Winter Bridging Exercise on Thick Ice, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, 1988

One of the most vexing situations encountered by an army on the move in winter is the need to cross an ice-covered river. If this ice cover is not thick enough to support the anticipated loads, yet is thicker than what can be easily removed (less than 8 in.), the problem becomes very difficult. This report describes a winter bridging exercise undertaken by CRREl and the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division FMF. The exercise investigated the difficulties of bridging a waterway with 24-in thick ice present and experimented with some options that were chosen to be compatible with equipment normally found with a Ribbon Bridge unit. The only special equipment or materials considered were those that could be easily fabricated or procured if found effective. Keywords: Winter warfare; Military bridges; Ice breakup.