Ski warfare

Ski warfare, the use of ski-equipped troops in war, is first recorded by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus in the 13th century. The speed and distance that ski troops are able to cover is comparable to that of light cavalry.

Napoleonic Wars

Denmark-Norway ski troops were used against Sweden during the 1807-1814 Napoleonic Wars.

World War I

During WWI the Italian Army raised 88 Alpini Battalions. Their purpose was to fight summer and winter in the highest regions of the Alpine Arch. Most of the battalions were dissolved after WWI. Only 16 Alpini regiments remain in service today, and only three actively train every soldier in ski warfare: the 6° Alpini, 4° Alpini Paracadutisti, and 5° Alpini Regiment.

The Winter War and the Lapland War

Ski troops played a key role in maintaining Finnish independence from Russia during the Winter War (1939), and from Germany during the Lapland War (1944 - 1945).

World War II

Perhaps learning from the Finns, the Soviet Union deployed several ski battalions during World War II, notably in their 1941 counter attack in the Battle of Moscow. The most common transportation for Norwegian soldiers during the German invasion on Norway and Denmark in 1940 was using skis or Spark, and in Operation Gunnerside, Norwegian commandos dropped by parachute skied long distances in order to reach and destroy a heavy water plant at Telemark, Norway, which was being used by the Germans as part of their nuclear research programme. Also during WWII, the United States Army 10th Mountain Division was activated and trained for ski combat. They