Tracing the Terrain of War Training

Tracing the Terrain of War Training. Camp Hale. , 1939-1940 , German forces launch a surprise attack on Poland from the west and the Soviet Union attacks from the east in 1939; World War II begins; the Soviet Union invades Finland. , 1941 , German invasion of the Soviet Union. , 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment activated at Fort Lewis, Washington for training. , Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; U.S. enters world war two, as an ally of Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union against Germany and Japan. , 1942 , U.S. military chooses this Eagle River Valley site for a Mountain Winter Warfare Training Center. Construction of Camp Hale begins , completed in 7 months. , Japanese forces attack the U.S. Aleutian Islands; 10th Mountain deployed. , 87th Mountain Infantry moves to Camp Hale. , 1943 , 604th and 605th Field Artillery Battalion marches 170 miles on foot and by mule from Camp Carson near Colorado Springs to Camp Hale via Cripple Creek, Hartsel, Fairplay, Leadville, and Tennessee Pass. , 10th Mountain troops train in skiing, ice climbing, rock climbing, snowshoeing, mule packing and mountain survival skills. , 1944 , D-Series , three weeks of division maneuvers in surrounding mountain ranges near Camp Hale. , D-Day: Allied assault on beaches of Normandy, France. , 10th Mountain leaves Camp Hale for Camp Swift, Texas. , 10th Mountain Division deploys to the Italian Apennines to face the German Army. , 1945 , World War II ends with the German surrender. 10th Mountain troops return home. , Camp Hale is decommissioned , dismantled barracks and buildings sent to Fort Carson, near Colorado Springs, Colorado, for reuse. , , , , , . Here, at 9,200 feet, your every breath delivers less oxygen to fuel your working muscles , diminishing your energy level. Yet, training at this altitude holds the potential to boost your stamina. In this rarefied atmosphere, during a time of world war, the U.S. military chose this Eagle River Valley and the encompassing Sawatch Range to train an elite army of mountain and winter warfare troops. , Year-round tactical maneuvers within the vast proving ground of the White River National Forest honed the combat readiness of each 10th Mountain Division soldier. Winter expeditions up 10,000-14,000 foot peaks in sub-zero temperatures tested men's endurance and survival skills, and the effectiveness of their experimental military gear and equipment for battle readiness. , Over the course of two years, 10th Mountain troops drilled in artillery and firearms, rucking (snowshoeing, downhill and cross-country skiing, in full 90 pound gear), mule packing, route selection, navigation, rock climbing, and mountain survival skills to coalesce as a specialized fighting force. The 10th Division's mettle would be tested in Italy's Apennines Mountains against an entrenched German army in 1944. , [photo captions] , . Rock climbing training above Camp Hale, 1943 , . Trooper Traverse: Leadville to Aspen ski training, 1944 , . Mules pack 75-millimeter pack howitzers which broke into six parts; six mules carried one pack howitzer. Additional mules carried ammunition and range finding equipment , . Ralph Clark, 86th Company, strapping climbers onto skis on Chicago Ridge