In desperation during the early stages of Operation Barbarossa, the Soviet military deployed anti-tank dogs—animals trained to carry explosives under enemy armored vehicles. The dogs wore a harness holding 10–12 kg of explosives with a wooden lever that would trigger detonation when pushed down as the dog crawled beneath a tank.
The program had a fundamental flaw: the dogs had been trained using Soviet diesel-powered tanks. In combat, they often ran toward the familiar smell of Soviet vehicles rather than the gasoline-powered German panzers. Some dogs, terrified by gunfire they hadn't encountered in training, ran back to their handlers' trenches—with armed explosives still attached.
Despite these problems, Soviet sources claim the dogs destroyed about 300 German tanks. The Germans, alarmed by the tactic, issued orders to shoot all dogs on sight near the front lines. The program was quietly phased out by 1942 as more conventional anti-tank weapons became available, though dogs continued to be used for mine detection and other roles.