In August 1941, a British-Canadian force was assembled for "Operation Gauntlet." It was to sail to Spitzbergen, located on the Arctic Circle northeast of Norway, to destroy radio and weather stations on the island. The force was also to destroy Spitzbergen's large stores of coal. Originally, the British had selected the 2nd Canadian.
Infantry Brigade to take part in the operation, but, when the force set sail on 19 August 1941, the Canadian contingent only included one company and one platoon of The Loyal Edmonton Regiment, the 84-man detachment of machine gun crews of the Saskatoon Light Infantry (MG), and the 3rd Field Company of the Royal Canadian Engineers. The relatively small British contingent was entirely composed of Royal Engineers.
Operation Gauntlet accomplished its objective and returned to Britain on the night of 7-8 September.
