Bundesarchiv Bild 102-12927, Riesengebirge, Reichswehrübung

Military patrol was a team winter sport in which athletes competed in

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreatio ...

ski mountaineering Ski mountaineering (abbreviated to skimo) is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipmen ...

and

rifle shooting Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such as ...

. It was usually contested between countries or

military unit Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a natio ...

s. The military patrol competition encompassed 25 kilometer cross-country skiing (15 km for women) and rifle shooting. The size of the patrol was four members. The total climb had to be from 500 to 1200 meters (300 to 700 for women). The rules were very similar to modern biathlon. Traditionally the participating patrol had to consist of one

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

, one

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

(NCO) and two privates. The officer carried a

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, a ...

instead of a rifle and did not take part in the shooting. The total weight of the backpacks of the NCO and the privates had to be at least 24 kilograms. In later years the competitors did not carry backpacks, and the rifles were small bore rifles, similar to those in biathlon. The patrol leader did not have any kind of weapon. Military patrol formed part of the International Military Sports Council (''Conseil International du Sport Militaire'', or CISM) skiing championships starting in 1929. It was in the official programme of the

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

in 1924 Chamonix, and on three occasions as a

demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games, but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration spor ...

(1928, 1936 and 1948). In 1924, the military patrol team member Camille Mandrillon took the Olympic Oath on behalf of the competitors.

Successor sports

Biathlon was developed from military patrol. Another military skiing event is the Patrouille des Glaciers, today also including competitions and rankings for civilian competitors.

Notes

Citations

General bibliography

* Official Report (1924) of both Summer and Winter games: {{cite book, title=Les Jeux de la VIII^e Olympiade Paris 1924 – Rapport Officiel , editor=M. Avé, Comité Olympique Français , publisher=Librairie de France , location=Paris , language=French , url=http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1924/1924.pdf , format=PDF , accessdate=7 May 2011 , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505162957/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1924/1924.pdf , archivedate=5 May 2011 , url-status=dead

External links

* CISM
Official rules of CISM skiing, including patrol
Biathlon Cross-country skiing Former Winter Olympic sports Multisports Racing Rifle shooting sports Ski mountaineering

Successor sports

See also

Notes

Citations

General bibliography

External links