View source for Social:Cold-weather warfare

{{short description|Type of warfare}}
[[File:Royal Marine Reservists Training in Norway MOD 45156923.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|Royal Marine reservists training for winter operations]]
{{Campaignbox Winter War}}{{Campaignbox Axis–Soviet War}}{{Campaignbox Arctic (1941–1944)}}{{Campaignbox Arctic Naval Operations of WWII}}{{Campaignbox Aleutians}}{{Campaignbox Korean War}}{{Campaignbox Indo-Pakistani Wars}}{{War}}
'''Cold-weather warfare''', also known as '''arctic warfare''' or '''winter warfare''', encompasses military operations affected by snow, ice, thawing conditions or cold, both on land and at sea. Cold-weather conditions occur year-round at high elevation or at high latitudes, and elsewhere materialise seasonally during the winter period. [[Earth:Mountain warfare|Mountain warfare]] often takes place in cold weather or on terrain that is affected by ice and snow, such as the Alps and the Himalayas. Historically, most such operations have been during winter in the [[Earth:Northern Hemisphere|Northern Hemisphere]]. Some have occurred above the Arctic Circle where snow, ice and cold may occur throughout the year. At times, cold or its aftermath—thaw—has been a decisive factor in the failure of a campaign, as with the French invasion of Russia in 1812, the Soviet invasion of Finland in 1939,<ref>[https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/white-death "White Death"]. New Orleans: National WWII Museum. Retrieved 13 August 2019.</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Lessons from the Winter War: Frozen Grit and Finland's Fabian Defense|url=https://warontherocks.com/2016/07/lessons-from-the-winter-war-frozen-grit-and-finlands-fabian-defense/|last=Rehman|first=Iskander|date=20 July 2016|website=War on the Rocks|language=en-US|access-date=2 May 2020}}</ref> and the German invasion of the Soviet Union during [[Social:World War II|World War II]].

==History==
Northern and Eastern Europe were the venues for some well-documented winter campaigns. During World War II several actions took place above the Arctic Circle. Recent cold-weather conflicts have occurred in the Himalayas.

===Pre–1800===
[[File:Tåget öfver Bält (Carl Andreas Dahlström).png|thumb|The 1658 March Across the Belts in the Second Northern War]]
In 1242, the Teutonic Order lost the Battle on the Ice on Lake Peipus to Novgorod. In 1520, the decisive Battle of Bogesund between Sweden and Denmark occurred on the ice of lake Åsunden.<ref name="Nicolle">{{cite book|last=Nicolle|first=David|title=Lake Peipus 1242: Battle of the Ice|year=1996|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=9781855325531|page=41}}</ref>

In 1643 or 1644, Prince Rupert made an abortive attack on the Parliamentarian stronghold of Aylesbury England. 500 men are reported to have frozen to death on 21 January. On 25 January a sudden thaw caused a bridge to collapse over the River Weaver, splitting Royalist cavalry forces at the Battle of Nantwich resulting in their defeat.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Peter |last2=Holmes |first2=Richard |author-link2=Peter Young (historian) |title=The English Civil War: A Military History of the Three Civil Wars 1642–1651 |year=1974 |publisher=Methuen Publishing |isbn=978-0-413-29440-1 |pages = 175–6}}</ref>

The 1557 Siege of Katsurayama in was fought between the forces of the Japanese ''daimyō'' Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin as part of the Kawanakajima campaigns. Katsurayama castle was a strategically vital Uesugi stronghold in the contested Shinano Province and, when it was isolated from reinforcements due to late snow in early 1557, the Takeda clan used this opportunity to seize it under Baba Nobuharu, shielded from view by heavy snowfall.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Turnbull|first=Stephen|title=Kawanakajima 155364 : Samurai Power Struggle.|url=https://archive.org/details/kawanakajima00turn|url-access=limited|date=2003|publisher=Osprey Pub|others=Reynolds, Wayne.|isbn=978-1-84603-652-1|location=Oxford|pages=[https://archive.org/details/kawanakajima00turn/page/n90 14]|oclc=476231761}}</ref>

Sweden and Denmark fought several wars during the 16th and 17th centuries. As a great deal of Denmark consists of islands, it was usually safe from invasion, but in January 1658, most of the Danish waters froze. Charles X Gustav of Sweden led his army across the ice of the Belts to besiege [[Place:Copenhagen|Copenhagen]]. The war ended with the treaty of Roskilde, a treaty very favorable to the Swedish.<ref>{{cite book | last=Lindqvist | first=Herman | title=Historien om Sverige | publisher=Norstedt | location=Stockholm | year=1992 | isbn=978-91-1-932112-1 | oclc=28079124 | language=da }}</ref>

During the Great Northern War, Swedish king Charles XII set off to invade Moscow, but was eventually defeated at the Battle of Poltava after being weakened by cold weather and [[Social:Scorched earth|scorched earth]] tactics. Sweden suffered more casualties during the same war as Carl Gustaf Armfeldt with 6,000 men tried to invade [[Place:Trondheim|Trondheim]].  Three thousand of them died of exposure in the snow during the Carolean Death March.<ref>{{cite book |last=Oakley |first=Stewart P. |title=War and Peace in the Baltic, 1560–1790 |publisher=Routledge |year=2005}}</ref>

===19th century===
During the Finnish War, the Russian army unexpectedly crossed the frozen Gulf of Bothnia from {{wipe|Finland}} to Åland and, by 19 March 1809, reached the Swedish shore within {{convert|70|km}} from the Swedish capital, [[Place:Stockholm|Stockholm]]. This daring maneuvre decided the outcome of the war.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mattila |first1=Tapani |title=Meri maamme turvana |trans-title=Sea safeguarding our country |year=1983 |publisher=K. J. Gummerus Osakeyhtiö |location=Jyväskylä |language=fi |isbn=951-99487-0-8}}</ref>

Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812 resulted in retreat in the face of winter<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16929522 |title=Napoleon's failure: For the want of a winter horseshoe |work=BBC News magazine |author=Professor Saul David |date=9 February 2012 |access-date=9 February 2012 |archive-date=24 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724123811/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16929522 |url-status=dead }}</ref> with the majority of the French army succumbing to [[Medicine:Frostbite|frostbite]] and starvation, rather than combat injuries.<ref name="The Wordsworth Pocket Encyclopedia p. 17">{{cite book | title=The Wordsworth pocket encyclopedia | publisher=Wordsworth Editions | year=1994 | isbn=978-1-85326-301-9 | oclc=59840596 | page=17}}</ref>

The Battle of Weihaiwei was a battle of the First Sino-Japanese War in the winter of 1895 in Weihai, Shandong, China between the forces of the [[Place:Empire of Japan|Japan]] and Qing China. Through a well coordinated offensive of both naval and land forces, hampered by snow and cold, the Japanese destroyed the forts on shore and sank much of the Chinese fleet.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Evans|first=David C.|title=Kaigun : strategy, tactics, and technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887–1941|others=Peattie, Mark R., 1930–|date=15 January 2015|isbn=978-1-61251-425-3|edition=First Naval Institute Press paperback|location=Annapolis, Md.|pages=46|oclc=897464699}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160">
File:Night Bivouac of Great Army.jpg|A bivouac of Napoleon's army during retreat from Russia in 1812
File:Ogata Gekko General Major Odera Yasuzumi in the Battle of Weihaiwei.jpg|Japanese troops during the 1895 Battle of Weihaiwei
</gallery>

===20th century===
==== World War I ====
[[File:10-2 Foto Bonardi.jpg|thumb|Italian mountain troops in WWI]]

During [[Social:World War I|the First World War]], soldiers on the Western front involved in [[Earth:Trench warfare|trench warfare]] were forced to deal with freezing conditions, [[Medicine:Trench foot|trench foot]], frostbite, and disease. The winter of 1916-17 was exceptionally cold, which caused great hardship and deaths among the soldiers. Equipment and vehicles also were not suited for the freezing conditions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/voices-of-the-first-world-war-winter-1916 |title= Voices of the First World War: Winter 1916 |work=Imperial War Museum |access-date=18 January 2022 }}</ref>

At the Battle of Sarikamish, [[Place:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] troops were unprepared for winter fighting and suffered major losses, with 25,000 freezing to death before the battle even began.

On the Italian front, fighting bogged down in trench warfare but at mountain elevations. On White Friday, thousands of troops from both sides were killed in avalanches in the Dolomites.

==== World War II ====
[[File:The War in Finland, 1940 HU55566.jpg|thumb|Finnish ski troops during the 1939 Winter War]]
The Finnish Army used ski troops during the Winter War and the Second World War in which the numerically-superior but road-bound Soviet forces were vulnerable to attack by mobile, white-clad ski troops, approaching from untracked, frozen terrain.<ref name=Clemmesen>{{cite book |editor1-last=Clemmesen |editor1-first=Michael H. |editor2-last=Faulkner |editor2-first=Marcus |title=Northern European Overture to War, 1939–1941: From Memel to Barbarossa| year=2013 |publisher=Brill |page=76 |isbn=978-90-04-24908-0}}</ref>

The ''Wehrmacht'' maintained elite mountain troops, ''Gebirgsjäger''. They were organized in small, specialized units, which relied on pack animals. Typical weapons were light machine guns, mortars, and anti-tank guns. Control of ridge lines was paramount, using a limited number of outposts.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Staff|date=July 1943|title=Combat in High Mountains, Snow, and Extreme Cold|url=http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/combatmts/index.html|journal=Intelligence Bulletin|volume=2|issue=7|access-date=7 May 2020}}</ref> They operated on the principles of fewer arms, but more ammunition per weapon and the economical use thereof.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Staff|date=March 1944|title=Some Notes on German Mountain Warfare|url=http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/gemtwarfare/|journal=Intelligence Bulletin|volume=2|issue=7|access-date=7 May 2020}}</ref>

In Operation Barbarossa in 1941, both Russian and German soldiers had to endure terrible conditions during the Russian winter. The German-Finnish joint offensive against Murmansk (Operation Silver Fox) in 1941 saw heavy fighting in the Arctic environment. Subsequently, the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation conducted by the Soviet Army against the Wehrmacht in 1944 in northern Finland and Norway drove the Germans out of there.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gebhardt|first=James F.|date=September 1989|title=The Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation: Soviet Breakthrough and Pursuit in the Arctic, October 1944|url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/Petsamo-Kirkenes-Operation.pdf|journal=Leavenworth Papers|volume=17|pages=4|via=Army Press}}</ref> In late 1944, Finland turned against its former cobelligerents of Nazi Germany under Soviet pressure and pressured the Germans to withdraw in the ensuing Lapland War.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ahto|first=Sampo|year=1980|language=fi|title=Aseveljet vastakkain – Lapin sota 1944–1945|trans-title=Brothers in Arms Opposing Each Other – Lapland War 1944–1945|publisher=Kirjayhtymä|location=Helsinki|isbn=978-951-26-1726-5}}</ref> While use of ski infantry was common in the Soviet Army, Germany formed only one division for movement on skis.<ref name=Clemmesen/>
From June 1942 to August 1943, the United States and Canada fought the Japanese in the Aleutian Islands Campaign in the Alaska Territory.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hays|first=Otis|year=2004|title=Alaska's Hidden Wars: Secret Campaigns on the North Pacific Rim|publisher=University of Alaska Press|isbn =1-889963-64-X}}</ref>

==== In the Arctic ====
[[File:HMS Sheffield frost.jpg|thumb|Rime ice on a {{convert|20|in|cm|adj=on}} signal projector on the cruiser, HMS ''Sheffield'' (C24), escorting a 1941 Arctic convoy to the Soviet Union in World War II]]
The following actions were fought in the Arctic by land and naval forces in World War II between 1941 and 1945 in the following theaters of operations:

''Finland'' – The Winter War was a military conflict between the [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]] (USSR) and {{wipe|Finland}}. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of [[Social:World War II|World War II]], and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940.

In the Battle of Suomussalmi, Finns leveraged cold weather to disadvantage the Soviet enemy troops by targeting field kitchens and campfires for their attacks, thereby denying those troops warmth and nutrition.<ref name="historia">{{Cite web|url=https://historianet.fi/sota/toinen-maailmansota/talvisota-puolustussota-40-pakkasasteessa|title=Talvisota: Puolustussota 40 pakkasasteessa|last1=Rovsing|first1=Jesper|last2=Weper|first2=Torsten|date=22 March 2010|website=historianet.fi|language=fi|access-date=4 January 2020}}</ref><ref name="chew1971">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xILgHyN9riwC&q=Snow+and+Slaughter+at+Suomussalmi|title=The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War|last=Chew|first=Allen F.|date=1971|publisher=Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps|language=en}}</ref> The Finns rotated their troops so that they could regularly return to warm shelters to recuperate after an attack or patrol. Heavy Soviet equipment and their associated troops were restricted to roads, while Finnish ski troops had broad mobility to outflank the enemy.<ref name="chew1971"/> The threat of Finnish snipers, whom the Russians called "cuckoos", further demoralized the Soviets.<ref name="historia" /><ref name="chew1971"/> The Finns mined ice routes over lakes to sink Soviet equipment.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A frozen hell : the Russo-Finnish winter war of 1939–1940|last=Trotter, William R., 1943–|date=1991|publisher=Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill|isbn=978-1-56512-692-3|location=Chapel Hill, N.C.|oclc=847527726}}</ref>

The Lapland War was fought between {{wipe|Finland}} and [[Place:Nazi Germany|Germany]] from September 1944 to April 1945 in Finland's northernmost Lapland Province. It included:<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nenye|first1=Vesa|last2=Munter|first2=Peter|last3=Wirtanen|first3=Toni|last4=Birks|first4=Chris|title=Finland at War: the Continuation and Lapland Wars 1941–45|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zb6gCwAAQBAJ|year=2016|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1472815262}}</ref>
*Operation Birke (birch) was a German operation late in [[Social:World War II|World War II]] in Finnish Lapland to protect access to nickel.<ref>{{cite book |title=Finland's War of Choice: The Troubled German-Finnish Alliance in World War II|last=Lunde|first=Henrik O.|year=2011|publisher=Casemate Publishers|location=Newbury|isbn=978-1-61200-037-4|ref=Lunde}}</ref>
*Operation Nordlicht (northern lights) was a [[Place:Nazi Germany|German]] [[Social:Scorched earth|scorched-earth]] retreat operation in Finland during the end of [[Social:World War II|World War II]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Carruthers |first1=Bob |title=Hitler's Forgotten Armies: Combat in Norway and Finland |year=2012 |publisher=Coda Books Ltd |location=Warwickshire |isbn=9781781580981 }}</ref>
*The Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive was a major military offensive during [[Social:World War II|World War II]], mounted by the Soviet Army against the ''Wehrmacht'' in 1944 in northern {{wipe|Finland}} and {{wipe|Norway}}.<ref>{{cite book |author=James F. Gebhardt |title=The Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation: Soviet Breakthrough and Pursuit in the Arctic, October 1944 |pages=75–83}}</ref>

''Norway'' – The liberation of Finnmark was a military operation, lasting from 23 October 1944 until 26 April 1945, in which Soviet and Norwegian forces wrestled away control of [[Place:Finnmark|Finnmark]], the northernmost county of Norway, from Germany. It started with a major Soviet offensive that liberated Kirkenes.<ref name="NORD">{{cite web | title=Finnmark Celebrates Liberation from Nazi Occupation with the Help of Russians | website=The Nordic Page | date=20 October 2014 | url=https://www.tnp.no/norway/panorama/4658-finnmark-celebrates-liberation-from-nazi-occupation-with-the-help-of-russians-soviet-norway-germany | access-date=5 April 2019}}</ref>

''Northern Russia'' – Operation Silver Fox was a joint [[Place:Nazi Germany|German]]–Finnish military operation offensive during [[Social:World War II|World War II]]. Its main goal was to cut off and ultimately capture the key Soviet port at Murmansk through attacks from Finnish and Norwegian territory.<ref name="ChrisMann">{{cite book |last1=Mann |first1=Chris M. |last2=Jörgensen |first2=Christer |title=Hitler's Arctic War |publisher=Ian Allan |year=2002 |isbn=0-7110-2899-0 |location=Hersham, UK}}</ref>

''Spitsbergen'' – Operation Gauntlet was a Combined Operations raid by Canadian troops, with British Army logistics support and Free Norwegian Forces servicemen on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, {{convert|600|mi|km}} south of the North Pole, from 25 August to 3 September 1941.<ref>{{cite web|last=Schuster |first=Carl O. |title=Weather War |publisher=U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center |url=http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ohx/educate/atc/ww2.htm |access-date=18 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081020215154/http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ohx/educate/atc/ww2.htm |archive-date=20 October 2008 }}</ref> Operation Fritham was a Norwegian military operation, based from British soil, that had the goal of securing the rich coal mines on the island of Spitsbergen (a part of [[Place:Svalbard|Svalbard]]) and denying their use to [[Place:Nazi Germany|Nazi Germany]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Andre Verdenskrig på Svalbard |publisher=Svalbard Museum| website=svalbardmuseum.no | date=24 July 2011 | url=http://www.svalbardmuseum.no/nyindex.php?id=53&kategori=2&underkategori=1 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724184522/http://www.svalbardmuseum.no/nyindex.php?id=53&kategori=2&underkategori=1 | archive-date=24 July 2011 | url-status=dead | language=no | access-date=5 April 2019}}</ref> Operation Zitronella (Citronella) was an eight-hour [[Place:Nazi Germany|German]] raid on [[Place:Svalbard|Spitzbergen]] on 8 September 1943.<ref>{{cite book |last=Torkildsen |first=Torbjørn |title=Svalbard : vårt nordligste Norge |trans-title=Svalbard: Our Northernmost Norway |language=no |year=1998 |publisher=Aschehoug, in cooperation with Det norske svalbardselskap  |location=Oslo |edition=3rd |url=http://www.nb.no/utlevering/nb/7265216bde1098edd56c90ec366826fc#&struct=DIVP223 |access-date=15 October 2016 |isbn=82-03-22224-2}}</ref> This marks the highest latitude at which a land battle has ever been fought. However, given the extreme conditions, the German and Allied troops were at times compelled to assist each other to survive.<ref>{{cite book|last=Keegan|first=John|title=A History of Warfare|year=1993|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.|isbn=0-394-58801-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofwarfare00keeg/page/69 69]}}</ref>

''United States'' – The Aleutian Islands Campaign was a campaign conducted by both the United States and [[Place:Empire of Japan|Imperial Japan]] from 3 June 1942 to 15 August 1943 in Attu and [[Earth:Kiska|Kiska]], part of the [[Biography:Aleutian Islands|Aleutian Islands]] in [[Earth:Alaska|Alaska]] during World War II.<ref>{{cite web|title=Battle of the Aleutian Islands|url=https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-aleutian-islands|last=|date=10 May 2019|website=History Channel|access-date=2 May 2020}}</ref>

==== Post World War II ====
[[File:US Military Winter Uniforms-1951.ogv|thumb|Comparison of Chinese and US military winter field uniforms, 1951]]
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir was a stark example of cold affecting military operations in the Korean War. There were many cold injuries and malfunctions of [[Engineering:Materiel|materiel]], both vehicles and weapons.<ref>{{cite book|last=Duncan|first=James Carl|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TNo8GezPvzUC&pg=PA145|title=Adventures of a Tennessean|date=June 2013|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=978-1-4817-4157-6|page=145}}</ref><ref>
{{cite book|last=Tilstra|first=Russell C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_a0zAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28|title=The Battle Rifle: Development and Use Since World War II|date=13 March 2014|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-1564-6|page=28}}</ref>

The Sino-Indian War was a Himalayan border conflict between China and {{wipe|India}} that occurred in 1962. India initiated a Forward Policy in which it placed outposts along the border in 1961.  China launched simultaneous offensives in Ladakh and across the McMahon Line on 20 October 1962. Chinese troops advanced over Indian forces in both theaters. Much of the fighting took place in harsh [[Earth:Mountain warfare|mountain conditions]], entailing large-scale combat at altitudes of over 4,000 metres (14,000 feet).<ref name="Calvin">{{cite web|title=The China-India Border War|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1984/CJB.htm|last=Calvin|first=James Barnard|date=April 1984|publisher=Marine Corps Command and Staff College|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111000325/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1984/CJB.htm|archive-date=11 November 2011|access-date=15 October 2011}}</ref> Many troops on both sides succumbed to the freezing cold temperatures.<ref name="Chushul">{{citation|last=Subramanian|first=L. N.|title=The Battle of Chushul|date=November–December 2000|url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com:80/MONITOR/ISSUE3-3/lns.html|newspaper=Bharat Rakshak Monitor|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010209084245/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE3-3/lns.html|archive-date=9 February 2001|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Argentine troops suffered from cold-wet conditions, holding positions in the 1982 Falklands War.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Goodsell|first=James Nelson|date=25 June 1982|title=Argentine troops tell why war lost|work=Christian Science Monitor|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1982/0625/062534.html|access-date=2 May 2020|issn=0882-7729}}</ref>

The Siachen conflict is a military confrontation between {{wipe|India}} and {{wipe|Pakistan}} over the disputed Siachen Glacier region in [[Place:Kashmir|Kashmir]]. The conflict began in 1984 with India's successful Operation Meghdoot during which it gained control over all of the Siachen Glacier.<ref name="Wirsing">{{cite book|last=Wirsing|first=Robert|title=Pakistan's security under Zia, 1977–1988: the policy imperatives of a peripheral Asian state|date=13 December 1991|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan, 1991|isbn=9780312060671}}</ref> A cease-fire went into effect in 2003.<ref name="Memoirs">{{cite book|author=Pervez Musharraf|title=In the Line of Fire: A Memoir|publisher=Free Press|year=2006|isbn=0-7432-8344-9}}(pp. 68–69)</ref>

===Historical lessons learned===
[[File:Kadoaki Heikichi tōshō no tame eso to nari ishukushi jūsō ni yori zasetsu sareta kaku yubi no haimen ni aru hakusen bunkaisen (8615809697).jpg|thumb|Frostbitten hand with gangrene, suffered by a Japanese soldier in the Sino-Japanese War, winter of 1894–5]]
Paton offered a 2001 overview of human factors pertaining to cold in military operations. The understanding of cold injuries evolved in the 19th and 20th centuries; understanding of the causes and treatment of frostbite and trench foot improved. In the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese learned the importance of foot care, keeping feet dry and warm with replacement socks. In World War I, doctors realized that trench foot was a prolonged exposure to cold, wet conditions on the feet, which were exacerbated by the use of tight puttees, bandage-like leg wrappings.<ref name = Paton>{{Cite book|last=Paton|first=Bruce C.|title=Cold, Casualties and Conquests: The Effects of Cold on Warfare|work=Textbooks of Military Medicine: Medical Aspects of Harsh Environments|publisher=TMM Publications|year=2001|volume=1|location=Washington|pages=313–49|chapter=10}}</ref>

The Soviet invasion of Finland during the Winter War showed the power of asymmetric warfare on the Finnish side, where small units were able to cut the road-bound Soviet invading troops into segments, like firewood, and vanquish each segment. The small units arrived silently on skis or with light artillery pulled by [[Biology:Reindeer|reindeer]] over frozen, untracked terrain, using winter conditions as an advantage. Although the Soviet Union gained territory from the Finns, it was at the cost of 200,000 fatalities against 25,000 on the Finnish side.<ref name=":1" />

The German invasion of the Soviet Union induced more than 250,000 cold injuries in one year. The French Army occupying the Maginot Line experienced 12,000 cold injuries. Experiences from the disastrous 1941 German advance on Moscow in winter conditions led to the 1942 ''Taschenbuch für den Winterkrieg'' ("Pocket book for Winter War"), which highlighted ideal approaches to handling winter, but acknowledged that improvisation in the field would be necessary when supplies were lacking. The Soviet troops in that period had felt-lined boots and quilted uniforms, but the Germans continued fighting in their summer uniforms.<ref name = Paton/>

==== German handbook ====
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1981-149-34A, Russland, Herausziehen eines Autos.jpg|thumb|German troops extricating vehicle from the November 1941 mud in the Eastern Front]]
[[File:Shelter around fir tree.jpg|thumb|Improvised shelter around a fir tree, adapted from the 1942 German ''Taschenbuch für den Winterkrieg'']]
The ''Taschenbuch für den Winterkrieg'' manual contains sections on the influence and duration of winter, the seasons of mud and thaw, preparation for winter warfare, winter combat methods and maintaining morale, including the use of reading material, lectures, movies, and "strength through joy" exercises. Other sections cover marches, the maintenance of roads, winter bivouacs and shelter, construction of winter positions, camouflage and concealment, identification of the enemy, clothing, rations, evacuation of the wounded, care and use of weapons and equipment, signal communication, and winter mobility. The manual was designed to provide information at the officer level for indoctrination of troops via the non-commissioned officer ranks. The scope of the manual is to train troops in the following areas:<ref name=":0" />

* Protection of personnel, vehicles and weapons against snow and cold
* Training personnel to be hardened against the conditions encountered and able to improvise shelter from found materials
* Mobility on skis, winter roads, ice crossings, and conversion of wheeled vehicles into tracked versions
* Construction of positions and obstacles in frozen terrain
* Combat in deep snow and severe cold

Some highlights include addressing:<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=http://www.90thidpg.us/Reference/Manuals/SS%2018.pdf|title=Handbook on Winter Warfare|publisher=Military Intelligence Division, U.S. War Department|year=1943|location=Washington, DC}}</ref>

* ''Human factors'' – Providing the right level of clothing to maintain agility and avoid overheating. Maintaining a slow, steady marching pace to avoid chilling down in the wind. Boosting morale with up-to-date newspapers from home and nearby areas. Providing improvised shelters and bivouacs. Hygiene, emphasizing cleanliness.
* ''Mobility'' – Setting up and maintaining winter roads and trails. Warming up engines for reliable starting. 
* ''Positions and fortifications'' – Using logs and snow as materials to provide trenches and gun emplacements.
* ''Care of equipment'' – Keeping equipment dry, when possible, and substituting low-temperature lubricants for oils and hydraulic fluids.

==== Soviet experience ====
The Soviet Army learned from its 1939–40 Winter War experiences and the 1941 German advance on Moscow. The high command realized that it must prepare entire divisions for winter warfare in 1942, beginning with warm uniforms, winter equipment (skis, etc.), and training for winter operations. Analysis of previous experiences resulted in a series of manuals that covered flight, engineer, and combat arms operations in winter. Issues covered included:<ref name="RedArmy" />

* ''Flight operations'' – Reduced daylight, snow drifting, cold temperatures impeded the added need for air transport.
* ''Engineer operations'' – Engineer troops build new roadways, airfields, water crossings, and encampments with water supply. They destroy obstacles, requiring engineering equipment. Regular troops entrench tanks, construct tank obstacles, and build simple shelters.
* Combat arms operations – Addressing the German methods of defense with automatic weapons strongholds, supplemented with mines, wires, and anti-tank obstacles. Against these, the Russians used coordinated massed fire.

[[File:Soviet machinegunner opened covering fire.jpg|thumb|Soviet gunner providing covering fire during the 1941 Battle of Moscow]]
In his 1981 paper, ''Fighting the Russians in Winter: Three Case Studies'', Chew draws on experiences from the Allied-Soviet War in Northern Russia during the Winter of 1918–19, the destruction of the Soviet 44th Motorized Rifle Division, and Nazi–Soviet Warfare during [[Social:World War II|World War II]] to derive winter warfare factors pertaining to military tactics, [[Engineering:Materiel|materiel]] and [[Social:Military personnel|personnel]]:<ref name=chew>{{cite journal
 | last = Chew
 | first = Allen F.
 | title = Fighting the Russians in Winter: Three Case Studies
 | journal = Leavenworth Papers
 | issue = 5
 | place = Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
 | date = December 1981
 | url = https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/chew.pdf
 | issn = 0195-3451
 | access-date = 10 December 2016
 | publisher = Combat Studies Institute, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170214232231/http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/download/csipubs/chew.pdf
 | archive-date = 14 February 2017
 | url-status = dead
 }}</ref>

*''Tactics'' – Defensive positions are highly advantageous because of the ability to maintain warmth and protection, compared to attacking in extreme cold. Mobility and logistical support are often restricted by snow, requiring plowing or compacting it to accommodate wide-tracked vehicles or sleds. Infantry movement in deep snow requires skis or snowshoes to avoid exhaustion. Sound carries well over crusted snow, diminishing the element of surprise. Explosives are useful for excavating foxholes and larger shelters in frozen ground. Attacking field kitchens and encampments deprives the enemy of food and shelter. Rapid removal of the wounded from the battlefield is essential to their survival in the cold.
*''Materiel'' – Weapons and vehicles require special lubricants to operate at low temperatures. Mines are unreliable in winter, owing to deep snow that may cushion the fuse or form an ice bridge over the detonator.
*''Personnel'' – Proper winter clothing is required to maintain body heat and to avoid such cold injuries as frostbite. Troop efficiency and survival requires either making use of available shelter or providing portable shelter.

==Land operations==
Operational factors encompass planning for the climate and weather in which military operations are required with snow, ice, mud and cold being the primary considerations. Military tactics, [[Engineering:Materiel|materiel]], combat engineering and military medicine all require specialized adaptations to the conditions encountered in cold weather. The Soviet Army was an early adopter of a protocol for winter warfare.<ref name = RedArmy>{{Citation
 | last1 = Armstrong
 | first1 = Richard N.
 | last2 = Joseph G.
 | first2 = Welsh
 | title = Winter Warfare: Red Army Orders and Experiences
 | publisher = Routledge
 | series = Case series on Soviet military theory and practice
 | year = 2014
 | pages = 208
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wHW3AwAAQBAJ&q=Winter+Warfare:+Red+Army+Orders+and+Experiences&pg=PA10
 | access-date = 12 December 2016
 | isbn = 9781135211547 }}</ref>

===Cold and mountainous regions===
[[File:Cold regions map - US Army Mountain Warfare and Cold Weather Operations Techniques Publication No. 3-90.97.png|thumb|Cold regions that have a significant effect on military operations for one month or more each year.
{{Legend|#d6f7fe|Severely cold}}
{{Legend|#92c1fa|Moderately cold}}]]
[[File:Mountain regions of the world - US Army Mountain Warfare and Cold Weather Operations Techniques Publication No. 3-90.97.png|thumb|The principal mountain ranges of the world]]
In its 2016 "Mountain Warfare and Cold Weather Operations" manual, the US Army defines ''cold regions'' as "where cold temperatures, unique terrain, and snowfall have a significant effect on military operations for one month or more each year." It describes regions that are either ''severely cold'' or ''moderately cold'', each comprising approximately one quarter of the Earth's land mass.<ref name=ArmyCold/>
*''Severely cold'' – Where mean annual air temperatures stay below freezing, maximum snow depths exceed {{convert|60|cm|0}}, and ice covers lakes and rivers for more than 180 days each year.
*''Moderately cold'' – Where the mean temperatures during the coldest month are below freezing.

The manual also delineates the principal mountain ranges of the world, which lie along broad belts which encircle the Pacific basin and then lead westward across Eurasia into North Africa. Secondarily, rugged chains of mountains lie along the Atlantic margins of the Americas and Europe.
[[File:Wind chill chart - US Army Mountain Warfare and Cold Weather Operations Techniques Publication No. 3-90.97.png|thumb|Cooling power of wind, expressed as an equivalent chill temperature under calm conditions]]

===Weather conditions===
Temperature, wind, snow, and thaw are the primary conditions that affect the winter battlescape.

====Temperature====
The US Army groups cold temperatures using categories. The temperature categories are (with quoted summaries):<ref name=ArmyCold/>
*''Wet cold'' – From {{convert|39|to|20|F|C|0}}. Wet cold conditions occur when wet snow and rain often accompany wet cold conditions. This type of environment is ''more dangerous to troops and equipment'' than the colder, dry cold environments because the ground becomes slushy and muddy and clothing and equipment becomes perpetually wet and damp.
*''Dry cold'' – From {{convert|19|to|-4|F|C|0}}. Dry cold conditions are easier to live in than wet cold conditions. Like in wet cold conditions, proper equipment, training and leadership are critical to successful operations. Wind chill is a complicating factor in this type of cold. The dry cold environment is the easiest of the four cold weather categories to survive in because of low humidity and the ground remains frozen. As a result, people and equipment are not subject to the effects of the thawing and freezing cycle, and precipitation is generally in the form of dry snow.
*''Intense cold'' – From {{convert|-5|to|-25|F|C|0}}. This temperature range can affect the mind as much as the body. Simple tasks take longer and require more effort than in warmer temperatures and the quality of work degrades as attention-to-detail diminishes. Clothing becomes more bulky to compensate for the cold so troops lose dexterity. Commanders consider these factors when planning operations and assigning tasks.
*''Extreme cold'' – From {{convert|-25|to|-40|F|C|0}}. In extreme cold the challenge of survival becomes paramount as personnel withdraw into themselves. Weapons, vehicles and munitions are likely to fail in this environment.
*''Hazardous cold'' – From {{convert|-40|F|C|0}} and below. Units require extensive training before operating in these temperature extremes.
The combined cooling effect of ambient ''temperature and wind'' ([[Earth:Wind chill|wind chill]]) is an important factor that affects troops.

====Snow====
[[File:Royal Navy Commando Helicopter Force (846NAS) Merlin Mk.3 at RNoAF Bardufoss, Norway (45158529).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Royal Navy [[Engineering:AgustaWestland AW101|Merlin Mk3]] helicopter, operating in heavy snow at the Bardufoss Air Station, Norway.]]
For military purposes, the US Army categorizes snow as light, moderate, or heavy. Each classification affects visibility and ground movement due to accumulation and is quoted below:<ref name=ArmyCold/>
*''Light snow'' – Visibility is equal to or greater than {{convert|5/8|mile|m|-2}} in falling snow. A trace to {{convert|1|in|cm|spell=in}} per hour accumulates.
*''Moderate snow'' – Visibility is {{convert|5/16|to|1/2|mile|m|-2}} in falling snow. {{convert|1|to|3|in|cm|spell=In}} per hour accumulates.
*''Heavy snow'' – Visibility is less than {{convert|1/4|mile|m|-2}} in falling snow. {{convert|3|in|cm|spell=In}} or more inches per hour accumulates.
Snow and snowdrifts can create advantages on the battlefield by filling in ditches and vehicle tracks and flattening the terrain. It also creates hollows on the downwind side of obstacles, such as trees, buildings, and bushes, which provide observation points or firing positions. Snowdrifts may provide cover for soldiers to approach an objective.<ref name=ArmyCold/> Soviet Army doctrine cited {{convert|30|cm}} as the threshold snow depth that impairs mobility for troops, cavalry and vehicles, except tanks for which the threshold was {{convert|50|cm}}.<ref name = RedArmy/>

====Thaw====
[[File:T-80U (6).jpg|thumb|right|Russian [[Engineering:T-80|T-80]] main battle tank maneuvering in thawing conditions]]
Thawing conditions can impair mobility and put soldiers at risk of [[Medicine:Trench foot|trench foot]] by turning soil to mud; it can also weaken and break up ice cover on bodies of water. Maintaining roads becomes more difficult during spring-thaw run-off periods and requires mud removal by heavy equipment. Slushy and muddy ground causes clothing and equipment to become wet, damp and dirty.<ref name=ArmyCold/> Muddy conditions greatly inhibited Napoleon's ability to maneuver in Russia in the autumn of 1812<ref name="Adolphe Thiers, 1864, p. 234">{{Cite book |title= History of the Consulate and the Empire of France under Napoleon |author= M. Adolphe Thiers |translator= D. Forbes Campbell |translator2= H. W. Herbert |volume= IV |location= Philadelphia |publisher= J. B. Lippincott & Co |date= 1864 |page= 243|url= http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/minard |quote= whilst it was almost impossible to drag the gun-carriages through the half-frozen mud}} (''regarding 20 November 1812)''</ref> and also the German attempt to take Moscow in the autumn of 1941.<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Overy
 | first1 = Richard
 | year = 1997
 | chapter = Leningrad and Moscow
 | title = Russia's War
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NQ1GW8MfEiQC
 | publisher = Penguin UK
 | publication-date = 1999
 | isbn = 9780141925127
 | access-date = 21 August 2019}}
</ref>

The 1942 ''Taschenbuch für den Winterkrieg'' acknowledges that neither tracked nor wheeled vehicles can maneuver during conditions of thaw and that aircraft operations must be constrained to concrete runways. It addresses minimizing the use of roads during this period and dismantling bridges that are likely to be taken out by ice floes. It emphasizes how positions in frozen soil must be improved to avoid deterioration from thaw and the necessity of changing uniforms from ones for cold to those for wet conditions.<ref name=":0" />

===Tactics===
[[File:Hagglunds Bv206 25th US Marines 2.jpg|thumb|A Swedish Bandvagn 206 small unit support vehicle in Norwegian service being operated by US Marines]]
The dominant tactical concern in cold conditions is the ability to maneuver in vehicles or on foot. Additionally, during winter, night operations become the norm at higher latitudes with their long periods of darkness.<ref name=ArmyCold/> Snow enhances night vision because of high reflectivity and the visibility of combatants against the white background.<ref name = RedArmy/>

==== Mounted movement ====
The German ''Taschenbuch für den Winterkrieg'' emphasizes reconnaissance to ascertain the conditions and capacity of the roads to be used. It describes snow clearing from roads and recovery of bogged-down vehicles.<ref name=":0" />

Soviet Army doctrine emphasized the use of sleds for transporting machine guns and mortars over snow, towed in a train by tracked tractors. It addressed the need to pre-heat tanks for use in winter and their application in advance of marching troops to take out enemy positions.<ref name="RedArmy" />

Finnish military doctrine calls for small-unit movements with [[Engineering:Anti-tank guided missile|Anti-tank guided missile]]s and [[Engineering:Multiple rocket launcher|multiple launch rocket systems]] to attack foreign forces that have entered the country.<ref name=":1" />

US Army guidance advocates that over snow-covered terrain, vehicles may be employed to establish and maintain trails by establishing a well concealed track with the first vehicle, followed by a vehicle traveling offset from the track of the first, to flatten the trail, and subsequent vehicles widening and flattening the trail. Marked trails avoid obliteration in snowstorms or drifting conditions.  In mountainous terrain, tracked vehicles, including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and cavalry fighting vehicles, rarely accompany dismounted infantry in the assault.  Instead, they assist forces by occupying positions where they can use their firepower to isolate enemy objectives.<ref name="ArmyCold" />

==== Dismounted movement ====
[[File:Foot travel chart- US Army Mountain Warfare and Cold Weather Operations Techniques Publication No. 3-90.97.png|thumb|Rates of march for unit movement in snow]]
The German ''Taschenbuch'' describes preparation and conduct of marches and advocates maintaining slow, steady progress with brief stops to avoid exposure to the wind, and the provision of warm beverages by support vehicles along the way.<ref name=":0" />

Soviet Army doctrine emphasized the use ski troops for dismounted operations over snow.<ref name="RedArmy" />

US Army guidance explains that troops moving in a wedge-like "column" formation travel more slowly, with no one breaking the trail in undisturbed snow, than the in-line file formation. Therefore, column formation is reserved for imminent enemy contact. As slope angle increases, the amount of travel time is likely to increase substantially.<ref name="ArmyCold" />

==== Water crossings ====
[[File:Tank trap diagram from German Winter Warfare handbook.jpg|thumb|Diagram for creating a tank trap on ice, adapted from the ''Taschenbuch für den Winterkrieg'']]
The German ''Taschenbuch'' describes the assessment and reinforcement of ice crossings and also the opportunity to use them as tank traps by removing the ice and bridging the gap with a weak structure, disguised as reinforced ice. It offers the following guidance for crossing ice sheets:
<ref name=":0" />
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Ice thickness<br>cm (in)
!Type of military traffic
!Minimum interval<br>m (ft)
|-
|{{convert|5|cm|in|0|abbr=values}}
|Infantry in file with double intervals
|{{Convert|7|m|ft|0|abbr=values}}
|-
|{{convert|20|cm|in|0|abbr=values}}
|Vehicles with gross weight of {{convert|5|ST|t|order=flip|1}} 
|{{Convert|20|m|ft|0|abbr=values}}
|-
|{{convert|30|cm|in|0|abbr=values}}
|Vehicles with gross weight of {{convert|9|ST|t|order=flip|1}} 
|{{Convert|30|m|ft|0|abbr=values}}
|-
|{{convert|40|cm|in|0|abbr=values}}
|{{convert|20|ST|t|order=flip|0|adj=on}} vehicles, light tanks
|{{Convert|40|m|ft|0|abbr=values}}
|-
|{{convert|60|cm|in|0|abbr=values}}
|{{convert|45|ST|t|order=flip|0|adj=on}} vehicles
|{{Convert|50|m|ft|0|abbr=values}}
|-
|}

Soviet Army doctrine described the assessment and reinforcement of ice crossings and suggested the use of frozen lakes and rivers as expeditionary airfields, located close to the front to take advantage of short daylight hours in winter.<ref name="RedArmy" />

According to the US Army, rivers found in cold regions may be major obstacles. Subarctic rivers usually have many braided channels and swift currents. During spring and early winter, rivers may become impassable due to freezing or thawing ice flows. Once firmly frozen, rivers may offer routes for both mounted and dismounted movement. Some swampy areas do not freeze solidly during the coldest periods of winter to support troop movements. Nonetheless, it is possible to construct "ice bridges" to thicken an iced-over waterway, using pumps or some other means of flooding the ice-covered area, when temperatures are below {{convert |10|°F|order=flip}} and the pre-existing natural ice is thicker than {{convert|10|cm}} to support the construction activity.<ref name="ArmyCold" />

===Snow camouflage===
[[File:Austro-Hungarian ski patrol on Italian front in snow camouflage 1915-1918.jpg|thumb|[[Place:Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]] ski patrol on Italian Front in snow camouflage, 1915–1918<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205355172|publisher=Imperial War Museum|access-date=13 April 2017|ref=Q 112613|title=The Austro-Hungarian Army on the Italian Front, 1915–1918}}</ref>]]

Armies have made use of improvised and official snow camouflage uniforms and equipment since the First World War, such as in the fighting in the Dolomite Mountains between [[Place:Austria-Hungary|Austria-Hungary]] and [[History:Kingdom of Italy|Italy]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Bull |first=Stephen |title=Encyclopedia of Military Technology and Innovation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HN3AUx_3Mn4C&pg=PA53 |year=2004 |publisher=Greenwood |isbn=978-1-57356-557-8 |page=53}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Englund |first=Peter |title=The Beauty And The Sorrow: An intimate history of the First World War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uyGO5hKCYhoC&pg=PA211 |year=2011 |publisher=Profile Books |isbn=978-1-84765-430-4 |page=211}}</ref> Snow camouflage was used far more widely in the Second World War by the Wehrmacht, the Finnish Army, the Soviet Army and others.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brayley |first=Martin J. |title=Camouflage uniforms : international combat dress 1940–2010| year=2009| publisher=Crowood |location=Ramsbury |isbn=978-1-84797-137-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PTEVDAAAQBAJ&q=brayley+snow+camouflage&pg=PA37 |pages=37 and passim}}</ref><ref name=Peterson>{{cite book | last=Peterson |first=D. |title=Waffen-SS Camouflage Uniforms and Post-war Derivatives | url=https://archive.org/details/waffensscamoufla00pete_549 | url-access=limited |year=2001 |publisher=Crowood. |isbn=978-1-86126-474-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/waffensscamoufla00pete_549/page/n64 64]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Rottman |first=Gordon L.|title=World War II Tactical Camouflage Techniques |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eFWbCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA32 |year=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-78096-275-7 |pages=31–33}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Carruthers |first=Bob |title=Wehrmacht Combat Reports: The Russian Front |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=snKpBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT62 |year=2013 |orig-year=28 January 1943 |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=978-1-4738-4534-3 |pages=62–64}}</ref> Since then, snow variants of disruptively patterned camouflage for uniforms have been introduced, sometimes with [[Engineering:Multi-scale camouflage|digital]] patterns. For example, the Bundeswehr has a ''Schneetarn'' (snow) variant of its widely used ''Flecktarn'' pattern.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zäch |first1=Sebastian |title=Schneetarn |url=https://www.bundeswehr.de/portal/a/bwde/!ut/p/z1/hVDBTsMwDP2aXeMQq2nLrRNCYlRjUMTWXFDWhrZQkipLW8TXk2gCTYgJW3qW_exn2SBgB0LLqWuk64yWvc9LwZ-XSf6Ys5Sxqw3j9Oa-KG4fMEa6iuAJtv-1CE_TM5ZRKGoFpdeIz2ncLREKECBqRSqjlQvolHadx8ZKZywZjHV9YEZrPUO6Gkq8wAgTphCReQwZ-siRIT11nsYcU85jhkkc-UC_PSx9lZP8-NGXVXgMlK3Uda82psqOhRWIpjf748cyvcekAWHVi7LKktH6cuvccLhc0AWd55k0xjR9OIeMbwv611BrDg52v3theL9O1uto-szV9gvWZbZq/dz/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/#Z7_B8LTL2922DP260IQSSKR373OB3 |publisher=Bundeswehr (German Army) |access-date=28 February 2017}}</ref>

Soviet Army doctrine emphasized the importance of [[Biology:Camouflage|camouflage]] over positions and the need to remove telltale signs of artillery actions, such as smoke stains or shell casings. It also cited the usefulness of decoy targets. It describes the establishment of breastworks made from snow {{convert|2|to|3|m|ft|0}} thick, ice {{convert|1.5|m|ft|0}} thick or soil and wood {{convert|0.9|m|ft|0}} thick.<ref name="RedArmy" />

===Materiel===
[[File:Army vehicles on a road in Belgium.jpg|thumb|right|US Army transport vehicles during the Battle of the Bulge]]
Snow, ice and cold temperatures affect munitions and military vehicles.

''Munitions'' – Snow, ice, frozen ground, and low temperatures affect mine-laying operations. Burying mines in a frost layer may be difficult, requiring mines to be placed on top of the ground and then camouflaged. Snow or ice may prevent detonation, owing to freezing the firing device or isolating from pressure above. This can be mitigated with plastic laid over the top of the mine.<ref name=ArmyCold/>

''Vehicles'' – Adaptations of military vehicles to winter operations include tire chains for maintaining traction of wheeled vehicles. Diesel engines start less well in cold and may require pre-heating or idling during cold periods.<ref name=ArmyCold/> A variety of military vehicles have been developed for over-snow travel, including the [[Engineering:Sisu Nasu|Sisu Nasu]],<ref>{{Citation
 | last = Hofmann
 | first = George F.
 | title = PB (United States. Army)
 | publisher = United States Armor Association
 | year = 1997
 | page = 49
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=z60rAAAAYAAJ&q=Sisu+Nasu }}</ref> BvS 10,<ref>{{cite web
 | url = https://www.gov.uk/government/news/versatile-vikings-37-million-upgrade-completed
 | title = Versatile Vikings' £37 million upgrade completed
 | last =
 | date = 29 April 2016
| website = Gov.UK
 | publisher = Ministry of Defence and Defence Equipment and Support
 | access-date = 11 December 2016
 }}</ref> and M29 Weasel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://realmilitaryflix.com/public/441.cfm |title=OSS Briefing Film – The Weasel |work=Real Military Flix |access-date=9 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209204928/http://realmilitaryflix.com/public/441.cfm |archive-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref>

===Military engineering===
[[File:Cross section of snow-covered trench.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Cross section of a snow-covered trench for troop emplacement, adapted from the 1942 German ''Taschenbuch für den Winterkrieg'']]
[[Engineering:Military engineering|Military engineers]] design and construct transportation and troop-support facilities. In cold climates frozen ground can make digging difficult.<ref name=ArmyCold/> Soviet Army doctrine gave them the responsibility to establish build and maintain routes, including water crossings, build and destroy obstacles that require special equipment, construct and maintain airfields, and to build shelter for personnel. Operations that didn't require special equipment were left to other troops.<ref name = RedArmy/> The ''Taschenbuch'' describes a variety of ways to employ local resources to create roads, shelters and fortifications.<ref name=":0" />

Engineers provide roadways, landing zones, shelter, water supply and wastewater disposal, and electrical power to encampments. Roadway and landing zones require heavy equipment, which is more fatiguing to operate in the cold and necessary to protect from freezing. Snowstorms require cleanup and spring thaw requires management of thawed soil. Landing zones require stabilization of dust and snow to avoid blinding helicopter pilots. The US Army has cold-weather adaptive kits for providing water and electrical utilities. The tactical engineer has limited options for providing a water supply; they are in order of ease of provision:  drawing water from rivers or lakes, melting ice or snow, or drilling wells.<ref name="ArmyCold" />

Water supply and treatment is especially challenging in the cold. US Army tactical water purification systems require a winter kit operate between {{Convert|32|and|-25|F}}. Water storage may require heating. Water source exploitation may require angering through ice, if shaped charges are not available. The water distribution system can be subject to freezing and clogging from [[Earth:Frazil ice|frazil ice]]. Where chemical treatment is used, it takes longer to dissolve in the treated water.<ref name=ArmyCold/>

===Medicine===

Three types of cold injury can occur in the theater, [[Physics:Hypothermia|hypothermia]], [[Medicine:Trench foot|trench foot]], and [[Medicine:Frostbite|frostbite]] in ascending amount of exposure to cold temperatures.

==== Hypothermia====
[[Physics:Hypothermia|Hypothermia]] occurs when the body core temperature drops below {{convert|35|C|F}}. Symptoms depend on the temperature and range from [[Biology:Shivering|shivering]] and mental confusion to increased risk of the [[Medicine:Cardiac arrest|heart stopping]]. The treatment of mild hypothermia involves warm drinks, warm clothing and physical activity. In those with moderate hypothermia heating blankets and warmed intravenous fluids are recommended. People with moderate or severe hypothermia should be moved gently. In severe hypothermia [[Engineering:Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation|extracorporeal membrane oxygenation]] (ECMO) or [[Engineering:Cardiopulmonary bypass|cardiopulmonary bypass]] may be useful. In those without a [[Medicine:Pulse|pulse]] cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is indicated along with the above measures. Rewarming is typically continued until a person's temperature is greater than {{convert|32|C|F}}. Adequate insulation from clothing is the best way to avoid hypothermia in the field.<ref name=NEJM2012>{{cite journal | last1=Brown | first1=Douglas J.A. | last2=Brugger | first2=Hermann | last3=Boyd | first3=Jeff | last4=Paal | first4=Peter | title=Accidental Hypothermia | journal=New England Journal of Medicine | publisher=Massachusetts Medical Society | volume=367 | issue=20 | date=15 November 2012 | issn=0028-4793 | doi=10.1056/nejmra1114208 |pmid=23150960 | pages=1930–1938}}</ref>

====Trench foot====
[[File:THIS IS TRENCH FOOT. PREVENT IT^ KEEP FEET DRY AND CLEAN - NARA - 515785.jpg|thumb|upright|Military poster on preventing trench foot]]

[[Medicine:Trench foot|Trench foot]] is a medical condition caused by prolonged exposure of the feet to damp, unsanitary, and cold conditions at temperatures as warm as {{convert|16|C}} for as few as 13 hours. Exposure to these environmental conditions causes deterioration and destruction of the [[Biology:Capillary|capillaries]] and leads to morbidity of the surrounding flesh.<ref name = Mann>{{Citation
 | last1 = Coughlin
 | first1 = Michael J.
 | last2 = Saltzman
 | first2 = Charles L.
 | last3 = Mann
 | first3 = Roger A.
 | title = Mann's Surgery of the Foot and Ankle
 | publisher = 	Elsevier Health Science
 | year = 2013
 | edition = 9
 | pages = 2336
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DYErAQAAQBAJ&q=Trench+foot&pg=PA738
 | access-date = 11 December 2016
 | isbn = 9781455748617 }}</ref> Affected feet may become numb, affected by erythema (turning red) or [[Medicine:Cyanosis|cyanosis]] (turning blue) as a result of poor blood supply, and may begin emanating a decaying odour if the early stages of [[Biology:Necrosis|necrosis]] (tissue death) set in. As the condition worsens, feet may also begin to swell. Advanced trench foot often involves [[Medicine:Blister|blister]]s and open sores, which lead to [[Biology:Fungus|fungal]] infections. If left untreated, trench foot usually results in [[Medicine:Gangrene|gangrene]], which may require [[Medicine:Amputation|amputation]]. If trench foot is treated properly, complete recovery is normal, though it is marked by severe short-term pain when feeling returns. Trench foot affected tens of thousands of soldiers engaged in [[Earth:Trench warfare|trench warfare]] in [[Social:World War I|World War I]]. Keeping feet warm and dry, or at least changing into warm and dry replacement footgear, is the best way to avoid trench foot.<ref name = Tactical>
{{cite book
 | last = Schwartz
 | first = Richard B.
 | title = Tactical Emergency Medicine
 | publisher = Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
 | series = LWW medical book collection
 | date = 2008
 | pages = 319
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-erLJS_tHcAC&q=Trench+foot&pg=PA80
 | access-date = 11 December 2016
 | isbn = 9780781773324 }}</ref>

====Frostbite====
[[Medicine:Frostbite|Frostbite]] is localized damage to skin and other [[Biology:Tissue|tissues]] due to [[Physics:Freezing#Freezing of living organisms|freezing]]. At or below {{convert|0|C}}, blood vessels close to the skin start to constrict, and blood is shunted away from the extremities. The same response may also be a result of exposure to high winds. This constriction helps to preserve core body temperature. In extreme cold, or when the body is exposed to cold for long periods, this protective strategy can reduce blood flow in some areas of the body to dangerously low levels. This lack of blood leads to the eventual freezing and death of skin tissue in the affected areas. Frostbite was responsible for over one million casualties in wars in the 20th century. Adequate insulation from clothing is the best way to avoid hypothermia in the field.<ref name = Tactical/>

==Training by nation==
[[File:Unit of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force training with a 81 mm mortar.jpg|thumb|Unit of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force training with an 81 mm mortar]]
[[File:Арктическая подготовка.jpg|thumb|Russian cadets training for Arctic conditions]]
[[File:Annäherung (25066986873).jpg|thumb|Austrian mountain troops on snowshoes]]
The following nations report regular training programs in cold-weather warfare:
*''Canada'' – In 2008, the Canadian Forces established the Nanisivik Naval Facility, a winter warfare training center above the arctic circle in Resolute, Nunavut<ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/military-s-arctic-training-facility-opens-in-resolute-1.1411838
 | title = Military's Arctic training facility opens in Resolute
 | last = Staff
 | date = 23 June 2008
| website = CBC News
 | access-date = 11 December 2016
 }}</ref> for annual exercises.<ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/winter-warfare-course-shows-military-still-struggling-in-arctic-1.721598
 | title = Winter warfare course shows military still struggling in Arctic
 | last = The Canadian Press
 | date = 23 June 2008
| website = CBC News
 | access-date = 11 December 2016
 }}</ref>
*''China'' – The People's Liberation Army trains annually in regions subject to harsh winter conditions. Lightly armed border patrol units are mounted on horseback or [[Engineering:Snowmobile|snowmobile]]s and are expected to provide early detection of incursion.<ref>
{{cite book
 | last = Blasko
 | first = Dennis J.
 | title = The Chinese Army Today: Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century
 | publisher = Routledge
 | series = Asian Security Studies
 | date = 2013
 | pages = 312
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=G1SauJF3GqwC&q=Chinese+Army+winter+training&pg=PA178
 | access-date = 12 December 2016
 | isbn = 9781136519970 }}</ref>
*''Finland'' – The Finnish Defence Forces train every conscript for skiing and Arctic warfare regardless of the branch, approximately 25,000 soldiers per year.<ref>
{{cite book
 | last =
 | title = Liikuntakoulutuksen käsikirja
 | publisher = Finnish Defence Forces
 | date = 2015
 | pages = 288
 | language = fi
 | url = http://puolustusvoimat.fi/documents/1948673/2258487/Liikuntakoulutuksen_kasikirja_2015_low+FINAL/7d86016d-3dc1-4e74-8fd7-423e8368bc95
 | access-date = 31 October 2017
 | isbn =  978-951-25-2708-3 }}</ref> Finland also trains US Army students in Arctic warfare.<ref>{{cite web
 | url = https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/us_soldiers_practice_arctic_warfare_in_lapland/8600292
 | title = US soldiers practice Arctic warfare in Lapland
 | last = Staff
 | date = 15 January 2016
| website = Finnish Broadcasting Company
 | access-date = 31 October 2017
 }}</ref>

*''Germany'' – The Bundeswehr maintains its mountain troops in Bavaria. After the 2001 disbandment of the 1st Mountain Division, mountain troops were reorganized as the ''Gebirgsjägerbrigade 23'' with a strength of 5,000 Troops.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sperre der Reiter Alpe verschoben|url=https://www.pnp.de/lokales/berchtesgadener-land/Sperre-der-Reiter-Alpe-verschoben-3670298.html|last=|date=4 April 2020|website=PNP.de|language=de|access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref>
*''India'' – The Indian Army trains 100 officers and 400 non-commissioned officers and junior commissioned officers annually, at its High Altitude Warfare School. Its graduates are assigned to the Siachen Glacier border garrison.<ref>
{{cite book
 | last =
 | title = India: Foreign Policy & Government Guide
 | publisher = International Business Publications
 | series = Volume 1346 of World Foreign Policy and Government Library
 | volume = 1
 | date = 2001
 | pages = 400
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bgGCCP5Fxg0C&q=Indian+Army+winter+training&pg=PA206
 | access-date = 12 December 2016
 | isbn = 9780739782989 }}</ref>
*''Iran'' – Members of the 65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade train for warfare on snow at their winter camp in Emamzadeh Hashem, [[Religion:Iran|Iran]].<ref>{{cite web
 | url = https://islamicworldupdate.wordpress.com/tag/65th-airborne-special-forces-brigade/
 | title = Which forces IRGC deployed in Syria?
 | last =
 | date = 30 April 2016
| website =  Islamic World Update
 | access-date =14 December 2016
 | quote = The winter training camp is in Emamzadeh Hashem, in which there is a ski resort dedicated to the brigade, used for training snow warfare.}}</ref>
*''Italy'' - The Alpini are the Italian Army's specialist mountain infantry. Established in 1872, they are the oldest active mountain infantry in the world. 
*''Japan'' – In the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the {{nihongo|Cold Weather Combat Training Unit|冬季戦技教育隊|Tōki Sengi Kyōiku-tai}} is mandated for research and training for cold-weather warfare. The {{nihongo|Winter Ranger Course|冬季遊撃課程|Tōki-Yūgeki-katei}}, the advanced post-graduate ranger training for cold-weather warfare, is established by this unit.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tani|first=Saburō|year=1988|title=Rangers – The Strongest Combatants of the Ground Self Defense Force|publisher=Fusosha Publishing|isbn=978-4594002350|language=ja|pages=154–186}}</ref>
*''Norway'' – Hosts an annual, multi-national winter exercise Cold Response course. In 2016, the participants came from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom and Norway.<ref>{{cite web
 | url = https://forsvaret.no/en/coldresponse
 | title = Cold Response 2016
 | date = 2016
 | website = forsvaret.no
 | publisher = Norwegian Armed Forces
 | access-date = 11 December 2016
 | quote = Cold Response is the Norwegian Armed Forces' main winter exercise. It is held every other year, and our partners are invited to participate. }}</ref>
*''Russian Federation'' – Russia trains combined forces in winter annually. In 2013, it held four winter readiness exercises under shorter-than-usual notice, according to Wilk: A February exercise with seven thousand soldiers, several hundred fighting vehicles and 48 aircraft and helicopters and three March exercises, one using seven thousand soldiers, 250 fighting vehicles, 50 artillery units, 20 aircraft and helicopters as well as 36 warships.<ref>{{Citation
 | last = Wilk
 | first = Andrzej
 | title = Russian army justifies its reforms
 | journal = OSW Commentary
 | volume = 109
 | publisher = Centre for Eastern Studies
 | date = 26 June 2013
| url = http://aei.pitt.edu/58209/1/commentary_109.pdf
 | access-date = 11 December 2016
 | place = Warsaw }}</ref> Training occurs at the Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School in Blagoveshchensk in the Amur Oblast of eastern Russia. The school covers mountain and Arctic warfare<ref name="mod">{{cite web|title=Дальневосточное высшее общевойсковое командное училище имени Маршала Советского Союза К.К.Рокоссовского|url=http://ens.mil.ru/education/higher/academy/more.htm?id=8680@morfOrgEduc|publisher=Ministry of Defence|language=ru|trans-title=Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School named after Marshal of the Soviet Union KK Rokossovsky|access-date=27 January 2020}}</ref> and qualifies officers as "Commanders of Motorized Rifle Platoons (Arctic)".<ref name="mod2">{{cite web|title=Единственный на Дальнем Востоке ледовый полигон построен для обучения будущих командиров арктических подразделений|url=https://function.mil.ru/news_page/country/more.htm?id=12072218@egNews#txt|date=22 December 2015|publisher=Ministry of Defence|language=ru|trans-title=The only ice range in the Far East built to train future commanders of the Arctic units|access-date=27 January 2020|quote=командиры мотострелковых взводов (арктических)}}</ref>
*''United Kingdom'' – Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines train in {{wipe|Norway}} above the Arctic Circle.<ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/operations/arctic-and-northern-european-waters/norway-cold-weather
 | title = Cold Weather Training
 | website = Royal Navy
 | access-date = 11 December 2016
 }}</ref> The Royal Marines Mountain Leader Training Cadre is the UK premier cold-weather troop detachment.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z8lds8YTd0MC&q=Mountain+and+Arctic+Warfare+Cadre&pg=PA29|title=British Royal Marines: Amphibious Division of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy|last=Scheppler|first=Bill|date=15 December 2002|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc|isbn=9780823938063|pages=29–31|language=en}}</ref>
*''United States'' – The US military maintains cold-weather and mountain warfare training centers at the Army Northern Warfare Training Center at Fort Wainwright, Fairbanks, Alaska, the Army Mountain Warfare School at Camp Ethan Allen, Jericho, Vermont, the Special Forces Command Mountaineering Warfare Training Detachment at Fort Carson, Colorado Springs, Colorado, the US Air Force Arctic Survival School at {{wipe|Eielson Air Force Base}}, Alaska,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/112051/cool-school-teaches-arctic-survival/|title='Cool School' teaches arctic survival|last=Rojas|first=Yash|date=1 December 2011|work=U.S. Air Force News|access-date=29 March 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> and the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, in Bridgeport, California.<ref name=ArmyCold>{{cite web
 | url = https://fas.org/irp/doddir/army/atp3-90-97.pdf
 | title = Mountain Warfare and Cold Weather Operations
 | last = Headquarters
 | date = April 2016
 | website = US Army
 | volume = Army Techniques Publication No. 3-90.97
 | access-date = 11 December 2016
 }}</ref>
<div class="center">
;Equipment used in cold-weather training exercises
</div>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150px">
File:2 norwegian Leopard tanks in the snow.jpg|Norwegian [[Engineering:Leopard 1#Leopard 1A1|Leopard 1A1 tanks]] participating in a 1982 NATO exercise.
File:Operation Cold Winter 1987 Norway DM-ST-87-10885.jpg|[[Engineering:Humvee|Humvee]]s with BGM-71 TOW anti-tank weapons systems in Norway during Operation Cold Winter '87.
File:202 Air Defence Brigade - missile loading -2.jpg|The 202nd Air Defence Brigade in the Western Military District in Russia loading [[Engineering:S-300 missile system#S-300V|S-300V]] [[Engineering:Surface-to-air missile|surface-to-air missile]]s (SAMs) in 2012.
File:CWCT ski troops preparing to rush out of their helicopter.jpg|Air assault by Japanese ski troops in winter camouflage
</gallery>

==Naval operations==
[[File:Flickr - Official U.S. Navy Imagery - Sailors use sledgehammers to break ice from the ship..jpg|thumb|American sailors clearing ice from ship topsides]]
[[File:US Navy 070318-N-3642E-473 Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Alexandria (SSN 757) is submerged after surfacing through two feet of ice during ICEX-07, a U.S. Navy and Royal Navy exercise.jpg|thumb|right|[[Engineering:Los Angeles-class submarine|''Los Angeles''-class]] fast attack submarine USS ''Alexandria'' (SSN 757) surfacing through {{convert|2|ft|m|spell=in|1}} of Arctic ice]]
[[File:У причала Гаджиево.jpg|thumb|Russian [[Engineering:Akula-class submarine|''Akula''-class submarine]] of the Northern Fleet submarine base at Gadzhiyevo in the Murmansk Oblast]]
Subfreezing conditions have significant implications for naval operations. The 1988 ''US Navy Cold Weather Handbook for Surface Ships'' outlines effects on: icing on the topsides of ships, ship systems, underway replenishment, flight operations, and personnel. It also discusses preparations for cold-weather fleet operations.<ref name = SurfaceShips>{{Citation
 | last = Barr
 | first = Robert K.
 | title = US Navy Cold Weather Handbook for Surface Ships
 | place = Washington, DC
 | publisher = Government Printing Office
 | date = May 1988
 | url = http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a247850.pdf
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161220131147/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a247850.pdf
 | url-status = live
 | archive-date = 20 December 2016
 | access-date = 13 December 2016 }}</ref>

===Topside icing on ships===
[[Engineering:Icing (nautical)|Topside icing]] is a serious hazard to ships operating in sub-freezing temperatures. Thick layers of ice can form on decks, sides, superstructures, deck mounted machinery, antennas and combat systems. The presence of topside ice has many adverse effects, principally it:<ref name = SurfaceShips/>
*Increases [[Engineering:Displacement (ship)|ship displacement]]
*Decreases [[Engineering:Freeboard (nautical)|freeboard]]
*Impairs operation of deck machinery
*Impedes personnel movement on deck
*Restricts [[Engineering:Helicopter|helicopter]] operations
*Disrupts operation of radio and radars

===Combat systems degradation===
Icing may prevent a warship from conducting any type of offensive operations, including restraining the doors of a vertical launch systems, binding gears, shafts, hinges and pedestals. Other effects include sluggish performance of lubricants, increased failure rate of seals, plugs and O-rings, frozen [[Engineering:Magazine (artillery)#Naval magazines|magazine]] [[Engineering:Fire sprinkler system|sprinkler system]]s, excessively long warm-up times for electronics or weapon system electronics, and freeze up of compressed-air-operated components.<ref name = SurfaceShips/>

===Arctic operations===
Global climate change has opened the waters of the Arctic along the northern shores of Alaska, Russia and Canada. The region is rich in natural resources. Countries abutting the Arctic Ocean have shown greater military patrol activity. The ''Military Times'' reported in 2015 that Russia had reactivated ten military bases, had increased surface ship and aircraft patrols of its Northern Fleet, and had conducted missile tests in the region. The US Navy plans to have sufficient assets by 2030 to respond militarily in the Arctic. As of 2015, it conducted regular submarine patrols, but few air or surface ship operations. Russia had twelve ice breakers versus two for the US.<ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2015/02/11/navy-prepares-for-arctic-operations/23230291/
 | title = Navy prepares for Arctic operations as ice thins
 | last = Bacon
 | first =  Lance M.
 | date = 11 February 2015
| website = militarytimes.com
 | publisher = Military times
 | access-date = 13 December 2016
 }}</ref> As of 2013, Canada had six ice breakers.<ref>{{cite web
 | url = https://news.usni.org/2013/07/23/u-s-coast-guards-2013-reivew-of-major-ice-breakers-of-the-world
 | title = U.S. Coast Guard's 2013 Review of Major Icebreakers of the World
 | last =
 | date = 24 July 2013
| website = USNI.org
 | publisher = US Naval Institute
 | access-date = 22 March 2017
 }}</ref> In 2016, Canada announced the building of five ice-breaking Arctic and offshore patrol ships.<ref name=aopshomepage>{{cite web |url=http://www.navy-marine.forces.gc.ca/en/fleet-units/aops-home.page |title=Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ships |publisher=Royal Canadian Navy |access-date=31 October 2016}}</ref>

==See also==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
;Warfare
* [[Earth:Desert warfare|Desert warfare]]
* [[Earth:Mountain warfare|Mountain warfare]]
* Russian Northern Fleet
* [[Social:Ski warfare|Ski warfare]]
* List of mountain warfare forces
{{col-break}}
;Climate
* Russian Winter
* Annual Dry Season Offensive 
{{col-break}}
;Arctic
* ICEX: US Navy Mission in Arctic
* [[Earth:Arctic cooperation and politics|Arctic cooperation and politics]]
* [[Earth:Natural resources of the Arctic|Natural resources of the Arctic]]
{{col-end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|35em}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book| first = Thomas P.| last = Govan| title = Training for Mountain and Winter Warfare, Study No. 23| series = The Army Ground Forces| publisher = Historical Section- Army Ground Forces| year = 1946| url = http://www.history.army.mil/books/agf/agf23.htm}}
*{{Citation
 | last1 = Armstrong
 | first1 = Richard N.
 | last2 = Joseph G.
 | first2 = Welsh
 | title = Winter Warfare: Red Army Orders and Experiences
 | publisher = Routledge
 | series = Cass series on Soviet military theory and practice
 | year = 2014
 | pages = 208
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wHW3AwAAQBAJ&q=Winter+Warfare:+Red+Army+Orders+and+Experiences&pg=PA10
 | access-date = 12 December 2016
 | isbn = 9781135211547 }}

==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_RYKfm5yTs Bundeswehr Training Video 1959 Bundeswehr Lehrfilm - "Der Einzelschütze im Hochwinter" 1959] – 1959 German Army training film, "Individual protection in deep winter" – German narration


{{DEFAULTSORT:Arctic Warfare}}
[[Category:Warfare by type]]

{{Sourceattribution|Cold-weather warfare|1}}