One of his most famous achievements was at the outbreak of the Second Punic War, when he marched an army, which included war elephants, from Iberia over the Pyrenees and the Alps into northern Italy.

Hanno had lost many elephants and soldiers when he became complacent after a victory in the Mercenary War.

* The 37 elephants in Hannibal's army that crossed the Rhône in October / November 218 BC during the Second Punic War, recorded by Livy.

War elephants correspondingly were also heavily armored much like cataphracts, particularly those fielded by the Seleucid Empire, Ancient Carthage and the Persian Empires ( see Persian war elephants ), who incorporated scale armor and large-crested howdahs ( or large carriages mounted directly on the back ) onto the elephants, which effectively turned them into mobile missile platforms that could also charge enemy positions.

Contrary to popular belief, King Mongkut did not offer a herd of war elephants to President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War for use against the Confederacy.

The Siamese Army was utilising war elephants armed with jingals up until the Franco-Siamese War of 1893, while the Vietnamese used them in battle as late as 1885, during the Sino-French War.

During World War I, elephants pulled heavy equipment.

Into the 20th century, non-battle-trained elephants were used for other military purposes as late as World War II, particularly because the animals could perform tasks in regions that were problematic for modern vehicles.

War elephants had tactical weaknesses, however, that enemy forces often learnt to exploit.

War elephants also remain a popular artistic trope, either in the Orientalist painting tradition of the 19th century, or in literature following Tolkien, who popularised a fantastic rendition of war elephants in the form of oliphaunts.

* Mongkut really did write a letter to Washington about elephants, but the offer was unrelated to the Civil War.

During the Persian Empire's height, they even possessed War elephants from North Africa and distant India.

The Carthaginian right wing and center held their ground and the War elephants, before being overcome, initially succeeded in breaking the Roman lines and spreading mass confusion, making the initial combat favorable to Hasdrubal.

The next exponents of combined operations in the ancient world of the Mediterranean Basin were the Carthaginians who introduced two entirely new dimensions to the use of naval forces by staging not only operations that combined naval and land troops, but also eventuated in combining strategic multi-national forces during the land phase of the operation when Hannibal in his most famous achievement at the outbreak of the Second Punic War marched an army that included war elephants, from Iberia over the Pyrenees and the Alps into northern Italy.

During the Second World War, elephants from circuses were put to use to fell trees.

Hamilcar entrusted the conquest and military governance of the region to his son Hasdrubal the Fair-his other son, Hannibal, would march his troops across Hispania with elephants to lead them on Rome in the Second Punic War.

A group of elephants was notably employed by Hannibal during the Second Punic War.

A medieval Armenian miniature representing the Sassanid War elephants in the Battle of Vartanantz.

* War elephants were trained for battle in ancient times and are still used for military transport today.