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Operation Muskox was

the largest military exercise ever held in the Canadian Arctic and the fourth of

four military expeditions held in the region in the 1940s. The previous three,

Eskimo, Polar Bear and Lemming, had been on a far smaller scale in terms of

personnel, equipment, and the sheer distance traveled.

The origin of Muskox,

and of Arctic exercises generally, dates back to the beginning of the Second

World War. The fighting in Norway (1940) and in the Aleutian Islands (1943)

demonstrated to Canadian Army planners that combat in such environmental

conditions might be required in the future. The growing Western antagonism with

the Soviet Union, which lay directly across the Canadian Arctic, only increased

these concerns. In discussing the operation, one Canadian Cabinet Minister

explained: "We all know that invasion of North America, if and when, will come

from the north, not the south. . . . We have to be ready. . . . We have to be

able to live, travel and fight in the cold."

In 1939 there were no

Arctic vehicles in the Canadian Army, nor was there any Arctic clothing,

winterized radios or electronics. The military had largely avoided the region.

The Army left security to the RCMP, the Navy had few ice-strengthened ships and

the Air Force had avoided it for lack of suitable airfields. Muskox thus offered

the three services an opportunity to test their skills and equipment in a

totally unique environment.

The

Operation

The Expedition consisted of 48

officers and men driving 11 cabbed, high-powered, 4½-ton snowmobiles. These

Canadian designed vehicles called ‘Penguins'

were originally designed for the invasion of Norway and were capable of

withstanding temperatures of 50° Fahrenheit or more below zero. Accompanying

them were three American observers with one smaller American snowmobile called a

"Weasel.'

The Royal Canadian Navy was represented by an observer who traveled with the

group.

The Royal Canadian

Air Force (RCAF) was deeply involved in Muskox. Lacking the logistical support

of road or rail networks, the expedition had to make due with what it could

carry and what the RCAF could provide through airdrops. Despite being able to

fly over the harsh terrain, the RCAF still had a difficult task. The Canadian

Arctic boasted relatively few airfields and the spaces to cover were vast with

many supply drops requiring a round flight of roughly 1,400 miles.



Advance detachment

To mediate some of

these problems Colonel G.W. Rowley, fluent in Inuktituk and an experienced

Arctic traveler, was selected to take an advance detachment from Churchill to

Baker Lake early in the season to establish an advanced air base, a signal

station and a meteorological station. Muskox was thus divided into four main

detachments: the main expedition, the base forces of 221 men, the RCAF

detachment, and Colonel Rowley's advanced team.

The main moving force

started its trek in Churchill Manitoba. Breaking into three sections and moving

20 miles apart to increase flexibility, the expedition headed north for Baker

Lake in the Northwest Territories. The trip north consisted largely of long days

traveling across barren terrain, maintaining the vehicles and an official beard

growing contest - eventually won by Lieutenant Croal

of the RCN.

Weather creates difficulty

The temperatures for the trip were frigid, with a daily mean

of -25° F which occasionally dropping to -50°. These conditions made Muskox an

excellent testing ground for the Army's new winter clothing and its mechanical

innovations. Blizzards regularly delayed the vehicles, as did mechanical

breakdowns and other unexpected problems, yet the convoys continued onwards with

few serious interruptions.

Upon reaching Baker

Lake the expedition was forced to cut to ten vehicles because of fuel

consumption, learning a hard lesson about Arctic logistical limitations. Moving

north, they carried on to Victoria Island - crossing the frozen Northwest

Passage to do so. On Victoria, the convoy reached Denmark Bay, an area which had

only been visited by white men twice - once by Norwegian Roald Amundsen in 1905

and once by Henry Larsen, an RCMP officer, in 1940.

Locals provide shelter

Making the turn

south, the moving party crossed the ice-covered Coronation Gulf and continued

for 300 miles down to Coppermine (modern Kugluktuk). There, in four or five

homes, nearly fifty soldiers were put up by the locals overnight. From

Coppermine the convoy traveled to Port Radium and across Great Bear Lake to

Norman Wells. Moving south to Fort Simpson and on to Fort Nelson, the expedition

was slowed by a number of rivers. Advanced parties were flown in to bridge a

number of these yet snowmobiles often had to be floated across on rafts.

The longest leg

The longest leg of the trip was from

Fort Nelson to Grande Prairie and this was completed in four days. Here the

vehicles had the unpaved Alcan highway to speed their progress. The next leg was

certainly the easiest; accomplished by rail, traveling southeast to Edmonton

where the expedition was officially dismissed.

Operation Muskox had been a great

success. A number of important lessons were learned and some vital skills had

been developed. Air supply was determined to be the only reliable way of

supporting any Arctic mission and the RCAF developed a very efficient supply

service. Any material that was needed, whether a spare engine or an extra case

of food, could usually be flown in within 24 hours and delivered by parachute.

In all the RCAF moved 419 tons of cargo and flew 792,000 miles in support of the

mission.

Scientists gather data

Muskox was not a purely military

exercise. It had an important scientific element as well. A group of scientists

accompanied the expedition and most of the officers had had some scientific or

technical training. They kept careful records on methods of navigation,

meteorology, snow conditions, signals and the health of both the men and the

Northerners they met along the route. Maps were improved as was the force's

understanding of the region.

The operation had been the most

extensive foray into the Canadian Arctic ever undertaken. Covering 3,100 miles,

the route taken by the moving party was essentially equal to the distance from

Quebec City to Vancouver. In addition, it had been purposefully undertaken

during the coldest winter month and, for all but the last 700 miles, it ran

across some of the harshest Arctic terrain. Vehicles broke down frequently and

men often endured temperatures dropping to -50°, yet the mission

constantly pressed on toward its objectives. Perhaps ironically, in a manoeuvre

designed to enhance the military's ability to conduct operations in the Far

North, the fear of a Soviet Arctic invasion was slightly diminished as the real

difficulty of operating armed forces north of 60° was firmly

established.