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In many parts of the world, the working season of certain operations is severely limited due to winter freeze-up. This is essentially true in such areas as earth moving and trenching. These limitations are due, in part, to the large drawbar forces which act on the cutting machine as it is drawn through the frozen soil. If this drawbar force could be reduced economically, then the working season of these types of operations could conceivably be extended, resulting in increased productivity and profits per year. One method of reducing this force is to oscillate the cutting tool as it passes through the soil. Indeed, recent studies have shown that drawbar force reductions of up to 80% can be realized using just this technique. Unfortunately, it has also been shown that the overall power requirements also increase, a negative factor when economical matters are being considered.