...then should the warlike Harry, like himself,
assume the port of Mars, and at his heels,
leashed in like hounds, should famine, sword, and fire
crouch for employment.

Shakespeare

Traditionally, the dogs of war are Phobos and Deimos, Fear and Panic, the hounds of Ares, God of War. Shakespeare's phrase is used to great effect in the demi-climax of Greg Bear's Moving Mars, as the signal for the moons of Mars to be placed immediately into near Earth orbit.

Novel by Frederick Forsyth, first published in 1975. The main character is Cat Shannon, an Irish mercenary who is contracted out to overthrow the tyrannical government of Zangaro. It just so happens that this poor busted-arse West African country was discovered to be awash in platinum, and Shannon's principal, an avaricious British mining magnate called Sir James Mason, wants the lion's share : Knocking off a bank or an armored truck is merely crude. Knocking off an entire republic has, I feel, a certain style

The novel was adapted into a film in 1981 with Christopher Walken playing the role of Shannon.

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