Exercise Eskimo "Dry Cold", Volumes 1 & 2 (1945)

The Canadian Army's Winter Warfare Research Programme 1944–1945, a rare military publication

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Printing Details

First edition. Volumes 1 & 2 (of 3). Hardback, original cloth binding with printed titling. Each 26 × 17.5cm, Vol 1: xix + 271pp, maps, volume 2: xix + 796pp.

Two volumes of these rare military technical reports detailing the findings of Exercise Eskimo, a significant winter warfare field trial conducted in northern Canada during the final stages of World War II. The books document a "dry-cold" joint manoeuvre involving approximately 1,750 personnel from the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), which was primarily designed to test how a continental sub-Arctic winter affected combat efficiency and military equipment, ranging from clothing and rations to heavy machinery like tanks.

The books essentially contain the core observations and technical data gathered during the exercise (from military manoeuvres, vehicles, the army postal service, food and supplies etc) and include pictures, prototype equipment evaluations, and formal recommendations for future winter operations. Volume has five large fold out maps in a pockets to the rear which show: 1. Advance, 2. Withdrawal, 3. L of C Operations (Lines of Communication), 4. Ait Operations, and 5. Winter Climatic Zones

Condition

Fair. Both volumes are fairly heavily worn but remain intact and were never published to be sold. The cloth bindings on both is rather marked and rubbed, with the cloth peeling back from the fore-edge of the upper board to vol 1. The hinges (front and rear) are cracked in both but holding, and there is some creasing through use to the pages throughout. The majority of the fold out plates are in good order, but there's one with a small closed tear where folded but without loss to the diagram. The maps in the rear pockets are in very good condition, but the pocket they are in is a bit torn. Overall, the set remains well-used but in a good readable state.

Further images available on request.

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