The Royal Marines conducted a ten-day exercise called Arctic Tide in the fjords of Tromsø, Norway. They tested their capability to carry out amphibious operations in the event of an invasion.
British commandos and their Norwegian allies trained to land troops, defend them onshore, and supply them with ammunition and provisions.
Arctic Tide is part of the Tarassis series of military maneuvers. These are the largest exercises in the 11-year history of the Joint Expeditionary Force, an alliance of ten countries ready to respond rapidly to threats in the region.
By midnight, 350 British personnel – Royal Marines and sailors – were deployed. They arrived aboard the auxiliary ship RFA Lyme Bay. At the same time, Royal Navy patrol vessels operated in the Baltic Sea.
The main focus of the exercises was the landing of 40 Commando from Taunton. The troops practiced overcoming logistical challenges behind the lines of a simulated enemy.
The task was to establish a foothold in the challenging Arctic environment and prepare a beachhead for a larger allied landing.
A special role was played by the logistics regiment from North Devon. It tested both traditional supply methods and new solutions for delivering resources to hard-to-reach areas.
