War elephants were significant, although not widespread, weapons in ancient military history. Their main use was in charges, to trample the enemy and/or break their ranks. They were probably first employed in India, where the elephant corps served as one of the four classical wings of the Indian Army.
In the Hellenistic period of Greece, they were also used by the Diadochi to protect against cavalry attack. Their most famous use in the West was by the warlord Pyrrhus and in great numbers by the armies of Carthage. In the Mediterranean, improved tactics reduced the value of the elephant in battle while their availability also decreased. In India it was the cannon that finally brought the use of the combat elephant to an end, limiting them thereafter to engineering and labour roles.
It is commonly thought that all war elephants were male because of males' greater aggression, but this was not always true.
