Jump to content

3rd WW, battle for the Arctic (Cold war period)

Perun
 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 879
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Posted Images

Perun Crew

Perun

Posted
  • Author
Posted

U.S. Marine Units Struggle to Cope With Norway's Arctic

HARSTAD, Norway, March 24 — The Marine Corps general entered the permafrost theater a bit later than planned. Unfortunately, someone had booked his ticket to the war on an airline that will not start flying there until next month.

After two weeks of manuevers above the Arctic Circle, the general's confused arrival was not the only sign that when it comes to combat in the cold, the United States’ military commitment to defend Norway against Soviet incursion is still in a rudimentary phase.

There were snowshoes that looked like they had been left to the Marine Corps in the will of Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, stoves that heated poorly, gigantic awkward boots of go‐go dancer white that hobbled the troops while requiring them to change soggy socks four or five times a day, a machine‐gun position so poorly chosen it would have meant automatic failure in officer candidate school, squads of riflemen who had never seen each other before and probably never will again, and a rate of mobility about 80 percent under top standard.

There were improvements, too, over past performances, when the Americans’ lack of expertise left some Norwegians commenting ironically about the Marines’ reputation as an elite fighting force. But more than two years after American units began practicing Arctic warfare here, the impression lingers that the United States has not been able to devise a formula for making the most effective use of its forces on NATO's northern flank.

This year's maneuvers brought two companies, 266 regulars from the Second Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and 168 reservists from the Albany, N.Y., area and scattered points in Maine and Massachusetts, to the .snow of Troms County. 1.000 miles north of Oslo and 350 miles from the Soviet border. They joined in mock combat with about 8,000 men from specialized units of the Norwegian, Canadian and Dutch armies and the British Royal Marines.

The landscape here pushes together a New England red farmhouse softness and the hard edge of the mountains rising out of the fjords. With a little sun, the area has the blue sky stuff of ski vacation folders, but the weather changes unpredictably and viciously. When it goes bad, staying alive takes great skill.

Strategically, this terrain and that further north in Finnmark County is of high interest to the Soviet Union because from it the sea lanes to Murmansk, a supply center and base of the Soviet nuclear submarine fleet, could be threatened. In time of trouble, the Marines’ mission would be to reinforce the Norwegians.

Since late 1976, American units have participated five times in manuevers in northern Norway. At first, the Norwegian attitude was indulgent — no one expected the Marine Corps to schuss from landing craft into Narvik. But last year, a newspaper account here told of a group of marines in a state of near exhaustion being rescued by helicopter from a mountainside. A Norwegian lieutenant who accompanied the group told a friend: “There was no failure of strength or will, but just an inability to cope. The elementary mistakes were overwhelming.”

There were also a number of cold weather injuries, which usually indicate poor equipment, inexperience and lack of preparation. This time, the weather was milder than usual and the cold weather problems were fewer, although there were 11 cases of flu among the reservists during the first week, a high percentage, and. a Marine regular suffered from hypothermia, a dangerous loss of body heat.

The details seem trifling, but they form a mosaic. When John Berg, the military correspondent of Aftenposten, the country's largest newspaper, was told that the marines wore boots of a type that made them change socks almost continually, he said: “That's the kind of thing that makes you want to tell them, ‘If you want to do the job up here, do it well. Otherwise drop it.”

As individuals, the marines just laugh at that idea.

Lying on planks spread over the snow inside the low‐slung tent that served as his command post, Capt. Jerry Humble, who has had three consecutive years of Arctic training, leaned toward a stove where canteen cups were being used to heat spiced tea.

“Norwegian stove,” he said. “Ours just doesn't cut it. We're just not up to the state of the art. Our equipment is too old and too heavy. I have my men get rid about half the things in their packs so that they can move a little.”

“Even so,” he said, “with full packs on and combat conditions we can move about one kilometer an hour. The Norwegians move four or five.”

Norwegian discussion of the Marine Corps role in the north wanders from the level of caution as it gets further away from the area of official statements.

Johan Jorgen Hoist, the Under Secretary of Defense, describes American reinforcement and participation as the “sine qua non for security in the area.”

“To the extent that the Marine Corps appears to be a service in search of a mission, we think we have one here. I hope we can clarify the role of the corps in the area, however. We think that the groups that participate in the exercises should be the ones that would come here in a real situation.”

As restated by Anders Sjaastad, a military analyst on the staff of the Norwegian Foreign Policy Institute, a group that is financed by the Government and often reflects its thinking, this means “that the whole thing lacks continuity.”

“A couple of companies come, spend some time in the snow and that's the last we hear of them. The Marine Corps should designate its Arctic units, which it hasn't done, and then train them hard.”

As far as the Norwegians are concerned, no place in North America can be used to simulate the climatic conditions here, which involve extremely dangerous combinations of humidity, sudden rainstorms and brutal cold. They say the Americans can cope with conditions only if they train in the area for longer periods, returning to develop their skills year after year.

John Berg, the military correspondent, says the example of the British Royal Marines is a good one. They began coming to Norway in 1970 and soon conceded they needed more intensive training. They now train for seven weeks a year here, which Mr. Berg describes as a minimum, and are considered an effective unit,

When he was asked if he thought the Marine Corps participation was now satisfactory, Mr. Hoist maintained his Norwegian tact: “There's always a discrepancy between the ideal world and reality. But we could firm it up some more.”

https://www.nytimes.com/1979/03/26/archives/us-marine-units-struggle-to-cope-with-norways-arctic-two-us.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Perun Crew

Perun

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Shield and Sword
The United States Navy and the Persian Gulf War
By Edward J. Marolda, Robert John Schneller · 1998

https://books.google.com/books/download/Shield_and_Sword.pdf?id=6AZWSo3jwToC&output=pdf&hl=en&gl=hr

 

many interesting data from that period which partly could be used in scenario for North Atlantic 1989.

Edited by Perun
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...