Lessons in Arctic Operations: the Canadian Army Experience, 1945-1956 P
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Documents on Canadian Arctic Sovereignty and Security LESSONS IN NORTHERN OPERATIONS: CANADIAN ARMY DOCUMENTS, 1945-56 P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Peter Kikkert Documents on Canadian Arctic Sovereignty and Security (DCASS) ISSN 2368-4569 Series Editors: P. Whitney Lackenbauer Adam Lajeunesse Managing Editor: Ryan Dean Lessons in Arctic Operations: The Canadian Army Experience, 1945-1956 P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Peter Kikkert DCASS Number 7, 2016 Covers: Arctic Institute of North America, Operation Musk Ox photos z57e0002; z57e0004 Centre for Military, Security and Centre on Foreign Policy and Federalism Strategic Studies St. Jerome’s University University of Calgary 290 Westmount Road N. 2500 University Dr. N.W. Waterloo, ON N2L 3G3 Calgary, AB T2N 1N4 Tel: 519.884.8110 ext. 28233 Tel: 403.220.4030 www.sju.ca/cfpf www.cmss.ucalgary.ca Arctic Institute of North America University of Calgary 2500 University Drive NW, ES-1040 Calgary, AB T2N 1N4 Tel: 403-220-7515 http://arctic.ucalgary.ca/ Copyright © the authors/editors, 2016 Permission policies are outlined on our website http://cmss.ucalgary.ca/research/arctic-document-series Lessons in Arctic Operations: The Canadian Army Experience, 1945-1956 P. Whitney Lackenbauer, Ph.D. and Peter Kikkert, Ph.D. Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................ iv Appendix: Canadian Army Exercises in the Canadian North, 1945-55 ................. xxvi List of Acronyms ................................................................................................ xxviii 1. Lessons Learned Winter Exercises, 1945-54 ...................................... 1 EXERCISE “ESKIMO” ............................................................................. 2 EXERCISE “POLAR BEAR” ................................................................... 10 EXERCISE “LEMMING” ....................................................................... 19 EXERCISE “MUSK OX” ........................................................................ 31 EXERCISE “MOCCASIN” ..................................................................... 42 EXERCISE “SIGLOO” ............................................................................ 45 EXERCISE “SWEETBRIAR” .................................................................. 51 EXERCISE “SUN DOG ONE” ............................................................... 69 EXERCISE “CROSS-COUNTRY” ......................................................... 79 EXERCISE “SHOO FLY ONE” .............................................................. 82 EXERCISE “SUN DOG TWO” .............................................................. 93 EXERCISE “SHOO FLY II” .................................................................. 100 EXERCISE “POLESTAR” ..................................................................... 106 EXERCISE “SUN DOG THREE” ........................................................ 117 EXERCISE “DEER FLY” ...................................................................... 126 EXERCISE “BULL PUP” ...................................................................... 136 EXERCISE “BULL DOG” .................................................................... 144 EXERCISE “PRAIRIE TUNDRA” ........................................................ 158 EXERCISE “LOUP GAROU” ............................................................... 166 EXERCISE BULLDOG II ..................................................................... 170 2. A Guide to the Planning and Execution of Operations in the North (c1956) ............................................................................................ 176 TOPOGRAPHY AND METEOROLOGY ........................................... 178 PREPARATION AND PLANNING ..................................................... 181 SELECTION AND TRAINING OF PERSONNEL ............................. 184 COMMAND AND CONTROL ........................................................... 188 ORGANIZATION ................................................................................ 189 GROUND BATTLE ............................................................................. 190 ASSAULT TACTICS ............................................................................. 192 NAVIGATION ..................................................................................... 197 ii PATROLS.............................................................................................. 200 RECONNAISSANCE ........................................................................... 201 MOVEMENT AND MOBILITY .......................................................... 204 CAMOUFLAGE, CONCEALMENT AND DECEPTION .................. 208 DEFENCE ............................................................................................. 209 WITHDRAWAL ................................................................................... 213 FIRE SUPPORT .................................................................................... 214 TANK SUPPORT ................................................................................. 216 ENGINEER SUPPORT ........................................................................ 217 COMMUNICATIONS ......................................................................... 219 MEDICAL ............................................................................................. 224 TRANSPORT AIR SUPPORT.............................................................. 226 TACTICAL AIR SUPPORT ................................................................. 228 LOGISTICS .......................................................................................... 229 ADMINISTRATION ............................................................................ 230 3. Defence Research Northern Labratory Report No. 9/55, “The Human Factor in Arctic Operations,” by M.F. Coffey (26 October 1955) ..... 233 ABSTRACT ........................................................................................... 233 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 233 CONDITIONS OF THE SMALL SCALE ARCTIC OPERATION .... 234 THE PROBLEMS OF COMBAT INCENTIVE .................................. 235 CORRECTIVE MEASURES ................................................................ 240 MORALE .............................................................................................. 243 INDOCTRINATION TRAINING ...................................................... 244 MANUAL DEXTERITY IN THE COLD ............................................ 244 EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL...................................................... 245 THE LARGE SCALE OPERATION .................................................... 247 REFERENCES ...................................................................................... 247 Further Reading ............................................................................... 248 iii Introduction P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Peter Kikkert1 “Throughout the 20th century, Arctic capabilities within the Canadian Army (CA) have waxed and waned in response to a range of pressures,” the authors of Northern Approaches: The Army Arctic Concept 2021 noted in 2013.2 This observation, made at a time when the Canadian Armed Forces has renewed its focus on general Arctic training and equipment and is rebuilding its Arctic capabilities to meet the challenges of a changing Arctic security environment, acknowledges the oscillating cycles of interest and disinterest that have marked the military’s relationship with the North.3 Unfortunately, many of the lessons learned from these previous experiences have been long forgotten, forcing the Canadian Army to relearn how best to prepare for and conduct Arctic and Subarctic operations. The documents in this volume provide insights into the Canadian Army’s previous attempts to secure a better knowledge of the characteristics of Northern operations from 1945-55. During this decade, the Army conducted an extensive series of Subarctic and Arctic training exercises designed to “improve army tactics, techniques, and procedures for living and fighting in the North.”4 Most of these exercises were small-scale, with short durations and limited aims, often “more in the nature of trials than tactical manoeuvres.”5 Nevertheless, they yielded valuable 1 We wish to thank undergraduate research assistant Corah Hodgson for her methodical transcription work and Dr. Ken Eyre for allowing us to build this introduction around our co- authored chapter on “Lessons in Arctic Warfare: The Army Experience, 1945-55” forthcoming in Canadian Armed Forces Arctic Operations, 1945-2015: Historical and Contemporary Lessons Learned, edited by Adam Lajeunesse and P. Whitney Lackenbauer. We also wish to recognize the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Insight Grant No. 435-2015-1140 on Canadian-American Relations in the Cold War Arctic, 1946-72 that facilitated research for this document collection. 2 Northern Approaches: The Army Arctic Concept 2021 (Kingston: Canadian Army Land Warfare Centre, 2013), 6. 3 On the deterioration of military capabilities in the 1990s, for example, see Canadian Forces Northern Area, Arctic Capabilities Study (2000). 4 Godefroy, In Peace Prepared, 85. 5 “Guide to Planning and Execution of Operations in the North,” Department of National Defence (DND), Directorate of History and Heritage (DHH), 122.3M3 (D2), ii. The Army’s operational