Intervention in North Russia (1918-1919)

Photos from the Fronts - 21st Century views of the Dvina River Front and the Archangel-Vologda Railroad Front, courtesy of Alexey Suhanovsky of Arkhangel'sk, Russia.

Transcription of Ethelbert E. Daish's Diary: June 5th - October 17th 1919 - Ethelbert served as a Petty Officer in the Royal Navy during World War One. In 1919 he went to North Russia on the hospital ship "London Belle" as part of the United Kingdom's North Russia Expeditionary Force.

A small detachment of 8 officers and 100 sailors from the historic cruiser U.S.S. Olympia (C-6) arrived in Archangel on 02 August 1918. The bluejackets dispatched from the Olympia were the first US military forces to engage the enemy in North Russia. The Olympia is still afloat today and can be visited at the Independence Seaport Museum at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A collection of historic photos of the Olympia can be found at NavSource Online .

The 67th & 68th Batteries of the 16th Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery, served with distinction in North Russia. Read about them in the Canadian Army Historical Section's "Report No. 82, Operations in North Russia, 1918-1919" (pdf file, requires Adobe Acrobat Reader software).

"Artillery Action in North Russia" - a section of the 68th Battery, 16th Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery, led by Captain Oliver A. Mowat, fought in the Battle of Shenkursk in January 1919. More information about Capt. Mowat can be found here and here.

American “Intervention” in the Russian Civil War: 1918-1920 - Why did President Woodrow Wilson decide to send American troops into Siberia and Northern Russia on August 16, 1918? . An extended essay written by Scott Reed, a student at the International Academy in Bloomfield Hills, MI, to satisfy a requirement for the International Baccalaureate diploma.

Sir Ernest Shackleton was renowned for his Antarctic explorations. Following his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-17, he asked to serve his country in the Great War and they responded by making him a British Army Major and sending him to Murmansk and Archangel as part of the Allied North Russia Expeditionary Force. The American Society of Polar Philatelists told the story of Shackleton's sub-Arctic contributions in the Jan-March 1995 issue of their Ice Cap News. Mike Jones of London, England recently came across an old book that contained this humorous account of a British soldier in Archangel who had the opportunity to meet Sir Ernest "up-close and personal".

Several photos taken by Cpt. John Edwards, Royal Scots, during the Allied Intervention in North Russia. Includes a photo showing Lt. Ross of the 2/10 Royal Scots ready for patrol at Toulgas and photos of the British icebreaker Olga and the HMS Glory.

Aussies in the North Russian Relief Force The British North Russia Relief Force was organized from volunteers in England during the spring of 1919 for the primary purpose of relieving the British, French and American forces who had been fighting the Bolshevik Red Army during the winter of 1918-1919. Their other purpose was to train the White Russian forces so that they could take over the defense of the local population upon the planned withdrawal of the Relief Force before the next winter set in. More than 200 veterans of the Australian Imperial Forces on the Western Front joined the Relief Force and served in North Russia, including two who were awarded the Victoria Cross for their heroic actions, Sgt. Sam Pearse and Cpl. A.P. Sullivan.

NEW! Australians in the ranks of the British Expeditionary Force in the Russian North Vladimir Kroupnik provides an overview of Australian military involvement in North Russia. Mr. Kroupnik's web site also includes the following related accounts:

Australian Army Sgt. John Kelly spent about a year in the British Mission Elope which arrived in Archangel in early August 1918. In 1979, Mr. Kelly wrote a memoir of his experiences in North Russia, 60 years after he left Archangel. Mr. Kelly was a veteran of the Western Front and a "Digger" through and through. The Memoirs of Sergeant Kelly include his blunt assessments of the competence of the other Allied nation's officers and soldiers.

Private Wilfred Charles Yeoman served in the 201st Machine Gun Company of the 46th Battalion of the North Russia Relief Force. He took part in ferocious fighting in summer of 1919 and he kept a diary that covers the period of July 19 - September 9th.

The Memoirs of Private Ernest Heathcote were written in 1920. He took part in fierce battles in August 1919 and miraculously survived, having been wounded several times.

The Diary of Sergeant Perry covers the period of June 16, 1918 through June 17, 1919.

"A 'Pathetic Sideshow' - Australians and the Russian Intervention, 1918-1919", The Australian War Memorial web site includes this encyclopedic article, which was taken from the 'Journal of the Australian War Memorial' No.7, Oct 1985. The same section of this web site also includes a short entry about the North Russia Relief Force.

"Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth - Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War 1918-1920" includes Causes, Chronology, Results, Forces and Casualties, etc.

"History of Kotlas - The Bolshevik Revolution", the story of the Allied Intervention in North Russia from the viewpoint of the the inhabitants of Kotlas, the railway town that was located on the upper reaches of the Dvina River

"U.S. Magazine Rifle calibre 7.62mm Model of 1916", this article tells the story of the 1916 contract between Imperial Russia and the Remington and Westinghouse companies that produced 1.5 million Mosin-Nagant rifles for the Russian Imperial Army. After the Bolshevik revolution, the remaining shipments were embargoed at various Allied ports. From a shipment that had been embargoed in England, the ANREF was supplied with these rifles on the assumption that the 7.62mm rounds would be more plentiful than Enfield ammunition in North Russia. For more information about all of the models of the Rifle Mosin which were produced between 1891 and 1958, visit The Russian Mosin Nagant Page, which is a website and forum for collectors of these type of rifles.

Intervention in Siberia (1918-1920)

"Guarding the Railroad, Taming the Cossacks - The U.S. Army in Russia, 1918 - 1920" by Gibson Bell Smith. This article appeared in the Winter 2002 issue of Prologue Magazine, which is published quarterly by the National Archives and Records Administration.

"AEF Siberia", by Christine L. Putnam

"American Troops in North Russia and Siberia, 1918-1920", by John Culloton

"America's Secret War" - Daniel A. Leifheit served as a Private in Company C of the 27th Infantry "Wolfhounds" in Siberia. This website was created by his great grandson and it contains information, photos and links pertaining to the American Expeditionary Force Siberia.

The US Army's 31st Infantry Regiment was also assigned to the American Expeditionary Force Siberia along with the 27th Infantry. The 31st Infantry is also known as the "Polar Bear Regiment". The 31st Infantry Regiment Association has their own website here.

"The Russian Railway Service Corps in Japan and Siberia" includes articles explaining the Russian Railway Service Corps' mission plus several hundred photos taken in Japan, China, Mongolia and Siberia during 1918-1920.

"Trans-Siberian Railway in the World History" by Frederick C. Giffin, from the June 22, 1998 issue of The Historian. This article describes at length the role of the Russian Railway Service Corps (RRSC) in the reorganization and rehabilitation of the Trans-Siberian Railway during the Allied Intervention in Siberia, 1918-1920.

"The Czech Legion - The Website of the Czech Legion Project" "Midst the chaos of World War One and the Russian Revolution, 70,000 Czech and Slovak P.O.Ws switched sides. They became The Czechoslovak Legion - an Allied army fighting for a country of their own - Czechoslovakia. Along the way, they captured the Trans-Siberian Railway, half the Czar’s gold, and the heart of a new nation." This website includes several photo galleries, a timeline and a blog - check it out!

Russian Revolution and Civil War

"Russian Civil War" - Documentary with archival film about the people and events that led up to the 1917 Revolution and the Civil War that followed. English narration, 9 min. 15 sec.

"Russian Civil War 1918 - 1920" - Overview article from "Wars of the World-Armed Conflict Event Data"

"From the Sea to the River: Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak and the Russian Civil War"

World War One - General

"Doughboy Center, The Story of the American Expeditionary Forces" - presented by the Great War Society

"The World War I Document Archive" - documents and images from World War I

World War Two - "Polar Bears"

The US Army's 339th Infantry in World War II

The Polar Bear Association of World War II - 85th Infantry Division, US Army

The British 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division's "Polar Bear Association" - official website of the Association of World War Two British Army veterans known as the "Polar Bears". During 1940-1942, they participated in the Norway Campaign and garrisoned Iceland, thus earning themselves the "Polar Bear" divisional insignia and title. They later landed in Normandy shortly after D-Day and fought their way through France, Belgium and Holland. The 49th also fought with distinction on the Western Front during World War One, earning three Victoria Crosses.

Miscellaneous

NEW! White Chapel Cemetery in Troy, Michigan - home of the Polar Bear Monument and the final resting place of these and many other "Polar Bears".

Master Index of Army Records - a list of various types of historical US Army Records and their repositories that has been prepared by the US Army Center of Military History.

Kennan Institute-National Public Radio Russian History Audio Archive - an online audio archive of Soviet and Russian history. The archive consists of recordings dating back to the earliest years of the Soviet state. Included are the voices and speeches of key political figures, including Lenin, Kerensky, Kirov, Beria, Stalin, Gorbachev, and others.

Foreign Command of U.S. Forces by Russell J. Parkinson, 25 Feb 1993. A summary of the various Allied and Multinational Forces in which United States military personnel have operated under foreign command. (pdf file, requires Adobe Acrobat Reader software)

Michigan's Own Military and Space Museum in Frankenmuth, Michigan includes a number of displays honoring Michigan veterans of the North Russian Intervention. Annual Report

American Legion Berryhill Post 165 - website of the Post in Midland, Michigan that was named for Pvt. Chester W. Berryhill, Co. F, 339th Inf., who died of disease on 11 Sept 1918 in North Russia.

Walking in Arkhangelsk - a collection of photos taken in 1998 and 1999 of buildings, parks, monuments and scenery in the modern city of Archangel. Includes a photo of a monument dedicated to the victims of the Intervention.