Preparing for War in the Eagle River Valley

Preparing for War in the Eagle River Valley. Camp Hale. , 1940-1941 , German forces invade Czechoslovakia and Poland; Britain and France declare war on Germany. , The Soviet Union invades Finland; Outnumbered Finnish soldiers in white camouflage and mounted on skis ambush and destroy several Soviet divisions before surrendering. , Questioning its preparedness to defend the U.S. northern border against invasion, the U.S. military cooperates with the American Alpine Club and the National Ski Patrol who advise the Army on manning and equipping for potential winter and mountain warfare. , Germany invades Denmark and Norway, and attacks the Soviet Union. Germany, Italy and Japan ally as Axis Power. , Germany attacks Soviet Union. , Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; U.S. enters World War II with Allied Power of Great Britain, France, and Soviet Union. , 1942 , 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment begins military ski instruction on Mt Rainier in Washington. U.S. military chooses Eagle River valley for mountain warfare training, citing its 9,200-foot elevation, water source, railway and roadway access, high altitude climate, annual twelve-foot snowfall, and surrounding 200 square miles of rugged terrain; Camp Hale completed in 7 months. , Japanese forces invade Attu and Kiska , U.S. territory in the Aleutian Islands. , Mountain Training Center (MTC) activated at Fort Carson. CO. , 87th Mountain Infantry of the MTC moves to Camp Hale. Field Artillery Battalions march 170 miles on foot and by mule from Camp Carson (near Colorado Springs) to Camp Hale. , 99th Infantry Battalion-770 first- and second-generation Norwegians arrive at Camp Hale. , 1943 , Rock climbing school established at Homestake Peak. , Allies liberate Sicily, Italy. , Italy surrenders, but reinforced German troops battle to hold ground; Allied attempts to take Mt. Belvedere in Apennines Mountains prove unsuccessful. , 1944 , D-Series , three weeks of 10th Mountain division maneuvers in mountains surrounding Camp Hale. , Allies liberate Rome, Italy; German army fortifies the Gothic Line across the northern Apennines Mountains in central Italy. , Allies liberate Paris, France. , 10th Mountain Division leaves Camp Hale for Camp Swift, Texas; six months later 10th troops deploy to the Italian Front. , , , , , . Set fuse. Load. Fire! 75 MM pack howitzers thunder and buck before an impact-delayed boom ricochets. Aim. Fire! M-1 machine guns retort a rat-a-tat-tat; semi-automatic M-1 rifles pulsate in explosive barks. Shouted cadence calls command ski and marching formations. You stand at the western boundary of Camp Hale , where military training transformed men into winter and mountain warfare soldiers. , While war raged in Europe, a temporary winter and mountain warfare training camp of military barracks and buildings, stables and barns, training ranges, and courses filled this valley. Remnants of Camp Hale are still discernible , its street grid, channelized river, Field House, Climbing Wall, Combat Range on Resolution Mountain to the north-east, and the firing ranges and ski training slope to the south. , The sheer enormity of moving a division of men, weapons, ammunition, equipment, and supplies into battlefield positions in this mountainous terrain demanded specialized training. Maneuvers in mule packing, winter survival, ice and rock climbing, bivouacking (camp setup) in snow and sub-degree weather, aerial tramway and suspension bridge building honed the mountain warfare endurance of the 10th soldiers. , [photo captions] , . 70-million years ago the Rocky Mountains uplifted from a low ancestral mountain range; glaciers and rivers defined the peaks and valleys over time. (Meandering Eagle River shown prior to Camp Hale construction, 1942) , . 10th Mountain troopers drill on the Parade Grounds , some shouldering 7-foot skis. (In the distance, at Camp Hale's southern border, soldiers ski down B-Slope, an instruction hill. After mastering B-slope, men progressed to 11,700-foot Cooper Hill.) , . Troop truck convoy assembles in front of the Field House , . 10th Mountain soldiers firing a 75 MM pack Howitzer , . 10th Mountain troops lead mules through hand-dug snow trenches, near Camp Hale, 1943 , . Earth-moving forces converged on this valley in 1942. During a time of world war, an army of men and machines amassed to bulldoze this land , leveling the valley floor and channelizing the Eagle River to build Camp Hale.