Prelude to Muskox: Operation Lemming

 

Military testing turns North
During the Second World War the Canadian military had begun experimenting with Arctic warfare, equipment and tactics. The combat in Norway (1940) and the Aleutian Islands in Alaska (1943) had encouraged the Canadian Army to consider the possibility of operating in Northern climates and, as such, a series of exercises were held to begin testing the military's ability to operate in these harsh conditions.

At the time, Operation Lemming was the third in a series of four such exercises - with the first two being Operations Eskimo and Polar Bear. Lemming was different than its predecessors because it was a joint civil/military operation and was also being held further north than either of its predecessors. It was primarily designed to test equipment and strategy in a harsh winter environment - both for military use and for potential use by the Department of Mines and Resources, which needed Arctic transport for survey parties on Victoria and Banks Islands.

Exercise begins at Churchill
The exercise was held in Manitoba and the Northwest Territories. Beginning at Churchill Manitoba, Lemming's convoy of 17 officers, men and civilians (plus one American observer) moved north on March 22nd 1945. It was a relatively small column, involving six vehicles: two Canadian armoured snowmobile Mk.Is, two M29 cargo carriers and two Inuit style sleds. The party reached Eskimo Point (modern Arviat) on Hudson Bay on March 25th and, turning northwest, reached Padlei in the Northwest Territories on the 28^th. By the 30^th the expedition had returned to Eskimo Point and then spent two days resting and repairing the worn out vehicles. Setting out on April 2nd, the party moved south, returning to Churchill on the 6^th.

In total the expedition crossed 653 miles of sub-Arctic terrain. The column had not passed through any significant supply depots. Lemming was designed to test the effectiveness of the self-contained column and its ability to operate in the Arctic regions on shoestring logistics. Without road or rail supply lines, the expedition was forced to rely on air resupply and whatever food, fuel and equipment it could carry.

Supply and maintenance key to success
Lemming proved that the keys to Arctic operations were supply and maintenance. Every day something broke down. Fuel consumption was extreme and transmissions, engines, and radios performed poorly in the Arctic. Navigation also proved difficult at times since maps of the region lacked detail and the closer one got to the magnetic North Pole the less reliable a compass became.

Major P.D. Baird, the leader of the expedition, described one frustrating incident in which the party was searching for 'Lush's cabin' - its objective for the day. After traveling seven miles toward what appeared to be the cabin, the men found instead only a large rock, exactly the shape and size of a cabin. Past Churchill, roads were virtually non-existent and the best that could be hoped for was flat terrain to move snowmobiles across.

Baird maintains optimism
Baird, however, was optimistic and saw Lemming as proof that, while difficult, Northern operations were possible for a well prepared, trained group. He pressed government to invest more in Arctic capability for the Army, stressing the growing importance of the region. This optimism and the military's northern capabilities would be put to a much greater test six months later in Operation Muskox, the largest Northern exercise Canada had ever seen and Baird would again be commissioned to lead it.