Skis in the Art of War
K. B. E. E. Eimeleus
Abstract
The author of this book was ahead of his time with his advocacy of ski training in the Russian armed forces. Employing terminology never before used in Russian to describe movements with which few were familiar, the book gives a breakdown of the latest techniques at the time from Scandinavia and Finland. The author's work is an early and brilliant example of knowledge transfer from Scandinavia to Russia within the context of sport. Nearly three decades after the book was published, the Finnish army, employing many of the ideas first proposed by the author, used mobile ski troops to hold the So ... More
The author of this book was ahead of his time with his advocacy of ski training in the Russian armed forces. Employing terminology never before used in Russian to describe movements with which few were familiar, the book gives a breakdown of the latest techniques at the time from Scandinavia and Finland. The author's work is an early and brilliant example of knowledge transfer from Scandinavia to Russia within the context of sport. Nearly three decades after the book was published, the Finnish army, employing many of the ideas first proposed by the author, used mobile ski troops to hold the Soviet Union at bay during the Winter War of 1939–1940, and in response, the Soviet government organized a massive ski mobilization effort prior to the German invasion in 1941. The Soviet counteroffensive against Nazi Germany during the winter of 1941–1942 owed much of its success to the Red Army ski battalions that had formed as a result of the ski mobilization. This volume is a translation of the original and includes most of the original illustrations.
Keywords:
ski training,
Russian armed forces,
Scandinavia,
Finland,
Finnish army,
ski troops,
Winter War,
Red Army ski battalions,
Soviet Union,
Nazi Germany
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2019 |
Print ISBN-13: 9781501747403 |
| Published to Cornell Scholarship Online: May 2020 |
DOI:10.7591/cornell/9781501747403.001.0001 |
