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Arctic warfare

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Arctic warfare is a term used to describe conflict that takes place in an exceptionally cold climate. One must note the distinction between alpine and arctic warfare - Arctic war does not always take place in mountanous terrain.

Arctic warfare is quite uncommon due to the general lack of resources or development in a cold climate area, but arctic warfare has sometimes occurred on a seasonal basis. An example may be Operation Barbarossa in 1941, where both Russian and German Soldiers had to endure terrible conditions during the Russian winter. The same could be said for Napoleon's invasion, where his forces were halted in their tracks by General Winter, a term given to the terrible Russian conditions.

Another famous example is the use of ski troops by the Finnish Army during the Winter War and the subsequent Continuation War, where the numerically dominant Soviet forces, largely from the Central Asian steppes, had a hard time fighting mobile ski soldiers.

See also

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