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A coach carrying 29 Royal Marines bound for Afghanistan skidded off an icy road into a tree, leaving six injured - one seriously, the Ministry of Defence said.
The troops from 42 Commando in Plymouth were heading for RAF Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire when the coach ploughed into a snow-filled ditch and hit the tree south east of Cheltenham.
The marine who was driving, a 39-year-old man from Plymouth, is being treated at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital for serious injuries, believed to be head wounds, following the collision. He had to be cut free from the coach operated by Target Travel, which came off the road on the A40 at Puesdown.
Four of the men, aged between 20 and their mid-30s, were taken to Cheltenham General Hospital with what police described as "relatively minor" injuries. Those are concussion, cuts and bruises. A fifth man, aged 27, was also treated for minor injuries at the scene.
The remaining personnel on the coach were taken to a nearby pub where they were checked by a doctor and continued on their way.
Gloucestershire police received reports of more than 60 collisions, due to the icy conditions.
The injuries to three of the men were originally assessed as critical by ambulance staff.
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Just over half an hour earlier, a minibus with 14 people on board crashed at Highnam, near the A40 to the west of Gloucester.
About 12 patients have been taken to Gloucestershire Royal - one with serious injuries, the rest described as walking wounded.
GWAS and both hospitals dealing with the patients have declared a major incident.
