their great size allowed crews to see and fight over the heads of infantry, while the animals themselves could push through loose formations and disrupt cavalry. At the same time, elephants had to be handled carefully, since a wounded or panicked animal could become dangerous to its own side.

Each elephant was controlled by a mahout, or driver, seated near the animal's neck. Additional warriors could ride behind him, armed with bows, javelins or other missile weapons. This arrangement allowed the elephant to function as a mobile fighting platform as well as a shock weapon. In early Indian armies, riders commonly sat directly on the animal's back rather than in the large towers associated with some later Hellenistic armies.

Test shot. Each sprue contains the parts to make 1 elephant and 3 crew.

Indian elephants became especially famous to the wider Mediterranean world during Alexander the Great's invasion of India. At the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC, King Porus placed elephants across the front of his army in an attempt to disrupt the Macedonian phalanx and cavalry. Although Alexander eventually won the battle, the encounter demonstrated the strength of Indian elephant forces and helped introduce their use more widely into the armies of the Hellenistic world.

Indian elephant with 3 crew.

The military importance of elephants continued long after Alexander. Indian kingdoms maintained large elephant corps, and rulers of the Mauryan Empire and later states used them in campaigns across the subcontinent. Elephants also became highly valued diplomatic and military assets, sometimes being exchanged, captured or transferred between rulers.

This set contains two Indian elephants and six crew figures. Each animal carries a mahout together with two fighting men, one equipped with javelins and the other with a bow. The figures wear loose clothing and wrapped headgear suitable for ancient Indian warriors, while the elephants are fitted with large cloth coverings and neck bells.

The riders are separate from the elephants, allowing the modeller to vary their positions or reduce the crew if desired. The three-man arrangement is particularly useful for representing an Indian elephant in active battle, with the mahout controlling the animal while the two warriors provide missile fire from its back.

The set can be used for a wide range of ancient Indian armies, especially those of the fourth and third centuries BC. It is particularly suitable for the armies encountered by Alexander the Great and for later Indian kingdoms in which elephant corps remained an important part of military organization.

Combined with our Macedonian Elephant, this set also illustrates the transfer of elephant warfare from India into the Hellenistic world. The Indian Elephant represents the animal in its original battlefield setting, while the Macedonian version shows how Alexander and his successors adapted the same military resource for their own armies.