France's army was the last army in Europe that uses postal pigeons

Thus, in June 1916, the largest battle of the First World War broke out under Verden. French and German soldiers have been fighting for every square meter for four months. And when the Germans finally managed to surround a strategically important military object for the Form and to block all channels of communication, it was the dove by the nickname Wilant brought the news of a serious situation on the battlefield. He flew the wounded, conveyed the message with the words: "This is my last dove.

" Although the fortress moved to the Germans, hundreds of soldiers were evacuated and the heroic bird was awarded a military cross for bravery in battle. Pigeons are now trained in the Mon-Walerren Fortress in Surena. On this historic military facility, located in just a few minutes by train from Paris, more than 150 military pigeons of the French army are kept.

France, which is proud of having one of the most modern armies in Europe, is the last country on the continent, where there are still postal pigeons. Marshal's grandfather, Silven's lodges, bred up with racing pigeons. His grandson is now responsible for maintaining traditions in the French army. Birds have access to 26 hectares of green spaces and six pigeons with a landscape to the capital and the Eiffel Tower for excursions. "There are places for work and worse," Silven says, smiling happy.

The sergeant is not allowed to disclose his full name. France tries to protect servicemen and police from attacks after terrorist attacks in 2015. The 43-year-old man initially went into the army as a drone operator, but in 2014 he finally joined the eighth regiment of communication of the French army. It controls the communication and information systems of the army and provides quick and safe transmission of messages, information and orders.

The Mon-Walerian pigeons officially belong to the regiment, but mostly Silvane cares for them. "We start with short training flights on the site, then we move away and further from the pigeon," Silven explains. Depending on the training of birds, they are released individually or in groups, and they have to find the way home. Thus, young birds gradually develop the necessary muscles and gain experience. The sergeant indicates adults, but a little weight loss birds in the attic.

At first glance, they are no different from pigeons, which are gathered in every big city and usually have a bad reputation. But these birds others say, "They are sprinters and can develop a maximum speed up to 120 kilometers per hour up to 100 kilometers. " Their stronger colleagues succeed in endurance and can easily overcome the 1000 kilometers. However, the record is much higher: in 1931, the pigeon flew from Hosimin in Vietnam to Arras in France and overcame 11,590 kilometers in 24 days.

The fact that the bird withstands wind and bad weather day and night shows how hardy and persistent these animals are and how unmistakably they find the way home. Their home is always the place of birth and feeding, which animals find, even if it is mobile, such as a mobile pigeon. However, researchers still cannot understand why pigeons are so unusual. It is proved that pigeons are oriented on optical landmarks, sun position and Earth's magnetic field.

However, it remains unclear how animals determine their exact position when they are thrown in a completely unfamiliar place for them. In ancient times, people used pigeons to exchange information. Their military use reached its peak during the First World War: about 60,000 birds were used as linked in the battlefields, of which more than 30,000 used only the French armed forces.

During the Second World War, the British supported the French resistance of nearly 17,000 pigeons, which were thrown on parachutes or crossed to France by smuggling in pockets of coats, backpacks and baskets for information to allies. Hundreds of pigeons were accompanied by landing troops of the Allies in Normandy, so that important and, above all, without intercepting important messages through the enemy lines.

Among other things, Gustav's dove was famous, which brought the news of the successful landing of the Union troops in England on the day "D". The pneumatic tube on Gustav's foot contained a message from the Reuters information agency, which witnessed the landing in Normandy. The messages were written on very thin paper. Pigeons can only be transported about 400 grams; Heavy cargo impairs their ability to fly.

However, during and after the Second World War, France, Germany and the United States were experimented with tied to pigeons of small air reconnaissance cameras. The idea did not receive military support because animals are confidently heading to one specific destination: to their home dove. However, the frames of pigeon chambers in the fortress museum are reminiscent of trying to use birds as biological drones.

The MES Walerine stores commemorative things from Switzerland, such as transport baskets and containers for valuable messages. In this country, the army dismantled its military pigeons in 1994 and released about 30,000 feathered soldiers. This decision has caused discussions across the country. The initiative was even made to secure the protection of postal pigeons in the Constitution, but unsuccessfully.

In the late 1960s, France decided to release pigeons from real military service, but the tradition of breeding racing pigeons should be preserved. Also in order to further honor the historical contribution of birds. Today, Silven supports his birds primarily in the form for competitions, commemorative events and beauty pageants that take place throughout the country. Although they will still be in working order when "all army communication systems will fail at the same time," Silven says.

Modern technologies have made feathered soldiers outdated - at least in Europe. The military usefulness of birds was the focus earlier this year, when India released a suspected Chinese pigeon, which was held for several months by the Mumbai police for several months. The bird was suspected of espionage. What caused fun all over the world is not so far -fetched.

Back in 2010, China announced that he would create a "Golubin Reserve Army" that will support the traditional communication infrastructure of the China (NVAK) People's Liberation Army in the event of a war if modern technologies fail. The Defense Ministry then explained that military pigeons will also be used for "special operations". More than 10,000 feathered soldiers undergo special training for this purpose in a special unit of NVAK.

Modernization in China has worried lovers of pigeons in the west. Calls for reconstruction and expansion of new units of military pigeons have been made of fear of losing. In France, Jean-Pierre Deul, a senator of the French Parliament and a lover of pigeons, several years ago he directly turned to the Ministry of Defense and called for a massive increase in the livestock of army birds. The ministry referred to a large number of modern independent communication systems in the French army.

However, Decool assured that if there is a real need for sports pigeons, the government will expect pigeon lovers in the country. We will remind, scientists conducted research and found that pigeons are much smarter than everyone thinks. The author of the new study, Edwin Dalmeyer of Bristol University, came to work with biologists Tako Sasaki and Dora Biro, published in 2017.