Ski and snowshoe training was provided by Norwegian instructors. A high percentage of injuries were incurred in their early parachute training operations, and the coupling of Canadian and American troops created unique challenges for the force leaders. In the following months, the FSSF members were in for intense training in the rugged mountains of Montana. Here a Canadian member of the FSSF demonstrates the German MG34. The Canadians provided combat experience including first-hand knowledge of German small arms. Training began almost immediately at Fort William Henry Harrison near Helena, Mont. The Canadians remained in their own army (and were paid by the Canadian government), but their uniforms, equipment and supplies were provided by the U.S. Canadian volunteers were mostly diverted from a proposed Canadian parachute battalion. The American contingent was drawn from officer cadets at Fort Benning and Fort Belvoir, along with men recruited from northern and western areas with experience as hunters, guides, lumberjacks and other hardy outdoorsmen. force that answered directly to the joint chiefs of staff.Ī joint Canadian American strike force: Cleaning an M1 rifle in the FSSF’s Helena barracks. On July 9, 1942, the First Special Service Force (FSSF) was activated as a top secret, joint Canadian-U.S. Eisenhower approved, promoted Frederick to colonel, and instructed him to create a fighting force to make it work. Johnson at the helm of the project, Lord Mountbatten suggested that, despite his poor assessment of the plan, Maj. Dwight Eisenhower did not want to back down from the challenge-and the potential to open a coveted second front against Germany.Īfter a brief period with Lt.
Frederick assessed the Project Plough as being unfeasible, with unachievable goals and genuine potential for complete disaster. Frederick, an operations officer on the U.S. By May 1942, the plans for “Plough” had been reviewed by Maj.
George Marshall, chief of staff of the U.S. Instead, the concept was offered to the Americans and was accepted by Gen. “Plough” was a highly ambitious plan, to say the least, and it demanded far more resources than the British commando organization could provide. Project Plough’s target was Norway, and the mission was to land a significant commando force, specially trained and equipped for winter and mountain warfare, to create a base within Norwegian territory that would harass the Germans in Norway while preparing a route to invade Germany from the north. In March 1942, “Project Plough” was proposed to Lord Louis Mountbatten, the British chief of combined operations. British commandos raided bases on Hitler’s Atlantic Wall, primarily on the French coast, but also in Norway. Throughout 19, the British military sought to harass and disrupt German operations in occupied Western Europe by any means possible.
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