History Main / WarElephants

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* OlderThanFeudalism as Hannibal of Carthage actually used war elephants in many campaigns.

* In ''{{Berserk}}'', the [[SimSimSalabim Kushan Empire]] utilizes war elephants during its invasion of Midland. And some of the elephants are used as familiars, which ends up giving them a more anthropomorphic appearance.

* Gohma Crusher's from AsurasWrath.

* The AgeOfEmpires] series uses elephants, in keeping with its historical theme. The first game gives War Elephants (which attack with their tusks), Armored Elephants (an upgrade of War Elephants with improved armor and attacks), and Elephant Archers (where the elephant in question does not attack at all, but the Bowman mounted on its back does). The first game also has wild elephants which can be hunted for food (though strangely, they cannot be domesticated; elephant units simply create a domestic elephant and rider). The Sequel dials back the elephants; they are the unique unit of the Persians, and attack with no rider.

* Appears in ''VideoGame/AgeOfMythology'' as the Egyptian faction's strongest cavalry unit.

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* The [[AgeOfEmpires]] series uses elephants, in keeping with its historical theme. The first game gives War Elephants (which attack with their tusks), Armored Elephants (an upgrade of War Elephants with improved armor and attacks), and Elephant Archers (where the elephant in question does not attack at all, but the Bowman mounted on its back does). The first game also has wild elephants which can be hunted for food (though strangely, they cannot be domesticated; elephant units simply create a domestic elephant and rider). [[TheSequel]] dials back the elephants; they are the unique unit of the Persians, and attack with no rider.

* Xerxes' army uses elephants against the Spartans in ''ThreeHundred'', but they fall to their deaths off a cliff. Keeping in line with the "exotic nature" of this trope, the Persians also have a War Rhinoceros.

* Xerxes' army uses elephants against the Spartans in ''ThreeHundred'', but they fall to their deaths off a cliff.
* Used in ''Film/LordOfTheRings'', as in the books.

* Prince John from ''Disney/RobinHood'' has a pair of elephants pulling his carriage. The elephants also serve as trumpeters (using their trunks as trumpets) as well.

* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', the Southrons ride to battle on "Oliphaunts" (as the hobbits call them) or ''mûmakil'' (as they're referred to by the Men of Gondor). Sam is very excited when he gets to see one at a distance.

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' had a few Elephant or Mammoth cards in previous editions.

* In ''WorldOfWarcraft'', the Draenei utilize elekks (elephant-like creatures brought over from their homeworld) as their racial mount. Mammoths are also available to players in the northern region.
* Elephants are a staple of the ''AgeOfEmpires'' series.

* Alexander the Great first encountered war elephants in India, and his general Seleukos got 500 of them in return for peace with an Indian king. He used these to gain a decisive advantage over the other Macedonian generals in the Wars of the Successors, eventually conquering the lion's share of Alexander's empire. Elephants were used in many Hellenistic armies after that, and were helpful for instance in defeating the Galatians in Turkey in the 3rd century BC. However, after a while, professional soldiers got used to the sight of elephants, meaning their psychological impact was lost. The Romans never adopted the practice of using them.

* In ''TheBlackCompany'' war elephants are used during during the Battle at Charm, and it is mentioned that they come from the Jewel Cities.
** They are also used at Dejagore.

* In ''TheLordOfTheRings'', the Southrons ride to battle on "Oliphaunts" (as the hobbits call them) or ''mûmakil'' (as they're referred to by the Men of Gondor). Sam is very excited when he gets to see one at a distance.

* ''MagicTheGathering'' had a few Elephant or Mammoth cards in previous editions.

* Appears in ''AgeOfMythology'' as the Egyptian faction's strongest cavalry unit.

* ''DwarfFortress'', as of DF:2010, allows elephants to be trained for war.

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* In ''{{Animorphs}}'', Rachel and her elephant morph. True, she's only one elephant, but the 'army' is the rest of the group.

This trope is very much TruthInTelevision as historically, Persians and various Kingdoms in India and the middle east used Elephants in war as they are large, strong and highly trainable creatures who can carry multiple men high up on their backs, often officers who could get a raised view of the battle field, or archers and artillery, who could get clear views of targets.

War Elephants are categorized as a Type 1 LivingWeapon. Compare HorseOfADifferentColor

* {{Animorphs}} Rachel and her elephant morph. True, she's only one elephant, but the 'army' is the rest of the group.

* In ''{{Civilization}} 2'', war elephants are available as a unit. This is [[FridgeLogic inexplicably available as a result of discovering polytheism.]]
** In ''{{Civilization}}'' III they are the Indians' special unit, which they get instead of Knights when they invent Chivalry. Their stats are the same as Knights but they don't require any strategic resources to build (and thus can be built anywhere at any time).

* In ''WorldOfWarcraft'', the Draenei utilize eleks (elephant-like creatures brought over from their homeworld) as their racial mount. Mammoths are also available to players in the northern region.

* The people of {{Thailand}} have historically ridden elephants into battle. They are sacred animals there.

If you want to make an army look exotic and threatening, give them War Elephants. War Mammoths work too, or whatever the [[CallARabbitASmerp fantasy equivelent]] might be. In any case, they tend to be super-sized to the point where they almost qualify as war-barges with tusks.

* In WorldOfWarcraft, the Draenei utilize eleks (elephant-like creatures brought over from their homeworld) as their racial mount. Mammoths are also available to players in the northern region.

If you want to make an army look exotic and threatening, give them WarElephants. Or you know, war mammoths, one of the two. It's usually hard to decide which exactly the creatures are trying to be, or whether they are some fantasy equivalent, because they tend to be super-sized to the point where they almost qualify as war-barges, with hugely long tusks.

Contrary to popular believe, elephants are not afraid of mice. They are however afraid of pigs.

* Xerxes army used elephants against the Spartans in ''ThreeHundred''. they basically fell tot heir deaths off a cliff though.

* In ''Film/LordOfTheRings'', Mordor's army had people from the south who used ridiculously massive elephant creatures with huge tusks. In-world, the hobbits referred to them as 'Oliphaunts'.

* OlderThanDirt as Hannibal of Carthage actually used war elephants in many campaigns.