IV

DOUGHBOYS ON GUARD IN ARCHANGEL

Second Battalion Lands To Protect Diplomatic Corps--Colonel Tschaplin's
Coup d'Etat Is Undone By Ambassador Francis--Doughboys Parade And
Practice New Weapons--Scowling Solombola Sailors--Description Of
Archangel--American Headquarters.

With the arrival of the American Expeditionary Force, the diplomatic
corps of the various Allied nations which had been compelled to flee
north before the Red radicals that had overthrown the Kerensky
provisional government, asked for troops in the city of Archangel itself
to stabilize the situation.

The second battalion of the 339th under command of Major J. Brooks
Nichols disembarked at Smolny Quay at four o'clock of the afternoon of
September 4th, the same day the ships dropped anchor in the harbor. A
patrol was at once put out under Lieut. Collins of "H" Company. It was
well that American troops were landed at once as will prove evident from
the following story.

The new government of Archangel was headed by the venerable Tchaikowsky,
a man who had been a revolutionary leader of the highest and saneest
type for many years. He had lived for a period of years in America, on a
farm in Kansas, and had been a writer of note in Russia and England for
many years. He was a democratic leader and his government was readily
accepted by the people. But as with all newly constructed governments it
moved very slowly and with characteristic Russian deliberation and
interminable talk and red tape.

This was too much for the impatient ones among the Russians who had
invited the Allied expedition. One Colonel Tschaplin (later to be dubbed
"Charley Chaplin" by American officers who took him humorously) who had
served under the old Czar and had had, according to his yarns--told by
the way in the most engaging English--a very remarkable experience with
the Bolsheviks getting out of Petrograd. He was, it is said, influenced
by some of the subordinate English officers to make a daring try to
hasten matters.

On the evening of the 5th of September, while the American soldiers were
patrolling the Smolny area, near Archangel proper, this Col. Tschaplin
executed his coup d'etat. He quietly surrounded the homes of Tchaikowsky
and other members of the Archangel State Government and kidnapped them,
hiding them away on an island in the Dvina River.

Great excitement prevailed for several days. The people declared
Tschaplin was moving to restore monarchy under aid of the foreign arms
and declared a strike on the street railroads and threatened to take the
pumping station and the electric power station located at Smolny.
American troops manned the cars and by their good nature and patience
won the respect and confidence of the populace, excited as it was. The
American ambassador, the Hon. David R. Francis, with characteristic
American directness and fairness called the impetuous Tschaplin before
him and gave him so many hours in which to restore the rightful
government to power. And Tchaikowsky came back into the State House on
September 11th much to the rejoicing of the people and to the harmony of
the Allied Expedition. The diplomatic and military authorities of the
American part of the expedition had handled the situation in a way that
prevented riot and gained esteem for Americans in the eyes of all the
Russians.

Archangel, Smolny and Bakaritza now were busy scenes of military
activity. Down the streets of Archangel marched part of a battalion of
doughboys past the State House and the imposing foreign Embassy
Building. Curious eyes looked upon the O. D. uniform and admired the
husky stalwarts from over the seas. Bright-eyed women crowded to the
edge of the boardwalks amongst the long-booted and heavily bewhiskered
men. Well-dressed men with shaven faces and marks of culture studied the
Americans speculatively. Russian children began making acquaintance and
offering their flattering Americanski Dobra.

At Solombola, Smolny, Bakaritza, sounds of firing were heard daily, but
the populace were quieted when told that it was not riot or Bolo attack
but the Americans practising up with their ordnance. In fact the
Americans, hearing of actions at the fronts, were desperately striving
to learn how to use the Lewis guns and the Vickers machine guns. At Camp
Custer they had perfected themselves in handling the Colt and the
Brownings but in England had been obliged to relinquish them with the
dubious prospect of re-equipping with the Russian automatic rifles and
machine gun equipment at Archangel. Now they were feverishly at work on
the new guns for reports were coming back from the front that the enemy
was well equipped with such weapons and held the Americans at great
disadvantage.

Here let it be said that the American doughboy in the North Russian
campaign mastered every kind of weapon that was placed in his hands or
came by fortune of war to his hand. He learned to use the Lewis gun and
the Vickers machine gun of the British and Russian armies, also the
one-pounder, or pom pom. He became proficient in the use of the French
Chauchat automatic rifle and the French machine gun, and their rifle
grenade guns. He learned to use the Stokes mortars with deadly effect on
many a hard-fought line. And during the winter two platoons of "Hq."
Company prided themselves on the mastery of a battery of Russian
artillery patterned after the famous, in fact, the same famous French 75
gun.

While the 2nd Battalion under Major Nichols was establishing itself in
quarters at Smolny, where was a great compound of freshly unloaded
supplies of food, herring and whiskey (do not forget the hard stuff)
and, becoming responsible for the safety of the pumping station and the
electric power station and the ships in the harbor, Captain Taylor
established the big Headquarters Company at Olga barracks at the other
end of the city on September seventh where he could train his men for
the handling of new weapons and could co-operate with Captain Kenyon's
machine gun men. They on the same day took up quarters in Solombola
Barracks and were charged with the duty of not only learning how to use
the new machine guns but to keep guard over the quays and prevent
rioting by the turbulent Russian sailors. Their undying enmity had been
earned by the well-meant but untactful, yes, to the sailors apparently
treacherous, conduct of General Poole toward them on the Russian ships
in the Murmansk when he got them off on a pretext and then seized the
ships to prevent their falling into the hands of the Red Guards. And
while the doughboys on the railroad and Kodish fronts in the fall were
occasionally to run up against the hard-fighting Russian sailors who had
fled south to Petrograd and volunteered their services to Trotsky to go
north and fight the Allied expeditionary forces, these doughboys doing
guard duty in Archangel over the remnants of stores and supplies which
the Bolo had not already stolen or sunk in the Dvina River, were
constantly menaced by these surly, scowling sailors at Solombola and in
Archangel.

Really it is no wonder that the several Allied troop barracks were
always guarded by machine guns and automatics. Rumor at the base always
magnified the action at the front and always fancied riot and uprising
in every group of gesticulating Russkis seen at a dusky corner of the
city.

The Supply Company of the regiment became the supply unit for all the
American forces under Captain Wade and was quartered at Bakaritza, being
protected by various units of Allied forces. "Finish" the package of
Russki horse skin and bones which the boys "skookled" from the natives,
that is, bought from the natives, became the most familiar sight on the
quays, drawing the strange-looking but cleverly constructed drosky, or
cart, bucking into his collar under the yoke and pulling with all his
sturdy will, not minding the American "whoa" but obedient enough when
the doughboy learned to sputter the Russki "br-r-r br-r-r."

Archangel is situated on one of the arms of the Dvina River which deltas
into the White Sea. Out of the enormous interior of North Russia,
gathering up the melted snows of a million square miles of seven-foot
snow and the steady June rains and the weeks of fall rains, the great
Mississippi of North Russia moves down to the sea, sweeping with deep
wide current great volumes of reddish sediment and secretions which give
it the name Dvina. And the arm of the Arctic Ocean into which it carries
its loads of silt and leachings, and upon which it floats the
fishermen's bottoms or the merchantmen's steamers, is called the White
Sea. Rightly named is that sea, the Michigan or Wisconsin soldier will
tell you, for it is white more than half the year with ice and snow, the
sporting ground for polar bears.

While we were fighting the Bolsheviki in Archangel, the National
Geographic Society, in a bulletin, published to our people certain facts
about the country. It is so good that extracts are in this chapter
included:

  "The city of Archangel, Russia, where Allied and American troops have
  their headquarters in the fight with the Bolshevik forces, was the
  capital of the Archangel Province, or government, under the czar's
  regime--a vast, barren and sparsely populated region, cut through by
  the Arctic Circle.

  "West and east, the distance across the Archangel district is about
  that from London to Rome, from New York to St. Louis, or from Boston
  to Charleston, S. C. Its area, exclusive of interior waters, is
  greater than that of France, Italy, Belgium and Holland combined. Yet
  there are not many more people in these great stretches than are to be
  found in Detroit, Mich., or San Francisco or Washington.

  "Arable land in all this territory is less than 1,200 square miles,
  and three-fourths of that is given over to pasturage. The richer
  grazing land supports Holmagor cattle, a breed said to date back to
  the time of Peter the Great, who crossed native herds with cattle
  imported from Holland.

  "About fifteen miles from the mouth of the Dvina River, which affords
  an outlet to the White Sea, lies the city of Archangel. Norsemen came
  to that port in the tenth century for trading. One expedition was
  described by Alfred the Great. But first contact with the outside
  world was established in the sixteenth century when Sir Richard
  Chancellor, an English sailor, stopped at the bleak haven while
  attempting a northeast passage to India. Ivan the Terrible summoned
  him to Moscow and made his visit the occasion for furthering
  commercial relations with England. Thirty years after the Englishman's
  visit a town was established and for the next hundred years it was the
  Muscovite kingdom's only seaport, chief doorway for trade with England
  and Holland.

  "When Peter the Great established St. Petersburg as his new capital
  much trade was diverted to the Baltic, but Archangel was compensated
  by designation as the capital of the Archangel government.

  "Boris Godunov threw open to all nations, and in the seventeenth
  century Tartar prisoners were set to work building a large bazaar and
  trading hall. Despite its isolation the city thus became a
  cosmopolitan center and up to the time of the world war Norwegian,
  German, British, Swedish and Danish cargo vessels came in large
  numbers.

  "Every June thousand of pilgrims would pass through Archangel on their
  way to the famous far north shrine, Solovetsky Monastery, situated on
  an island a little more than half a day's boat journey from Archangel.

  "The city acquired its name from the Convent of Archangel Michael. In
  the Troitski Cathedral, with its five domes, is a wooden cross,
  fourteen feet high, carved by the versatile Peter the Great, who
  learned the use of mallet and chisel while working as a shipwright in
  Holland after he ascended the throne."

To the sailor looking from the deck of his vessel or to the soldier
approaching from Bakaritza on tug or ferry, the city of Archangel
affords an interesting view. Hulks of boats and masts and cordage and
docks and warehouses in the front, with muddy streets. Behind, many
buildings, grey-weathered ones and white-painted ones topped with many
chimneys, and towering here and there a smoke stack or graceful spire or
dome with minarets. Between are seen spreading tree tops, too. All these
in strange confused order fill all the horizon there with the exception
of one space, through which in June can be seen the 11:30 p. m. setting
sun. And in this open space on clear evenings, which by the way, in
June-July never get even dusky, at various hours can be seen a wondrous
mirage of waters and shores that lie on the other side of the city below
the direct line of sight.

Prominently rises the impressive magnitudinous structure of the
reverenced cathedral there, its dome of the hue of heaven's blue and set
with stars of solid gold. And when all else in the landscape is bathed
in morning purple or evening gloaming-grey, the levelled rays of the
coming or departing sun with a brilliantly striking effect glisten these
white and gold structures. Miles and miles away they catch the eye of
the sailor or the soldier.

Built on a low promontory jutting into the Dvina River, the city appears
to be mostly water-front. In fact, it is only a few blocks wide, but it
is crescent shaped with one horn in Smolny--a southern suburb having
dock and warehouse areas--and the other in Solombola on the north, a
city half as large as Archangel and possessing saw-mills, shipyards,
hospitals, seminary and a hard reputation, Archangel is convex westward,
so that one must go out for some distance to view the whole expanse of
the city from that direction. A mass of trees, a few houses, some large
buildings and churches mainly near the river, with a foreground of
shipping, is the summer view. The winter view is better, the bare trees
and the smaller amount of shipping at the docks permitting a better view
of the general layout of the city, the buildings and the type of houses
used by the population as homes.

Along the main street, Troitsky Prospect, runs a two-track trolley line
connecting the north and south suburbs mentioned in the preceding
paragraph. The cars are light and run very smoothly. They are operated
chiefly by women. Between the main street and the river-front near the
center of the city is the market-place. This covers several blocks and
is full of dingy stalls and alleys occupied by almost hopeless traders
and stocks in trade. As new wooden ware, home-made trinkets, second-hand
clothing and fresh fish can be obtained there the year around, and in
summer the offerings of vegetables are plentiful and tempting, the
market-place never lacks shoppers who carry their paper money down in
the same basket they use to carry back their purchases.

Public buildings are of brick or stone and are colored white, pink, grey
or bright red to give a light or warm effect. Down-town stores are built
some of brick and some of logs. Homes are square in type, with few
exceptions, built of logs, usually of very plain architecture, set
directly against the sidewalks, the yards and gardens being at the side
or rear. For privacy, each man's holdings are surrounded by a seven-foot
fence. Thus the streets present long vistas of wooden ware, partly house
and partly fence, with sometimes over-hanging trees, and with an
inevitable set of doorsteps projecting from each house over part of the
sidewalk. This set of steps is seldom used, for the real entrance to the
home is at the side of the house reached through a gateway in the fence.

The houses in Archangel are usually of two stories, with double windows
packed with cotton or flax to resist the cold. When painted at all, the
houses have been afflicted by their owners with one or more coats of
yellowish-brown stuff familiar to every American farmer who has ever
"primed" a big barn. A few houses have been clap-boarded on the outside
and some of these have been painted white.

The rest of the street view is snow, or, lacking that, a cobbled
pavement very rough and uneven, and lined on each side--sometimes on one
side only, or in the centre--with a narrow sidewalk of heavy planks laid
lengthwise over the otherwise open public sewer, a ditch about three
feet wide and from three to six feet deep. Woe be to him who goes
through rotten plank! It has been done.

So much for general scenic effects at Archangel. The Technical
Institute, used as Headquarters by the American Forces, is worth a
glance. It is a four-story solid-looking building about one hundred and
fifty feet square and eighty feet high, with a small court in the
centre. The outside walls of brick and stone are nearly four feet thick,
and their external surface is covered by pink-tinted plaster which
catches the thin light of the low-lying winter sun and causes the
building to seem to glow. On the front of the building there are huge
pillars rising from the second story balcony to the great Grecian gable
facing the river.

Inside, this great building is simple and severe, but rather pleasing.
Windows open into the court from a corridor running around the building
on each floor, and on the other side of the corridor are the doors of
the rooms once used as recitation and lecture halls, laboratories,
manual training shops, offices, etc. Outside, it was one of the city's
imposing buildings; inside, it was well-appointed. To the people of the
city it was a building of great importance. It was worthy to offer the
Commander of the American troops.

Here Colonel Stewart set up his Headquarters. The British Commanding
General had his headquarters, the G. H. Q., N. R. E. F., in another
school building in the centre of the city, within close reach of the
Archangel State Capitol Building. Colonel Stewart's headquarters were
conveniently near the two buildings which afterward were occupied and
fitted up for a receiving hospital and for a convalescent hospital
respectively, as related elsewhere, and not far either from the
protection of the regimental Headquarters Company quartered in Olga
Barracks.

Here the Commanding Officer of this expeditionary force of Americans off
up here near the North Pole on the strangest fighting mission ever
undertaken by an American force, tried vainly to keep track of his
widely dispersed forces. Up the railroad he had seen his third
battalion, under command of Major C. G. Young, go with General Finlayson
whom General Poole had ordered to take Vologda, four hundred miles to
the south. His first battalion, under Lieutenant Colonel Corbley he had
seen hurried off up the Dvina River under another British
Brigadier-General to take Kotlas hundreds of miles up the river. His
second battalion under Major J. Brooks Nichols was on duty in Archangel
and the nearby suburbs. These forces, and his 310th Engineer Battalion
and his Ambulance and Hospital Units were shifted about by the British
Generals and Colonels and Majors often without any information whatever
to Colonel Stewart, the American commanding officer. He lost touch with
his battalion and company commanders.

He had a discouraging time even in getting his few general orders
distributed to the American troops. No wonder that often an American
officer or soldier reporting in from a front by order or permission of a
British field officer, did not feel that American Headquarters was his
real headquarters and in pure ignorance was guilty of omitting some duty
or of failure to comply with some Archangel restriction that had been
ordered by American Headquarters. As to general orders from American
Headquarters dealing with the action of troops in the field, those were
so few and of so little impressiveness that they have been forgotten. We
must say candidly that the doughboy came to look upon American
Headquarters in Archangel as of very trifling importance in the strange
game he was up against. He knew that the strategy was all planned at
British G. H. Q., that the battle orders were written in the British
field officer's headquarters, that the transportation and supplies of
food were under control of the British that altogether too much of the
hospital service was under control of the British. Somehow the doughboy
felt that the very limited and much complained about service of his own
American Supply Unit, that lived for the most part on the fat of the
land in Bakaritza, should have been corrected by his commanding officer
who sat in American Headquarters. And they felt, whether correctly or
not, that the court-martial sentences of Major C. G. Young, who acted as
summary court officer at Smolny after he was relieved of his command in
the field, were unnecessarily harsh. And they blamed their commanding
officer, Colonel Stewart, for not taking note of that fact when he
reviewed and approved them. The writers of this history of the
expedition think the doughboy had much to justify his feeling.

V

WHY AMERICAN TROOPS WERE SENT TO RUSSIA

This Was A Much Mooted Question Among Soldiers--Partisan Politicians
Attacked With Vitriol--Partisan Explanations Did Not Explain--Red
Propaganda Helped Confuse The Case--Russians Of Archangel, Too, Were
Concerned--We Who Were There Think Of Those Pitiable Folk And Their
Hopeless Military And Political Situation That Tried Our Patience And
That Of The Directors Of The Expedition Who Undoubtedly Knew No Better
Than We Did.


To many people in America and England and France the North Russian
Expedition appears to have been an unwarrantable invasion of the land of
an ally, an ally whose land was torn by internal upheavals. It has been
charged that commercial cupidity conceived the campaign. Men declare
that certain members of the cabinet of Lloyd George and of President
Wilson were desirous of protecting their industrial holdings in North
Russia.

The editors of this work can not prove or disprove these allegations nor
prove or disprove the replies made to the allegations. We have not the
time or means to do so even if our interests, political or otherwise,
should prompt us to try it. From discussion of the partisan attacks on
and defense of the administration's course of action toward Russia in
1918-19, both of which are erratic and acrimonious, we plead to be
excused.

We shall tell the story of the genesis of the expedition as well as we
can. We do not profess to know all about it. It will be some time before
the calm historian can possess himself of all the facts. Till such time
we hope that this brief statement will stand. We offer it hesitatingly
with keen consciousness of the danger that it will probably suit neither
of the two parties in controversy over the sending of troops to North
Russia.

But we offer this straightforward story confidently to our late
comrades. They have entrusted us with the duty of writing the history of
what they did in North Russia as their bit in the Great World War. And
we know our comrades, at least, and we hope the general reader, too,
will credit us with writing in sincerity and good faith.

Early in 1918, for the Allied forces, it looked dark. The Germans were
able to neglect the crumbled-in Eastern Front and concentrate a tornado
drive on the Western Front. It was at last realized that the controlling
Bolshevik faction in Russia was bent on preventing the resumption of the
war on the Eastern Front and possibly might play its feeble remnants of
military forces on the side of the Germans. The Allied Supreme Council
at Versailles decided that the other allies must go to the aid of their
old ally Russia who had done such great service in the earlier years of
the war. On the Russian war front Germany must be made again to feel
pressure of arms. Organization of that front would have to be made by
efforts of the Allied Supreme War Council.

They had some forces to build on. Several thousand Czecho-Slovak troops
formerly on the Eastern Front had been held together after the
dissolution of the last Russian offensive in 1917. Their commander had
led them into Siberia. Some at that time even went as far as
Vladivostok. These troops had desired to go back to their own country or
to France and take part in the final campaign against the Germans. There
was no transportation by way of the United States. Negotiations with the
Bolshevist rulers of Russia, the story runs, brought promises of safe
passage westward across central Russia and then northward to Archangel,
thence by ship to France.

This situation in mind the Allied Supreme War Council urged a plan
whereby an Allied expedition of respectable size would be sent to
Archangel with many extra officers for staff and instruction work, to
meet the Czechs and reorganize and re-equip them, rally about them a
large Northern Russian Army, and proceed rapidly southward to reorganize
the Eastern Front and thus draw off German troops from the hard pressed
Western Front. This plan was presented to the Allied Supreme War Council
by a British officer and politician fresh from Moscow and Petrograd and
Archangel, enthusiastic in his belief in the project.

The expedition was to be large enough to proceed southward without the
Czechs, sending them back to the West by the returning ships if their
morale should prove to be too low for the stern task to be essayed on
the restored Eastern Front. General Poole, the aforementioned British
officer in command, seems to have been very sure that the Bolsheviks who
had so blandly agreed to the passage of the Czechs through the country
would not object to the passage of the expedition southward from
Archangel, via Vologda, Petrograd and Riga to fight the Germans with
whom they, the Bolsheviki, had compacted the infamous Brest-Litovsk
treaty.

All this while, remember, the old allies of Russia had preserved a
studied neutrality toward the factional fight in Russia. They steadily
refused to recognize the Bolshevik government of Lenine and Trotsky.

While this plan was still in the whispering stages, the activities of
the Germans in Finland where they menaced Petrograd and where their
extension of three divisions to the northward and eastward seemed to
forecast the establishment of submarine bases on the Murmansk and
perhaps even at Archangel where lay enormous stores of munitions
destined earlier in the war to be used by the Russians and Rumanians
against the Huns. At any rate, the port of Archangel would be one other
inlet for food supplies to reach the tightly blockaded Germans.

Since the autumn of 1914 military supplies of all kinds, chiefly made in
America and England, had been sent to Archangel for the use of the
Russian armies. At the time of the revolution against the old Czar
Nicholas, in 1917, there were immense stores in the warehouses of the
Archangel district and the Archangel-Vologda Railway had been widened to
standard gauge and many big American freight cars supplied to carry
those supplies southward. And these stores had been greatly augmented
during the Kerensky regime, the enthusiastic time immediately subsequent
to the fall of the Czar, when anti-German Russians were exulting "Now
the arch traitor is gone, we can really equip our armies," and when the
Allies believed that after a few months of confusion the revolutionary
government would become a more trustworthy ally than the old imperial
government had been.



U.S. Official Photo
Olga Barracks.


U.S. Official Photo
Street Car Strike in Archangel.


U.S. Official Photo
American Hospitals and Headquarters.


U.S. Official Photo
"Supply" C. canteen "Accommodates" Boys.


U.S. Official Photo
Red Cross Ambulances, Archangel.


U.S. Official Photo
"Cootie Mill" Operating at Smolny Annex of Convalescent Hospital.


Wisckot
Single Flat Strip of Iron on Plow point.


Wagner
Thankful for What at Home We Feed Pigs.


Now, although Archangel was the chief port of entry for military
supplies to the new Russian government, the geographical situation of
the northern province, or rather state, of Archangel had left it rather
high and dry in the hands of a local government, which, so distantly
affiliated with Moscow and Petrograd, did not reflect fully either the
strength or weaknesses of the several regimes which succeeded one
another at the capital between the removal of the Czar and the machine
gun assumption of control by the bloody pair of zealots and tricksters,
Lenine and Trotzky. Consequently, when Kerensky disappeared the
government at Archangel did not greatly change in character.

To be sure, it had no army or military force of its own. The central
government sent north certain armed Red Guards, and agents of government
called "commissars," who were to organize and control additions to the
Red Guards and to supervise also the civil government of Archangel
state, as much as possible. These people of the northern state were
indeed jealous of their rights of local government. And the work of the
Red agents in levying on the property and the man-power of the North was
passively resisted by these intelligent North Russians.

All this was of great interest to the Allied Supreme War Council because
of the danger that the war supplies would be seized by the rapidly
emboldened Bolshevik government and be delivered into the hands of the
Germans for use against the Allies. For since the Brest-Litovsk treaty
it had appeared from many things that the crafty hand of Germany was
inside the Russian Bolshevik glove.

Moreover, there were in North Russia, as in every other part, many
Russians who could not resign themselves to Bolshevik control, even of
the milder sort, nor to any German influence. Those in the Archangel
district banded themselves together secretly and sent repeated calls to
the Allies for help in ridding their territory of the Bolshevik Red
Guards and German agents, using as chief arguments the factors above
mentioned. While the anti-Bolshevists were unwilling to unmask in their
own state, for obvious reason, their call for help was made clear to the
outside world and furnished the Allied Supreme War Council just the
pretext for the expedition which it was planning for a purely military
purpose, namely, to reconstruct the old Eastern fighting front.

In fact, when a survey of the military resources of the European Allies
had disclosed their utter lack of men for such an expedition and it was
found that the only hope lay in drawing the bulk of the needed troops
from the United States forces, and when the statement of the cases in
the usual polite arguments brought from President Wilson a positive
refusal to allow American troops to go into Russia, it was only by the
emphasis, it is said, of the pathetic appeal of the North Russian
anti-Bolshevists, coupled with the stirring appeals of such famous
characters as the one-time leader of the Russian Women's Battalion of
Death and the direct request of General Foch himself for the use of the
American troops there in Russia as a military necessity to win the war,
that the will of President Wilson was moved and he dubiously consented
to the use of American troops in the expedition.

Even this concession of President Wilson was limited to the one regiment
of infantry with the needed accompaniments of engineer and medical
troops. The bitter irony of this limitation is apparent in the fact that
while it allowed the Supreme War Council to carry out its scheme of an
Allied Expedition with the publicly announced purposes before outlined,
committing America and the other Allies to the guarding of supplies at
Murmansk and Archangel and frustrating the plans of Germany in North
Russia, it did not permit the Allied War Council sufficient forces to
carry out its ultimate and of course secret purpose of reorganizing the
Eastern Front, which naturally was not to be advertised in advance
either to Russians or to anyone. The vital aim was thus thwarted and the
expedition destined to weakness and to future political and diplomatic
troubles both in North Russia and in Europe and America.

During the months spent in winning the participation of the United
States in an Allied Expedition to North Russia, England took some
preliminary steps which safeguarded the Murmansk Railway as far south
toward Petrograd as Kandalaksha.

Royal Engineers and Marines, together with a few officers and men from
French and American Military Missions, who had worked north with the
diplomatic corps, were thus for a dangerously long period the sole
bulwark of the Allies against complete pro-German domination of the
north of Russia. Some interesting stories could be told of the clever
secret work of the American officers in ferreting out the evidences in
black and white, of the co-operation of the German War Office with
Lenine and Trotsky. And stories of daring and pluck that saved men's
lives and kept the North Russians from a despairing surrender to the
Bolsheviki.

Meanwhile England was taking measures herself to support these men so as
to form a nucleus for the larger expedition when it should be
inaugurated by the Allied Supreme War Council. But the total number of
British officers and men who could be spared for the purpose, in view of
the critical situation on the Western Front, was less than 1,200. And
these had to be divided between the widely separated areas of Murmansk
and Archangel. And the officers and men sent were nearly all, to a man,
those who had already suffered wounds or physical exhaustion on the
Western Front. This was late in June. About this time the plan of the
Allied Supreme War Council as already stated was, under strict
limitations, acceded to by President Wilson, and the doughboys of the
339th Infantry in July found themselves in England hearing about
Archangel and disgustedly exchanging their Enfields for the Russian
rifles.

For various reasons the command of the expedition was assigned by
General Foch to General Poole, the British officer who had been so
enthusiastic about rolling up a big volunteer army of North Russians to
go south to Petrograd and wipe out the Red dictatorate and re-establish
the old hard-fighting Russian Front on the East. Naturally, American
soldiers who fought that desperate campaign in North Russia now feel
free to criticize the judgment of General Foch in putting General Poole
in command. It appears from the experiences of the soldiers up there
that for military, for diplomatic and for political reasons it would
have been better to put an American general in command of the
expedition. And while we are at it we might as well have our little say
about President Wilson. We think he erred badly in judgment. He either
should have sent a large force of Americans into North Russia--as we did
into Cuba--a force capable of doing up the job quickly and thoroughly,
or sent none at all. He should have known that the American doughboy
fights well for a cause, but that a British general would have a hard
time convincing the Americans of the justice of a mixed cause. This is
confession of a somewhat blind prejudice which the American citizen has
against the aggressive action of British arms wherever on the globe they
may be seen in action, no matter how justifiable the ultimate turn of
events may prove the British military action to have been. We say that
this prejudice should have been taken into account when the American
doughboy was sent to Russia to fight under British command. It might not
be out of order to point out that the North Russian shared with his
American allies in that campaign the same prejudice, unreasonable at
times without doubt, but none the less painful prejudice against the
British command of the expedition. And all this in spite of the fact
that most of the British officers were personally above reproach, and
General Ironside, who soon succeeded the failing Poole, was every inch
of his six foot-four a man and a soldier, par excellence.

The French were able to send only part of a regiment, one battalion of
Colonial troops and a machine gun company, who reached the Murmansk late
in July about the time the Americans were sailing from England. They
were soon sent on to Archangel, where political things were now come to
a head.

The Serbian battalion which had left Odessa at the time of the summer
collapse of the Russian armies in 1917 had gradually worked its way
northward from Petrograd on the Petrograd-Kola Railroad with the
intention of shipping for the Western fighting front by way of England.
They had been of potential aid to the Allied military missions during
the summer and now were permitted by the Serbian government to be joined
to the Allied expedition. They were accordingly put into position along
the Kola Railroad. These troops, of course, as well as thousands of
British troops which were stationed in the Murmansk and by the British
War Office were numbered in the North Russian Expeditionary forces, were
of no account whatever in the military activities of that long fall and
winter and spring campaign in the far away Archangel area where the
American doughboys for months, supported here and there by a few British
and French and Russians, stood at bay before the swarming Bolos and
battled for their lives in snow and ice.

The battalion of Italian troops with its company of skii troops which
sailed from England with the American convoy also went to the Murmansk
and all the American doughboy saw of Italians in the fighting area of
Archangel, North Russia, was the little handful of well dressed Italian
officers and batmen in the city of Archangel. Of course, we had plenty
of representation of Italian fighting blood right in our own ranks. They
were in the O. D. uniform and were American citizens. And of course the
same thing could be said of many another nationality that was
represented in the ranks of American doughboys and whose bravery in
battle and fortitude in hardships of cold and hunger gave evidence that
no one nationality has a corner on courage and "guts" and manhood. To
call the roll of one of those heroic fighting companies of doughboys or
engineers or medical or hospital companies in the olive drab would
evidence by the names of the men and officers that the best bloods of
Europe and of Asia were all pulsing in the American ranks.

The presence of British, French and American war vessels and the first
small bodies of troops encouraged the Murmansk Russian authorities to
declare their independence of the Red Moscow crowd and to throw in their
lot with the Allies in the work of combatting the agents of the German
War Office in the North. In return the Allies were to furnish money,
food and supplies. Early in July written agreement to this effect had
been signed by the Murmansk Russian authorities and all the Allies
represented, including the United States. It will be recalled that
Ambassador Francis had been obliged to leave Petrograd by the Bolshevik
rulers, and he had gone north into Murmansk.

The result of this agreement with the Murmansk and the arrival of
further troops at the Murmansk coast, together with the promise of more
to follow immediately, was to influence the Russian local government of
the state of Archangel to break with the hated Reds. And so, on August
1st, a quiet coup d'etat was effected. The anti-Bolshevists came out
into the open. The Provisional North Russian Government was organized.
The people were promised an election and they accepted the situation
agreeably for they had detested the Red government. Two cargoes of food
had no little also to do with the heartiness of their acceptance of the
Allied military forces and the overturn of the Bolshevik government.

Within forty-eight hours came the military forces already mentioned, the
advance forces of the British that preceded the Allied expedition,
consisting of a huge British staff, a few British soldiers, a few French
and a detachment of fifty American sailors from the "Olympia." In a few
days the battalion of French colonials sailed in from Murmansk.

The coming of the troops prevented the counter coup of the Reds. They
could only make feeble resistance. The passage up the delta of the Dvina
River and the actual landing while exciting to the jackies met with
little opposition. Truth to tell, the wily Bolsheviks had for many weeks
seen the trend of affairs, and, expecting a very much larger expedition,
had sent or prepared for hasty sending south by rail toward Vologda or
by river to Kotlas of all the military supplies and munitions and
movable equipment as well as large stores of loot and plunder from the
city of Archangel and suburbs. Count von Mirbach, the German ambassador
at Moscow, threatened Lenine and Trotsky that the German army then
glowering in Finland, across the way, would march on Petrograd unless
the military stores were brought out of Archangel.

The rearguard of the Bolshevik armed forces was disappearing over the
horizon when the American jackies seized engines and cars at Archangel
Preestin and Bakaritza, which had been saved by the hindering activities
of anti-Bolshevik trainmen, and dashed south in pursuit. There is a
heroic little tale of an American Naval Reserve lieutenant who with a
few sailors took a lame locomotive and two cars with a few rifles and
two machine guns, mounted on a flat car, and hotly gave chase to the
retreating Red Guards, routing them in their stand at Issaka Gorka where
they were trying to destroy or run off locomotives and cars, and then
keeping their rear train moving southward at such a rate that the Reds
never had time to blow the rails or burn a bridge till he had chased
them seventy-five miles. There a hot box on his improvised armored train
stopped his pursuit. He tore loose his machine guns and on foot reached
the bridge in time to see the Reds burn it and exchange fire with them,
receiving at the end a wound in the leg for his great gallantry.

The Red Guards were able to throw up defenses and to bring up supporting
troops. A few days later the French battalion fought a spirited, but
indecisive, engagement with the Reds. It was seen that he intended to
fight the Allies. He retreated southward a few miles at a time, and
during the latter part of August succeeded in severely punishing a force
of British and French and American sailors, who had sought to attack the
Reds in flank. And it was this episode in the early fighting that caused
the frantic radiogram to reach us on the Arctic Ocean urging the
American ships to speed on to Archangel to save the handful of Allied
men threatened with annihilation on the railroad and up the Dvina River.
And we were to go into it wholehearted to save them, and later find
ourselves split up into many detachments and cornered up in many another
just such perilous position but with no forces coming to support us.

The inability of the Allied Supreme War Council to furnish sufficient
troops for the North Russian expedition, and the delay of the United
States to furnish the part of troops asked of her, very nearly condemned
the undertaking to failure before it was fairly under way. However, as
the ultimate success of the expedition depended in any event on the
success of the Allied operations in far off Siberia in getting the
Czecho-Slovak veterans and Siberian Russian allies through to Kotlas,
toward which they were apparently fighting their way under their gallant
leader and with the aid of Admiral Kolchak, and because there was a
strong hope that General Poole's prediction of a hearty rallying of
North Russians to the standards of the Allies to fight the Germans and
Bolsheviki at one and the same time, the decision of the Supreme War
Council was, in spite of President Wilson's opposition to the plan, to
continue the expedition and strengthen it as fast as possible. To the
American soldier at this distance it looks as though the French and
British, perhaps in all good faith, planned to muddle along till the
American authorities could be shown the fitness or the necessity of
supporting the expedition with proper forces. But this was playing with
a handful of Americans and other Allied troops a great game of hazard.
Only those who went through it can appreciate the peril and the hazard.

To the credit of the American doughboys and Tommies and Poilus and
others who went into North Russia in the fall of 1918 let it be said
that they smashed in with vim and gallant action, thinking that they
were going to do a small bit away up there in the north to frustrate the
military and political plans of the Germans. And although they were not
all interested in the Russian civil war at the beginning, they did learn
that the North Russian people's ideal of government was the
representative government of the Americans, while the Red Guards whom
they were fighting stood for a government which on paper at its own face
value represented only one class and offered hatred to all other
classes. When it tried to put into effect its so-called constitution
that had been dreamed out of a nightmare of oppression and hate, it
failed completely. Machine gun beginning begot cruel offspring of
provisional courts of justice and sword-revised soviets of the people so
that packed soviets and Lenine-picked delegates and Trotsky-ridden
ministers made the actual soviet government as much resemble the ideal
soviet government as a wild-cat mining stock board of directors
resembles a municipal board of public works. And the world knows now, if
it did not in 1918-19, that the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet
Republic was, and is, a highly centralized tyranny, frankly called by
its own leaders "The Dictatorship of the Proletariat." The Russian
people prayed for "a fish and received a serpent."

VI

ON THE FAMOUS KODISH FRONT IN THE FALL

"K" Company Hurries To Save Force "B"--Importance Of Kodish
Front--Hazelden's Force Destroyed--First Fight At Seletskoe--Both Sides
Burn Bridges--Desperate Fighting At Emtsa River--Capture Of
Kodish--Digging In--We Lose Village After Days Of Hard
Fighting--Trenches And Blockhouses.

Nowhere did the Yanks in North Russia find the fighting fiercer than did
those who were battling their way toward Plesetskaya on the famous
Kodish front. Woven into their story is that of the most picturesque
American fighter and doughtiest soldier of the many dauntless officers
and men who struggled and bled in that strange campaign. This man was
Captain Michael Donoghue, commanding officer of "K" Company, 339th
Infantry. He afterward was promoted in the field to rank of major and
his old outfit of Detroit boys proudly remember that "K" stands for
Kodish where they and their commander earned the plaudits of the
regiment.

It will be remembered that the third battalion was hurried from
troopship to troop train and steamed south as fast as the rickety Russki
locomotives of the 1880 type could wobble, and it will be remembered
that Captain Donoghue, the senior captain of that battalion, was chosen
to go with half of his "K" Company to the relief of a mixed force of
American sailors and British Royal Scots and French infantry who had
been surrounded, it was rumored, and were in imminent danger of
annihilation.

With his little force of one hundred and twenty men, including a medical
officer with eight enlisted medical men, transporting his rations and
extra munitions on the dumpy little Russki droskie, the American officer
led out of Obozerskaya at three o'clock in the afternoon, bivouacked for
the night somewhere on the trail in a cold drizzle, and reached
Volshenitsa, the juncture of the trails from Seletskoe and Emtsa, about
noon of the 8th of September.

Four versts beyond Volshenitsa the column passed the scene of the battle
between the Bolos and "B" Force. Gear and carts scattered around and two
or three fresh graves told that this was serious business. A diary of an
American sailor and the memoranda of a British officer, broken off
suddenly on the 30th of August, that were picked up told of the
adventures of the handful of men we were going to hunt. More
explanations of the genesis of this Kodish front is now in order.

Consideration of the map will show that Kodish was of great strategic
Importance. Truth to tell it was of more importance than our High
Command at first estimated. The Bolshevik strategists were always aware
of its value and never permitted themselves to be neglectful of it.
Trotsky knew that the strategy and tactics of the winter campaign would
make good use of the Kodish road. Indeed it was seen in the fall by
General Poole that a Red column from Plesetskaya up the Kodish road was
a wedge between the railroad forces and the river forces, always
imperiling the Vaga and Dvina forces with being cut off if the Reds came
strong enough.

The first movement on Kodish by the Allied troops had been made by "B"
force under the command of Col. Hazelden of the British army. With about
two hundred men composed of French soldiers, a few English soldiers,
American sailors from the Olympic, and some local Russian volunteers, he
had pushed up the Dvina and Vaga to Seletskoe and operating from there
had sent a party of French even as far as Emtsa River, a few miles north
of Kodish.

But before he could attack Kodish, Hazelden was ordered to strike across
the forest area and attack the Reds in the rear near Obozerskaya where
the Bolshevik rear guard with its excellent artillery strategist was
stubbornly holding the Allied Force "A." Passing through Seletskoe he
left the Russian volunteers to oppose the Reds in Kodish, and guard his
rear. But these uncertain troops fled upon approach of the Bolos and
about the first of September Col. Hazelden instead of being in a
position to demoralize the Reds on the railroad by a swift blow from
behind, found himself in desperate defense, both front and rear, and
beleagured in the woods and swamps some twenty-seven versts east of
Obozerskaya.

He managed to get a message through to Sisskoe just before the Reds
closed in on him from behind. About a hundred English marines, a section
of machine gunners, a platoon of Royal Scots, and some Russian
artillery, all enroute to Archangel from their chase of the Reds up the
Dvina, were ordered off their barges at Sisskoe, were christened "D"
Force, and, under the command of Captain Scott, British officer, were
given the task of preventing the Reds from Kodish from cutting off the
river communications.

This force was also to help Col. Hazelden out. But as we have seen, his
force had been destroyed, and Americans hurriedly sent out. At
Volshenitsa Captain Donoghue received a message by aeroplane from Col.
Guard at Obozerskaya that "D" Force was held up at Tiogra by the Reds.
After patrolling the forest five days and finding the trail to Emtsa
impassable during the wet season, "K" Company received both the welcome
reinforcements of Lieut. Gardner and the twenty men who had been left at
Lewis gun School at Bakaritza, and orders to proceed on to Seletskoe.

The Red Guards hearing of the American successes on the railway and
hearing of the approach of this force from the railroad in their rear
went back to Kodish, and on the morning of September 16th "K" Company
became a full-fledged member of "D" Force to be better known the world
over in the bitterest part of this campaign as the Kodish Force.

Here the doughboys got their baptism of fire when they took over under
fire the outposts of the village of Seletskoe. For the Bolos who had
retreated the week before had told the inhabitants they would be back
and they were making their threat, or promise, as you will have it,
good. For two days and nights the Americans beat off the attacks,
principally through the good work of Sgt. Michael Kinney, the gallant
soldier who fell at Kodish on New Year's Day. Aided by the accurate fire
of the French machine gun section, the "K" men inflicted such heavy
penalties that the Reds quit in panic, assassinated their commander and
skurried south thirty miles.  However, this victory was not exploited by
the Allied force. It seems that the commander of the force had sent out
a Russian patrol on the east bank of the Emtsa River which brought back
information that a heavy force of the enemy was operating in the rear of
"D" force.

Accordingly Captain Scott ordered a retreat from Seletskoe to Tiogra,
taking up a position on the north bank of the Emtsa River after burning
the bridge to prevent pursuit by the Reds who it was afterwards found
were fleeing in the opposite direction, after having burned another
bridge on the Emtsa further to the south to prevent the Americans from
pursuing them.

An interesting story was often repeated about this funny episode which
was due to the credence given by the British officer to the report of
the highly imaginative Russian patrol.

An English corporal on one of the outposts of Seletskoe was not informed
by Captain Scott of the retreat during the night. Next morning he went
forward and discovered that the Reds had burned their bridge. But when
he went to report that fact he found the village of Seletskoe evacuated
by his own forces, natives also having fled with everything of value
from the samovar to the cow. A few hours later the old corporal appeared
on the other bridgeless bank of the Emtsa across from the "K" men who
were digging in and said in a puzzled way, "I saiy, old chap, wots the
bloody gaime?"

Of course as soon as an improvised pontoon could be rigged up "K"
Company and the rest of the happily informed force were in pursuit again
of the Reds. The bridge was constructed by a detachment of the 310th
American Engineers, who had come up with Col. Henderson, of the famous
"Black Watch," the new commander.

The French machine gunners by this time were badly needed on the
railroad force. In their place came a company of the Russian Officers'
Training Corps.

On September 23rd Seletskoe was again occupied and the Yanks began
improving its defenses, taking much satisfaction in the arrival from
Archangel of Lieut. Ballard's American machine gun platoon. Within two
days also their ranks were greatly strengthened by the arrival of Lieut.
Chappel from Issaka Gorka with the other two platoons of "K" company
closely followed by Captain Cherry with "L" Company from the Railroad
force.

General Finlayson, whose job it was to take Plesetskaya, now sought to
shove the Kodish force ahead rapidly so as to trap the Reds on the
railroad between the two forces. Accordingly the next morning, September
26th, "K" Company and two platoons of "L" and the machine gun section
moved south toward Kodish to achieve the mission that had been assigned
to Col. Hazelden. The Bolshevik was found the next morning strongly
entrenched on the other side of the river Emtsa near the burned bridge
and after severe losses suffered in the gaining of a foothold on the
north side of the river by crossing on a raft, the Americans had to dig
in. In fact they lay for over a week in the swamp hanging tenaciously to
their position but unable to advance. Men's feet swelled in their wet
boots till the shoes burst. But still they hung on under the example of
their game old captain, At this time Lieut. Chappel was victim of a Bolo
machine gun while trying to lead a raiding squad up to its capture. Six
others were killed and twenty-four were wounded. Droskies needed for
transportation of supplies and ammunition had to be used to take back
the wounded and sick from exposure to Seletskoe. No "K" or "L" or "M.
G." man who was there will ever forget those days.

It was obvious that the Kodish force must be augmented. English marines
and a section of Canadian artillery came up. Headquarters was
established in the four-house village of Mejnovsky, eight miles back.
Steady sniping and patrol action was carried on actively by both forces.
Col. Henderson's further attempt to throw a force across the river by
means of a raft was frustrated by the Reds. October 7th Lieut.-Col.
Gavin came up to assume command.

This energetic and keen British officer soon worked out plans for
effecting an advance. Using the American engineers, he soon had a ferry
in use three versts--about two miles--below Mejnovsky.

And on October the 12th "K" and "L" Companies crossed on that ferry and
marched up the left bank of the Emtsa till within one thousand yards of
the flank of the strong Bolo position, and bivouacked in the swamp for
the night. In the morning Captain Cherry took his company and two
platoons of "K" and struck south to pass by the flank and fall upon
Kodish in rear of the enemy who was holding the position in great force
at the river.

The remainder of "K" Company moved upon the right of the enemy front
line at the river crossing. At the time Donoghue struck, a frontal
demonstration was made upon the Reds by the English marines and American
machine guns firing across the river and by the Canadian artillery
shelling the woods where the Red reserves were thought to be. The plan
failed because of the inability of Captain Cherry to reach his
objective, on account of the bottomless swamps that he encountered.
Captain Donoghue gained a foot-hold and then was forced to dig in and
during the afternoon repulsed two counter attacks of the Bolos, having
paid for the capture of the two Bolo machine guns by severe losses.

During the night under cover of these two platoons, "L" and the English
marines crossed the river, where the Reds had held them so many days.
And during the following day the right of the Bolo position was turned
by a movement through the woods.

But at four o'clock in the afternoon the enemy's second, position, a
mile north of the village, developed surprising strength. In fact, the
Reds counterattacked just at dark and once more the doughboys lay down,
on their arms, in the rain-flooded swamp, where the dark, frosty morning
would find them stiff and ugly customers for the Reds to tackle. In fact
they did rise up and smite the Bolshevik so swiftly that he fled from
his works and left Kodish in such a hurry that he gave no forwarding
address for his mail. Captain Donoghue set up his headquarters in Kodish
and sent detachments out to follow the Reds and to threaten the Red
Shred Makhrenga and Taresevo forces. During this fight, or rather after
it, the Canadians taught our boys their first lesson in looting the
persons of the dead.  Our men had been rather respectful and gentle with
the Bolo dead who were quite numerous on the Emtsa River battlefield.
Can you call a tangle of woods a field? But the Canadians, veterans of
four years fighting, immediately went through the pockets of the dead
for roubles and knives and so forth and even took the boots off the
dead, as they were pretty fair boots.

The officer who reports this says he has often heard of dead men's boots
but had to go to war to actually see them worn.

In passing let it be stated that many a footsore doughboy helped himself
to a dry pair of boots from a dead Red Guard or in winter to a pair of
valenkas, or warm felt boots. One of "Captain Mike's" nervy sergeants
protested against being sent back to Seletskoe to get him a new pair of
shoes, for he hated the ill-fitting British army shoe, as all Americans
did, and prevailed upon Donoghue to let him wait a few days till after a
battle when he sure enough helped himself to a fine pair of boots.

One thing the American never did take from the dead Bolo was his Russian
tobacco, for it was worse even than the British issue tobacco. A good
story is told on one of Donoghue's lieutenants. During the excitement of
burning the bridge over the Emtsa at Tiogra, time when the two forces
fled from one another, the officer, greatly fatigued, sat down on the
bridge during the preparations by the men. He was missed later on the
march and the man whom the captain sent back to find the lieutenant
arrived just in time to keep what little hair the popular bald-headed
little officer had from being singed off by the leaping flames. Lieut.
Ryan does not like to be kidded about it.

The morning of the seventeenth of October saw the American forces again
on the advance. Good news had come of the successes on the railroad.

The Kodish force was in the strategic position now to force the Reds to
give up Emtsa and Plesetskaya. But Trotsky's northern army commander
evidently well understood that situation, for he gave strict attention
to this Kodish force of Americans and at the fifteenth verst pole on the
main road his Red Guards held the Americans all day. Again the next day
he made Donoghue's Yanks strive all day. Just at night successful
flanking movements caused the enemy to evacuate his formidable position.
It was here that Sgt. Cromberger, one of Ballard's machine gun men,
distinguished himself by going single-handed into the Bolo lines to
reconnoiter.

The converging advances upon Plesetskaya by the three columns, up the
Onega Valley, on the railroad and on the Kodish-Plesetskaya-Petrograd
highway now seemed about to succeed. Hard fighting by all three columns
had broken the Bolshevik's confidence somewhat.

Of course at this time of writing it can be seen better than it could
then. He did not make a stand at Avda. He was found by our patrols way
back at Kochmas, only a few miles from the railroad. Meanwhile the
Russian Officers' Training Corps which was armed with forty Lewis guns
and acted rather independently, together with the Royal Scot platoon and
a large number of "partisans," anti-Bolshevik volunteers of the area,
effected the capture of Shred Makhrenga, Taresevo and other villages,
which added to the threat of the Kodish force on Plesetskaya.

Plesetskaya at that moment was indeed of immense value to the Reds. It
was the railroad base of their four columns that were holding up the
left front of their Northern Army. But they were discouraged. Our
patrols and spies sent into Plesetskaya vicinity reported and stories of
deserters and wounded men all indicated that the Reds were getting ready
to evacuate Plesetskaya. A determined smash of the three Allied columns
would have won the coveted position. But the Kodish force now received
the same strange order from far-off Archangel that was received on the
other fronts:

"To hold on and dig in." No further advances were to be made. Thinking
of their eleven comrades killed in this advance and of the thirty-one
wounded and of the many sick from exposure, the Americans on the Kodish
force as well as the English marines and Scots who also had lost
severely, were loath to stop with so easy a victory in sight.

Of course General Ironside's main idea was right, but its application at
that time and place seemed to work hardship on the Kodish force. And the
sequel proves it. To add to their discomfort, the very size of this
force which had struggled so valiantly this little distance, was now
reduced by the withdrawal of the English marines and of "L" Company, and
by the ordering of the Canadian artillery guns to the Dvina front. The
remaining force with Captain Donoghue totalled one hundred and eighty
men, which seemed very small to them, in view of the fact that a mere
reconnoitering patrol from the Bolos now returning to activity always
showed anywhere from seventy-five to one hundred rifles and a machine
gun or two. However, they made the best of their remaining days in
October to fortify the Kodish-Avda front sector of the road. The Yanks
were to be prepared for the worst. And they got it. Let us take a look
at the position held by these Americans. It is typical of the positions
in which many of the far-flung detachments found themselves.

At the seventeenth verst pole was a four-man outpost. At the sixteenth
verst pole Lieut. Ballard had two of his machine guns, a Lewis gun crew
and some forty-six men from "K" Company. Four versts behind him on the
densely wooded road Lieut. Gardner with forty men and a Vickers gun was
occupying the old Bolo dugouts. One verst further back in the big
clearing was Kodish village, a place which by all the rules of field
strategy was absolutely untenable. Here with four Vickers guns were the
remainder of "K" Company along with the sick and the lame and the halt,
scarce forty men really able to do active duty, but obliged to stay on
to support their comrades. The nearest friendly troops, including their
artillery, were back at Seletskoe, thirty versts away. On October 29th
the Reds returned to Avda. The noise from that village and reports
brought by patrols indicated that this enemy who erstwhile was on the
run, and whom our high command now held lightly, was determined to
regain Kodish. And while striking heavily at their enemy on the railroad
as we have seen, the Red Guards now fell upon this single company of
Americans strung out along the Kodish-Avda road.

In the afternoon of November 1st the enemy drove in our cossack post of
"K" men at verst seventeen, began shelling us with his artillery and for
several days kept raiding Ballard heavier and heavier. Meanwhile Captain
Donoghue sent out from Kodish every available man to strengthen the
line. Night and day the men labored to erect additional defenses, with
scarcely time to close an eye in sleep, patrolling all the trails on
their flanks. On the fourth of November, the day the Reds were massed in
such numbers on the railroad, they succeeded in forcing Ballard from his
trenches at the sixteenth verst pole. He fell back to the new defenses
at the fifteenth verst. It is related by his men that he passed between
Bolo forces who lined the road but permitted the Americans to escape.

Lieut. Gardner was now reinforced at the twelfth verst pole, for a
patrol had lost a man somewhere on the river flank and it was thought
that the enemy was preparing to pass by the flank and bag this body of
American fighters by taking the newly constructed bridge on the Emtsa in
the rear of Donoghue's small force. This bridge was their "only way
home."

Their worst fears came true. On the morning of the fifth of November
these Yanks way out at front of Kodish, holding the enemy off
desperately from the frontal attack, and endeavoring vainly to frustrate
the flank attacks of their enemy in greatly superior numbers, suddenly
heard great bursts of machine gun fire way towards the rear in the
vicinity of Kodish. Instantly they knew that Reds had worked down the
river by the flank from Avda or even from Emtsa on the railroad and were
attacking in force three miles to their rear. That made the situation
desperate. But the Yanks who had in the beginning of the campaign been
looked down upon by the Red Capped British High Command because of their
greenness, now showed their fineness of fighting stuff by fighting on
with undiminished vigor and effectiveness. Nowhere did they give way.
Day and night they were on the alert. Attacks from the front, sly raids
from the woods on each side of the road, heart chilling assaults upon
the cluster of houses in Kodish way in their rear, and steady progress
of the Red Guards toward the bridge on the Emtsa, their only way out of
the bag in which the worn and depleted company was being trapped,
brought the prolonged struggle to a crisis in the middle of the
afternoon of the eighth of November.

It came as follows: Colonel Hazelden, survivor of the disaster earlier
in the fall, as already related, had returned to command the
Kodish-Shred Makhrenga fronts, when Col. Gavin was sent to command the
railroad front where Colonel Sutherland had fizzled.

This gallant officer was on his way to the perilous front to see
Ballard. Just as he passed Gardner at the twelfth verst pole, he found
himself and the two detachments of Americans at last completely cut off
by a whole battalion of Red Guards fresh from the south of Russia, sent
up by Trotsky to brace his Northern Army. For half an hour there raged a
fight as intense as was the bitter reality of the emergency to the forty
Americans with Gardner in those dugouts. By almost miraculous luck in
directing their fire through the screen of trees that shielded the Reds
from view, Sgt. Cromberger's Vickers gun and Cpl. Wilkie's Lewis gun
inflicted terrible losses upon this fresh battalion just getting into
action against the Americanskis. It was massed preparatory to the final
dispositions of its commander to overwhelm the Americans. But with the
hail of bullets tearing through their heavy ranks, the Bolos were unable
long to stand it, and at last broke from control, yelling and screaming,
to suffer still more from the well-handled guns when they left their
cover and ran for the woods. And so the little force was saved. But so
loud and prolonged were the yells of the frightened and wounded Reds
that Captain Donoghue, a verst in the rear at his field headquarters, he
related afterwards, paced the floor of the log shack in an agony of
certainty that his brave men were all gone. He had been sure that the
howling of the scattered pack had been the fervent yells of a last
bayonet charge wiping out the Yankees.

The Reds could not get themselves together for another attack at this
point before dark but did drive Ballard back verst after verst that
afternoon. It was a grim handful of "M. G." and "K" men who looked at
their own losses and counted the huge enemy losses of that desperate day
and wondered how many such days would whittle them off to the point of
annihilation. Col. Hazelden had gone back to headquarters. Captain
Donoghue now acted with his usual decisiveness.

The Americanskis had slipped out of the bag before the Red string was
tied. And in the morning of the 9th of November the good old Vickers
guns and Lewis guns were peeking from their old concealed strongholds on
the American side of the Emtsa. Artillery support was reported on the
way to argue with the Bolo artillery. A platoon of "L" Company which had
come up during the last of the fighting, together with a platoon of
replacement men from the old Division in France, who had just come
across the trail from the railroad, now took over the active defense of
the bridge.

Both sides began digging in. American Engineers came up to build block
houses. And the fagged warriors of machine gun and "K" infantry men now
retired a short distance to the rear to make themselves as comfortable
as possible in the woods, and try to forget their recent harrowing
experiences and the sight of the seven bleeding stretchers that were
part of the cost of trying to hold a place that was a veritable death
trap. Here it was that Major Nichols on a look-see from the railroad
detachments found them. He had been sent across by the French colonel
commanding Vologda force, under which this Kodish force had recently
been brought. He was the first American field officer that had come to
inspect this hard-battered outfit. And his report on their miserable
plight had no little influence in bringing them relief.

Shortly afterward "K" Company was relieved by "E" Company which had come
down from Archangel guard duty, and "K" Company went to reserve position
in Seletskoe and later marched across the trail to Obozerskaya, took
troop train to Archangel for a much needed and highly deserved two
weeks' change of scenery and rest, arriving one evening in November in
an early winter's snow storm at Smolny Quay where the "M" Company men
captured them and their luggage and carried them off to a big feed,
first one they had had in Russia. Lieut. Ballard's heroic machine gun
platoon a few days later was also relieved, by Lieut. O'Callaghan's
platoon. So ended the fall campaign on the famous Kodish front.

VII

PENETRATING TO UST PADENGA

Taking Of Shenkursk On Vaga--"Horse Marines"--Battling At Puia--Bad
Position For Troops--Retirement To Ust Padenga--Critical Situation--"C"
Company Stands Heavy Losses--Lieutenant Cuff And Men Killed In Hand To
Hand Fighting--Bolshevik Patrols--Cossack Forces Weak On Defense.

While the old first battalion was, as we have seen, fighting up to
Seltso on the Dvina River, numerous reports were coming in daily that a
strong force of the Bolsheviki were operating on the Vaga River. This
river is a tributary of the Dvina and empties into it at a village
called Ust Vaga, about thirty versts below Beresnik and on which is
located the second largest town or city in the province of Archangel.
This river was strategically of more value than the upper Dvina,
because, as a glance at the map will show, its possession threatened the
rear of both the Dvina and the Kodish columns. Accordingly, on the
fifteenth day of September, accompanied by a river gunboat, the
remaining handful of Company "A", comprising two platoons, under Capt.
Odjard and Lieut. Mead, went on board a so-called fast river steamer en
route to Shenkursk. On the seventeenth day of September this detachment
took possession of Shenkursk without firing a single shot, the
Bolsheviki having fled in disorder upon word of our arrival. The
citizens of this village turned out en masse to welcome us as their
deliverers, and the Slavo-British Allied Legion soon gained a
considerable number of new recruits.

Shenkursk is a village about one hundred and twenty-five versts up the
Vaga River from its junction with the Dvina River. It is by far one of
the most substantial and prosperous in the province of Archangel. It
differs very materially from all the surrounding country in that it is
located on good sandy soil on a high bluff overlooking the river and is
comparatively dry, even in wet weather. It is quite a summer resort
town, has a number of well constructed brick buildings, half a dozen or
more schools, a seminary, monastery, saw mill, and in many others
respects is far above the average Russian village.

Upon their arrival our troops were quartered in an old Cossack garrison,
reminiscent of the days of the Czar. We prepared to settle down very
comfortably for the winter. Our dream of rest and quiet was rudely
shattered, however, for two days later we were notified that the British
command for the Vaga River troops was on its way to Shenkursk, and that
we were to push further on down the river to stir up the enemy. Without
question we were quite willing to leave the enemy rest in peace as long
as he did not molest us, but such was not the fortune nor luck of war,
and therefore, on September 1st, the small detachment of American
troops, reinforced by some thirty or forty S. B. A. L. troops, went
steaming up the Vaga River on the good ship "Tolstoy," a decrepit old
river steamer on which we had mounted a pom pom and converted it into a
"battle cruiser." The troops immediately christened themselves the horse
"marines" and the name was quite an appropriate one as later events
proved.

About noon that day Capt. Odjard and Lieut. Mead with two platoons
arrived opposite a village named Gorka when suddenly without any warning
the enemy, concealed in the woods on both sides of the river, opened up
a heavy machine gun and rifle fire. Our fragile boat was no protection
from this fire. To attempt to run around and withdraw in the shallow
stream was next to impossible, so after a hasty consultation the
commander grasped the horns of the dilemma by running the boat as close
to the shore as possible, where the troops immediately swarmed overboard
in water up to their waists, quickly gained the protection of the shore
and spreading out in perfect skirmish order, poured a hot fire into the
enemy, who was soon on the run. This advance continued for some several
days until under the severe marching conditions, lack of food, clothing,
etc., a halt was made at Rovdinskaya, a village about ninety versts from
Shenkursk, and a few days later more reinforcements arrived under
Lieuts. McPhail and Saari.

A number of incidents on this advance clearly indicated that we were
operating in hostile and very dangerous country. Our only line of
communication with our headquarters was the single local telegraph line,
which was constantly being cut by the enemy. At one time a large force
of the enemy got in our rear and we were faced with the unpleasant
situation of having the enemy completely surrounding us. Capt. Odjard
determined upon a bold stroke. Figuring that by continuing the advance
and striking a quick blow at the enemy ahead of us, those in the rear
would anticipate the possibility of heavy reinforcements bringing up our
rear. On October 8th we engaged the enemy at the village of Puiya. We
inflicted heavy casualties upon him. He suffered no less than fifty
killed and several hundred wounded. As anticipated, the enemy in our
rear quickly withdrew and thus cleared the way for our retreat. We
retired to Rovdinskaya, which position we held for several weeks. The
situation was growing more desperate day by day. Our rations were at the
lowest ebb; cold weather had set in and the men were poorly and lightly
clad, in addition to which our tobacco ration had long since been
completely exhausted, which added much to the general dissatisfaction
and lowering of the morale of the troops.

With the approach of the Russian winter a new and dangerous problem
presented itself. At the outset of the expedition it had been planned
that the troops on the railroad front were to push well down the
railroad to or beyond Plesetskaya. The Vaga Column was to go as far as
Velsk and there establish a line of communication across to the railroad
front. Unfortunately, their well-laid plans fell through and perhaps
fortunately so. The forces of the railroad had been checked near Emtsa,
far above Plesetskaya. The other troops on the Dvina had by this time
retired to Toulgas and as a consequence the smallest force in the
expedition, the Vaga Column, was now in the most advanced position of
these three fronts, a very dangerous and poorly chosen military
position.


WAGNER
Artillery "O. P.," Kodish.


LANMAN
Mill for Grinding Grain.


U. S. OFFICIAL PHOTO
Pioneer Platoon Clearing Fire Lane.


U. S OFFICIAL PHOTO
Testing a Vickers Machine Gun.


U. S. OFFICIAL PHOTO (152813)
Doughboy Observing Bolo in Pagosta--Near Ust Padenga.


U S OFFICIAL PHOTO
Cossack Receiving First Aid, Vistavka.


LANMAN
Ready for Day's Work.


DOUD
Flax Hung Up to Dry.


WAGNER
310th Engineers at Beresnik.


To make matters still worse, from the village of Nyandoma on the Vologda
railroad, there is a well defined winter trail, running straight across
country to the village of Ust Padenga, located on the Vaga River, about
half way between Shenkursk and Rovdinskaya. Rumors were constantly
coming in that the Bolo was occupying the villages all along this trail
in order to launch a big drive on Shenkursk as soon as winter set in. On
these frozen, packed trails, troops, artillery, etc., could be moved as
easily and readily as by rail.

In order then to withdraw our lines and to add greater safety to the
columns, it was finally decided to withdraw from Rovdinskaya to Ust
Padenga.

At one o'clock on the morning of October 18th, as we lay shivering and
shaking in the cold and dismal marshes, which we chose to call our front
line, orders came through for us to hold ourselves in readiness for a
quick and rapid retreat the following morning. All that night we had
Russian peasants, interpreters, etc., scouring the villages about us for
horses and carts to assist in our withdrawal. At 6:00 a. m. that morning
the withdrawal began. The god of war, had he witnessed this strange
sight that morning, must have recalled a similar sight a hundred years
and more prior to that, at Moscow, when the army of the great Napoleon
was scattered to the winds by the cavalry and infantry of the Russian
hordes. Three hundred and more of the ludicrous two-wheeled Russian
carts preceded us with the artillery, floundering, miring, and slipping
in the sticky, muddy roads. Following at their rear, came the tired,
worn and exhausted troops--unshaven, unkempt and with tattered
clothing. They were indeed a pitiful sight. All that day they marched
steadily on toward Ust Padenga. To add to the difficulty of the march, a
light snow had fallen which made the roads a mere quagmire. Late that
night we arrived at the position of Ust Padenga, which was to become our
winter quarters and where later so many of our brave men were to lay
down their lives in the snow and cold of the Russian forests.

With small delay for rest or recuperation we at once began preparation
for the defense of this position. Our main position and the artillery
were stationed in a small village called Netsvetyavskaya, situated on a
high bluff by the side of which meandered the Vaga River. In front of
this bluff flowed the Padenga River, a small tributary of the Vaga, and
at our right, all too close for safety, was located the forest. About
one thousand yards directly ahead of us was located the village of Ust
Padenga proper, which was garrisoned by a company of Russian soldiers.
To our right and about seventeen hundred yards ahead of us on another
bluff was located the village of Nijni Gora, to be the scene of fierce
fighting in the snow.

On the last day of October Company "A", which had been on this front for
some forty days without a relief, were relieved by Company "C" and a
battery of Canadian Artillery was also brought up to reinforce this
position.

All was now rather quiet on this front, but rumors more and more
definite were coming in daily that the Bolo was getting ready to launch
a big drive on this front. From the location of our troops here, several
hundred miles and more from our base on the Dvina and with long drawn
out lines of communication, some of the stations forty miles or so
apart, it was apparent that if attacked by a large force, we would have
to give way. It was also plainly apparent that in case the Vaga River
force was driven back to the Dvina it would necessitate the withdrawal
of the forces on the Dvina from their strongly fortified position at
Toulgas--consequently, we received orders that this position at Ust
Padenga must be held at all cost. Such was the critical position of the
Americans sent up the river by order of General Poole on a veritable
fool's errand. The folly of his so-called "active defense" of Archangel
was to be exposed most plainly at Ust Padenga and Shenkursk in winter.

By the middle of November the enemy was becoming more and more active in
this vicinity. On the seventeenth day of November a small patrol of
Americans and Canadians were ambushed and only one man, a Canadian,
escaped. The ambush occurred in the vicinity of Trogimovskaya, a village
about eight versts below Ust Padenga, where it was known that the Bolo
was concentrating troops.

On the morning of November 29th, acting under orders from British
Headquarters, a strong patrol, numbering about one hundred men, was sent
out at daybreak, under Lieut. Cuff of "C" Company, to drive the enemy
out of this position. The only road or trail leading into this town ran
through a dense forest. The snow, of course, was so deep in the forest
that it was impossible to proceed by any other route than this roadway
or trail. As this patrol was approaching one of the most dense portions
of the forest they were suddenly met by an overwhelming attacking party,
which had been concealed in the forest. The woods were literally
swarming with them and after a sharp fight Lieut. Francis Cuff, one of
the bravest and most fearless officers in the expedition, in command of
the patrol, succeeded in withdrawing his platoon.

A detachment of the patrol on the edge of the woods skirting the Vaga
River was having considerable difficulty extricating itself, however,
and without faltering Lieut. Cuff immediately deployed his men and
opened fire again upon the enemy. During this engagement, he, with
several other daring men, became separated from their fellows and it was
at this time that he was severely wounded. He and his men, several of
whom were also wounded, although cut off and completely surrounded,
fought like demons and sold their lives dearly, as was evidenced by the
enemy dead strewn about in the snow near them. The remains of these
heroic men were later recovered and removed to Shenkursk, where they
were buried almost under the shadows of the cathedral located there.

During this period the thermometer was daily descending lower and lower;
snow was falling continually and the days were so short and dark that
one could hardly distinguish day from night. These long nights of bitter
cold, with death stalking at our sides, was a terrible strain upon the
troops. Sentries standing watch in the lonely snow and cold were
constantly having feet, hands, and other parts of their anatomy frozen.
Their nerves were on edge and they were constantly firing upon white
objects that could be seen now and then prowling around in the snow.
These objects as we later found were enemy troops clad in white clothing
which made it almost impossible to detect them.

About this time an epidemic of "flu" broke out in some of the villages.
In view of the Russian custom of keeping the doors and windows of their
houses practically sealed during the winter and with their utter
disregard for the most simple sanitary precautions, small wonder it was
that in a short time the epidemic was raging in practically every
village within our lines. The American Red Cross and medical officers of
the expedition at once set to work to combat the epidemic as far as the
means at their disposal would permit. The Russian peasant, of course, in
true fatalist fashion calmly accepted this situation as an inevitable
act of Providence, which made the task of the Red Cross workers and
others more difficult. The workers, however, devoted themselves to their
errand of mercy night and day and gradually the epidemic was checked.
This voluntary act of mercy and kindness had a great effect upon the
peasantry of the region and doubtless gave them a better and more kindly
opinion of the strangers in their midst than all the efforts of our
artillery and machine guns ever could have done. And when in the winter
horses and sleighs meant life or death to the doughboys, the peasants
were true to their American soldier friends.

After the fatal ambush of Lieutenant Cuff's patrol at Ust Padenga, "C"
Company, was relieved about the first of December by Company "A." During
the remainder of the month there was more or less activity on both sides
of the line. About the fifth or sixth of the month, the enemy brought up
several batteries of light field artillery in the dense forests and
begun an artillery bombardment of our entire line. Fortunately, however,
we soon located the position of their guns and our artillery horses were
immediately hitched to the guns, and supported by two platoons of "A"
Company under Captain Odjard and Lieut. Collar, swung into a position
from which they obtained direct fire upon the enemy guns with the result
that four guns were shortly thereafter put out of commission.

From this time on, there were continual skirmishes between the outposts
and patrols. The Bolo's favorite time for patrolling was at night and
during the early hours of the morning when everything was pitch dark.
They all wore white smocks over their uniforms and they could easily
advance within fifteen or twenty feet of our sentries and outposts
without being seen. They were not always so fortunate, however, in this
reconnoitering, as a picture on a following page proves which shows one
of their scouts clad in the white uniform and cap, who was shot down by
one of our sentries when he was less than fifteen feet away from the
sentry. Outside of the terrific cold and the natural hardships of the
expedition, the month of December was comparatively quiet on the Padenga
front.

However, in the neighborhood of Shenkursk there was a growing feeling
that a number of the enemy troops were in nearby villages and that the
enemy was constantly occupying more and more of them daily. In order to
break up this growing movement and to assure the natives of the
Shenkursk region that we would brook no such interference or happenings
within our lines, on the fifth of December, a strong detachment,
consisting of Company "C" under Lieut. Weeks, and Russian infantry,
mounted Cossacks, and a pom pom detachment, set out for Kodima about
fifty versts north and east of Shenkursk toward the Dvina River.

It was reported that there were about one hundred and fifty or two
hundred of the enemy located in this village, who were breaking a trail
through from the Dvina River in order that they could send across
supporting troops from the Dvina for the attack on Shenkursk. Our
detachment, after a day and a half's march, arrived in the vicinity of
Kodima and prepared to take the position. At about the moment when the
attack was to begin, it was found that the pom poms and the Vickers guns
were not working. The thermometer at this time stood at fifty below zero
and the intense cold had frozen the oil in the buffers of the pom poms
and machine guns, rendering them worse than useless. Fortunately, this
was discovered in time to prevent any casualties, for it was later found
that there were between five hundred and one thousand of the enemy
located in this position and that they were intrenched in prepared
positions and well equipped with rifles, machine guns and artillery.

Our forces, of course, were compelled to retreat, but this maneuver
naturally gave the enemy greater courage and the following week it was
reported that they were advancing from Kodima on Shenkursk. We at once
dispatched a large force of infantry, artillery, and mounted Cossacks to
delay this advance. This maneuver was also a miserable failure, and it
is not difficult to understand the reason for same when one considers
that this detachment was composed of Americans, Canadians, and Russians,
of every conceivable, type and description, and orders issued to one
body might be and usually were entirely misunderstood by the others.

Shortly after this, however, the Cossack Colonel desired to vindicate
his troops and a new attack was planned in which the Cossacks, supported
by their own artillery, were to launch a drive against the enemy at
Kodima. After a big night's pow-wow and a typical Cossack demonstration
of swearing eternal allegiance to their leader and boasting of the dire
punishment they were going to inflict upon the enemy, they sallied forth
from Shenkursk with their banners gaily flying. No word was heard from
them until the following evening when just at dusk across the river
came, galloping like mad, the first news-bearers of our valiant cohorts.
On gaining the shelter of Shenkursk, most of them were completely
exhausted and many of their horses dropped dead from over-exertion on
the way, while others died in Shenkursk.

Our first informants described at great detail a thrilling engagement in
which they had participated and how they had fought until their
ammunition became exhausted, when they were forced to retreat. Others
described in detail how Prince Aristoff and his Adjutant, Captain
Robins, of the British Army, had fought bravely to the last and when
about to be taken prisoners, used the last bullets remaining in their
pistols to end their lives, thus preventing capture. More and more of
the scattered legion were constantly arriving, and each one had such a
remarkably different story to tell from that of his predecessor, that by
the following morning, we were all inclined to doubt all of the stories.

However, it is true that Colonel Aristoff and Robins failed to return,
and we were compelled for the time being to assume that at least part of
the stories were true. The Cossacks immediately went into deep mourning
for the loss of their valiant leader and affected great grief and
sorrow. This, however, did not prevent them from ransacking the
Colonel's headquarters and carrying off all his money and jewelry and,
in fact, about everything that he owned. Four days later, however, in
the midst of all this mourning and demonstrations, we were again treated
to a still greater surprise, for that afternoon who should come riding
into the village but the Colonel himself along with his adjutant. It can
be readily imagined what scrambling and endeavor there was on the part
of the sorrowing ones to return undetected to the Colonel's headquarters
his stolen property and belongings. For days thereafter, the garrison
resounded to the cracking of the Colonel's knout, and this time the
wailing and shedding of tears was undoubtedly more real than any that
had been shed previously to that time. These various unfortunate
affairs, while harmful enough in themselves, did far greater harm than
such incidents would ordinarily warrant, in this respect, that they gave
the enemy greater and greater confidence all along, meanwhile lowering
the morale of our Russian cohorts as well as our own troops.

And here we leave these hardy Yanks, far, far to the south of Archangel.
When their story is picked up again in the narrative, it will be found
to be one of the most thrilling stories in American military exploits.

VIII

PEASANTRY OF THE ARCHANGEL PROVINCE

Russian Peasant Born Linguist--Soldiers See Village Life--Communal
Strips Of Land Tilled By Grandfather's Methods--Ash Manure--Rapid Growth
During Days Of Perpetual Daylight--Sprinkling Cattle With Holy
Water--"Sow In Mud And You Will Be A Prince"--Cabbage Pie At
Festival--Home-Brewed "Braga" More Villainous Than Vodka--Winter
Occupations And Sports--North Russian Peasants Less Illiterate Than
Commonly Supposed.

The province of Archangel is in the far north or forest region of
Russia. It is a land of forest and morass, plentifully supplied with
water in the form of rivers, lakes and marshes, along the banks of which
are scant patches of cultivated land, which is invariably the location
of a village. Throughout the whole of this province the climate is very
severe. For more than half of the year the ground is covered by deep
snow and the rivers are completely frozen. The arable land all told
forms little more than two per cent of the vast area. The population is
scarce and averages little more at the most than two to the square mile,
according to the latest figures, about 1905.

During the late fall and early winter, shortly after Company "A" had
been relieved at Ust Padenga, we were stationed in the village of
Shegovari. Here we had considerable leisure at our disposal and
consequently the writer began devoting more time to his linguistic
studies. Difficult as the language seems to be upon one's first
introduction to it, it was not long before I was able to understand much
of what was said to me, and to express myself in a vague roundabout way.
In the latter operation I was much assisted by a peculiar faculty of
divination which the Russian peasant possesses to a remarkably high
degree. If a foreigner succeeds in expressing about one-fourth of an
idea, the Russian peasant can generally fill up the remaining
three-fourths from his own intuition. This may perhaps be readily
understood when one considers that a great majority of the upper classes
speak French or German fluently and a great number English as well.
Then, too, the many and varied races that have united and intermingled
to form the Russian race may offer an equally satisfactory explanation.

Shegovari may be taken as a fair example of the villages throughout the
northern half of Russia, and a brief description of its inhabitants will
convey a correct notion of the northern peasantry in general. The
village itself is located about forty versts above Shenkursk on the
banks of the Vaga river, which meanders and winds about the village so
that the river is really on both sides. On account of this location
there is more arable land surrounding the village than is found in the
average community and dozens of villages are clustered about this
particular location, the villages devoting most of their time to
agricultural pursuits.

I believe it may safely be said that nearly the whole of the female
population and about one-half the male inhabitants are habitually
engaged in cultivating the communal land, which comprises perhaps five
hundred acres of light, sandy soil. As is typical throughout the
province this land is divided into three large fields, each of which is
again subdivided into strips. The first field is reserved for one of the
most important grains, i.e., rye, which in the form of black bread, is
the principal food of the population. In the second are raised oats for
the horses and here and there some buckwheat which is also used for
food. The third field lies fallow and is used in the summer for
pasturing the cattle.

This method of dividing the land is so devised in order to suit the
triennial rotation of crops, a very simple system, but quite practical
nevertheless. The field which is used this year for raising winter
grain, will be used next summer for raising summer grain and in the
following year will lie fallow. Every family possesses in each of the
two fields under cultivation one or more of the subdivided strips, which
he is accountable for and which he must cultivate and attend to.

The arable lands are of course carefully manured because the soil at its
best is none too good and would soon exhaust it. In addition to manuring
the soil the peasant has another method of enriching the soil. Though
knowing nothing of modern agronomical chemistry, he, as well as his
forefathers, have learned that if wood be burnt on a field and the ashes
be mixed with the soil, a good harvest may be expected. This simple
method accounts for the many patches of burned forest area, which we at
first believed to be the result of forest fires. When spring comes round
and the leaves begin to appear, a band of peasants, armed with their
short hand axes, with which they are most dextrous, proceed to some spot
previously decided upon and fell all trees, great and small within the
area. If it is decided to use the soil in that immediate vicinity, the
fallen trees are allowed to remain until fall, when the logs for
building or firewood are dragged away as soon as the first snow falls.
The rest of the piles, branches, etc., are allowed to remain until the
following spring, at which time fires may be seen spreading in all
directions. If the fire does its work properly, the whole of the space
is covered with a layer of ashes, and when they have been mixed with the
soil the seed is sown, and the harvest, nearly always good, sometimes
borders on the miraculous. Barley or rye may be expected to produce
about six fold in ordinary years and they may produce as much as thirty
fold under exceptional circumstances!

In most countries this method of treating the soil would be an absurdly
expensive one, for wood is entirely too valuable a commodity to be used
for such a purpose, but in this northern region the forests are so
boundless and the inhabitants so few that the latter do not make any
great inroad upon the former.

The agricultural year in this region begins in April, with the melting
snows. Nature which has been lying dormant for some six months, now
awakes and endeavors to make up for lost time. No sooner does the snow
disappear than the grass immediately sprouts forth and the shrubs and
trees begin to bud. The rapidity of this transition from winter to
spring certainly astonished the majority of us, accustomed as we were to
more temperate climes.

On the Russian St. George's Day, April 23rd, according to the old
Russian calendar, or two weeks later according to our calendar, the
cattle are brought forth from their winter hibernation and sprinkled
with holy water by the priest. They are never very fat at any time of
the year but at this particular period of the year their appearance is
almost pitiful. During the winter they are kept cooped up in a shed,
usually one adjoining the house or under the porch of same with very
little, if any, light or ventilation, and fed almostly exclusively on
straw. It is quite remarkable that there is one iota of life left in
them for when they are thus turned out in the spring they look like mere
ghosts of their former selves. With the horses it is a different matter
for it is during the winter months in this region that the peasants do
most of their traveling and the horse is constantly exposed to the
opposite extreme of exposure and the bleak wind and cold, but is well
fed.

Meanwhile the peasants are impatient to begin the field labor--it is an
old Russian proverb known to all which says: "Sow in mud and you will be
a prince," and true to this wisdom they always act accordingly. As soon
as it is possible to plough they begin to prepare the land for the
summer grain and this labor occupies them probably till the end of May.
Then comes the work of carting out manure, etc., and preparing the
fallow field for the winter grain which will last until about the latter
part of June when the early hay making generally begins. After the hay
making comes the harvest which is by far the busiest time of the year.
From the middle of July--especially from St. Elijah's day about the
middle of July, when the Saint according to the Russian superstition,
may be heard rumbling along the heavens in his chariot of fire--until
the end of August or early September the peasant may work day and night
and yet find that he has barely time to get all his work done. During
the summer months the sun in this region scarcely ever sets below the
horizon and the peasant may often be found in the fields as late as
twelve o'clock at night trying to complete the day's work. In a little
more than a month from this time he has to reap and stack his grain,
oats, rye and whatever else he may have sown, and to sow his winter
grain for the next, year. To add to the difficulty both grains often
ripen about the same time and then it requires almost superhuman efforts
on his part to complete his task before the first snow flies.

When one considers that all this work is done by hand--the planting,
plowing, reaping, threshing, etc., in the majority of cases by home made
instruments, it is really a more remarkable thing that the Russian
peasant accomplishes so much in such a short space of time. About the
end of September, however, the field labor is finished and on the first
day of October the harvest festival begins. At this particular season of
the year our troops on the Vaga river were operating far below Shenkursk
in the vicinity of Rovdinskaya and it was our good fortune to witness a
typical parish fete--celebrated in true Russian style. While it is true
during the winter months that the peasant lives a very, frugal and
simple life, it is not in my opinion on account of his desire so to do
but more a matter of necessity. During the harvest festivals the
principal occupation of the peasant seems to be that of eating and
drinking. In each household large quantities of braga or home brewed
beer is prepared and a plentiful supply of meat pies are constantly on
hand. There is also another delectable dish, which I am sure did not
appeal to our troops to the fullest extent. It was a kind of pie
composed of cabbage and salt fish, but unless one was quite accustomed
to the odor, he could not summon up sufficient courage to attack this
viand. It, however, was a very popular dish among the peasants.

After a week or so of this preparation the fete day finally arrives and
the morning finds the entire village attending a long service in the
village church. All are dressed in their very best and the finest linens
and brightest colors are very much in evidence. After the service they
repair to their different homes--of course many of the poorer ones go to
the homes of the more well to do where they are very hospitably received
and entertained. All sit down to a common table and the eating begins. I
attended a dinner in a well-to-do peasant's house that day and before
the meal was one-third through I was ready to desist. The landlord was
very much displeased and I was informed confidentially by one of the
Russian officers who had invited me that the landlord would take great
offense at the first to give up the contest--and that as a matter of
fact instead of being a sign of poor breeding, on the contrary it was
considered quite the thing to stuff one's self until he could eat no
more. As the meal progressed great bowls of braga and now and then a
glass of vodka were brought in to help along the repast. After an almost
interminable time the guests all rose in a body and facing the icon
crossed themselves--then bowing to the host--made certain remarks which
I afterward found out meant, "Thanks for your bread and salt"--to which
the host replied, "Do not be displeased, sit down once more for
goodluck," whereupon all hands fell to again and had it not been for a
mounted messenger galloping in with important messages, I am of the
opinion that we would probably have spent the balance of the day trying
not to displease our host.

If the Russian peasant's food were always as good and plentiful as at
this season of the year, he would have little reason to complain, but
this is by no means the case. Beef, mutton, pork and the like are
entirely too expensive to be considered as a common article of food and
consequently the average peasant is more or less of a vegetarian, living
on cabbage, cabbage soup, potatoes, turnips and black bread the entire
winter--varied now and then with a portion of salt fish.

From the festival time until the following spring there is no
possibility of doing any agricultural work for the ground is as hard as
iron and covered with snow. The male peasants do very little work during
these winter months and spend most of their time lying idly upon the
huge brick stoves. Some of them, it is true, have some handicraft that
occupies their winter hours; others will take their guns and a little
parcel of provisions and wander about in the trackless forests for days
at a time. If successful, he may bring home a number of valuable
skins--such as ermine, fox and the like. Sometimes a number of them
associate for the purpose of deep sea fishing, in which case they
usually start out on foot for Kem on the shores of the White Sea or for
the far away Kola on the Murmansk Coast. Here they must charter a boat
and often times after a month or two of this fishing they will be in
debt to the boat owner and are forced to return with an empty pocket.
While we were there we gave them all plenty to do--village after village
being occupied in the grim task of making barb wire entanglements, etc.,
building block houses, hauling logs, and driving convoys. This was of
course quite outside their usual occupation and I am of the impression
that they were none to favorably impressed--perhaps some of them are
explaining to the Bolo Commissars just how they happened to be engaged in
these particular pursuits.

For the female part of the population, however, the winter is a very
busy and well occupied time. For it is during these long months that the
spinning and weaving is done and cloth manufactured for clothing and
other purposes. Many of them are otherwise engaged in plaiting a kind of
rude shoe--called lapty, which is worn throughout the summer by a great
number of the peasants--and I have seen some of them worn in extremely
cold weather with heavy stockings and rags wrapped around the feet. This
was probably due to the fact, however, that leather shoes and boots were
almost a thing of the past at that time, for it must be remembered that
Russia had been practically shut off from the rest of the world for
almost four years during the period of the war. The evenings are often
devoted to besedys--a kind of ladies' guild meeting, where all assemble
and engage in talking over village gossip, playing games and other
innocent amusements, or spinning thread from flax.

Before closing this chapter, I wish to comment upon an article that I
read some months ago regarding what the writer thought to be a
surprising abundance of evidence disproving the common idea of
illiteracy among the Russian peasants. It is admitted that the peasants
of this region are above the average in the way of education and
ability, but as I have later learned they are not an average type of the
millions of peasants located in the interior and the south of Russia,
whose fathers and forefathers and many of themselves spent the greater
part of their lives as serfs. While the peasants of this region
nominally may have come under the heading of serfs, yet when they were
first driven into this country for the purpose of colonization and
settlement by Peter the Great, they were given far greater liberties
than any of the peasants of the south enjoyed. They were settled on
State domains and those that lived on the land of landlords scarcely
ever realized the fact, inasmuch as few of the landed aristocracy ever
spent any portion of their time in the province of Archangel unless
compelled to do so. In addition to this liberty and freedom, there was
also the stimulating effect of the cold, rigorous climate and therefore
it is more readily understood why the peasants of this region are more
energetic, more intelligent, more independent and better educated than
the inhabitants of the interior to the south.

After becoming somewhat acquainted with the family life of the
peasantry, and no one living with them as intimately as we did, could
have failed to have become more than ordinarily acquainted, we turned
our attention to the local village government or so-called Mir. We had
early learned that the chief personage in a Russian village was the
starosta, or village elder, and that all important communal affairs were
regulated by the Selski Skhod or village assembly. We were also well
acquainted with the fact that the land in the vicinity of the village
belonged to the commune, and was distributed periodically among the
members in such a way that every able bodied man possessed a share
sufficient for his maintenance, or nearly so. Beyond this, however, few
of us knew little or nothing more. We were fortunate in having with us a
great number of Russian born men, who of course were our interpreters,
one of whom, by the way, Private Cwenk, was killed on January 19th,
1919, in the attack of Nijni Gora when he refused to quit his post,
though mortally injured, until it was too late for him to make his
escape.

Through continual conversations and various transactions with the
peasants (carried on of course through our interpreters) the writer
gradually learned much of the village communal life. While at first
glance there are many points of similarity between the family life and
the village life, yet there are also many points of difference which
will be more apparent as we continue. In both, there is a chief or
ruler, one called the khozain or head of the house and the other as
above indicated, the starosta or village elder. In both cases too there
is a certain amount of common property and a common responsibility. On
the other hand, the mutual relations are far from being so closely
interwoven as in the case of the household.

From these brief remarks it will be readily apparent that a Russian
village is quite a different thing from a provincial town or village in
America. While it is true in a sense that in our villages the citizens
are bound together in certain interests of the community, yet each
family, outside of a few individual friends, is more or less isolated
from the rest of the community--each family having little to interest it
in the affairs of the other. In a Russian village, however, such a state
of indifference and isolation is quite impossible. The heads of
households must often meet together and consult in the village assembly
and their daily duties and occupations are controlled by the communal
decrees. The individual cannot begin to mow the hay or plough the fields
until the assembly has decided the time for all to begin. If one becomes
a shirker or drunkard everyone in the village has a right to complain
and see that the matter is at once taken care of, not so much out of
interest for the welfare of the shirker, but from the plain selfish
motive that all the families are collectively responsible for his taxes
and also the fact that he is entitled to a share in the communal
harvest, which unless he does his share of the work, is taken from the
common property of the whole.

As heretofore stated on another page of this book, the land belonging to
each village is distributed among the individual families and for which
each is responsible. It might be of interest to know how this
distribution is made. In certain communities the old-fashioned method of
simply taking a census and distributing the property according to same
is still in use. This in a great many instances is quite unfair and
works a great hardship--where often the head of the household is a widow
with perhaps four or five girls on her hands and possibly one boy.
Obviously, she cannot hope to do as much as her neighbor, who, perhaps,
in addition to the father, may have three or four well-grown boys to
assist him. It might be logically suggested, then, that the widow could
rent the balance of her share of the land and thus take care of same. If
land were in demand in Russia, especially in the Archangel region, as it
is in the farming communities of this country, it might be a simple
matter--but in Russia often the possession of a share of land is quite
often not a privilege but a decided hardship. Often the land is so poor
that it cannot be rented at any price, and in the old days it was quite
often the case that even though it could be rented, the rent would not
be sufficient to pay the taxes on same. Therefore, each family is quite
well satisfied with his share of the land and is not looking for more
trouble and labor if they can avoid it, and at the assembly meetings,
when the land is distributed each year, it is amusing to hear the
thousand-and-one excuses for not taking more land, as the following
brief description will illustrate.

It is assembly day, we will imagine, and all the villagers are assembled
to do their best from having more land and its consequent
responsibilities thrust upon them. Nicholas is being asked how many
shares of the communal land he will take, and after due deliberation and
much scratching of the head to stir up the cerebral processes (at least
we will assume that is the function of this last movement) he slowly
replies that inasmuch as he has two sons he will take three shares for
his family to farm, or perhaps a little less as his health is none too
good, though as a matter of fact he may be one of the most ruddy-faced
and healthiest individuals present.

This last remark is the signal for an outburst of laughter and ridicule
by the others present and the arguments pro and con wax furious. Of a
sudden, a voice in the crowd cries out: "He is a rich moujik, and he
should have five shares of the land as his burden at the least."

Nicholas, seeing that the wave is about to overwhelm him, then resorts
to entreaty and makes every possible explanation now why it will be
utterly impossible for him to take five shares, his point now being to
cut down this allotment if within his power. After considerable more
discussion the leader of the crowd then puts the question to the
assembly and inquires if it be their will that Nicholas take four
shares. There is an immediate storm of assent from all quarters and this
settles the question beyond further argument.

This native shrewdness and spirit of barter is quite typical of the
Russian peasant in all matters--large or small--and he greets the
outcome of every such combat with stoical indifference, in typical
fatalist fashion.

The writer recalls one experience in the village of Shegovari on the
occasion of our first occupation of this place. It was before the rivers
had frozen over and headquarters at Shenkursk was getting ready to
install the sledge convoy system which was our only means of
transportation during the long winter months. Shegovari being a large
and prosperous community and there being a plentiful supply of horses
there, we were accordingly dispatched to this place to take over the
town and buy up as many horses as could be commandeered in this section.
In company with a villainous looking detachment of Cossacks we set out
from Shenkursk on board an enormous barge being towed by the river
steamer "Tolstoy." On our way we became pretty well acquainted with
Colonel Aristov, the commander of the Cossacks, who, through his
interpreter, filled our ears with the various deeds of valor of himself
and picked cohorts. He further informed us that the village where we
were going was hostile to the Allied troops, and that there was some
question just at that time as to whether it was not in fact occupied by
the enemy. Consequently he had devised a very clever scheme, so he
thought, for getting what we were after and incidentally putting horses
on the market at bargain rates.

We were to bivouac for the night some ten miles or so above the town and
at early dawn we would steam down the river on our gunboat. If there
were any signs of hostility we were at once to open up on the village
with the pom pom mounted on board our cruiser, and the infantry were to
follow up with an attack on land. The colonel's idea was that a little
demonstration of arms would thoroughly cow the native villagers and
therefore they would be willing to meet any terms offered by him for the
purchase of their horses. Fortunately or unfortunately (which side one
considers) the plan failed to materialize, for when we anchored
alongside the village the peasants were busily occupied in getting their
supply of salt fish for the winter and merely took our arrival as one of
the usual unfortunate visitations of Providence. The colonel at once
sent for the starosta (the village elder as heretofore explained) who
immediately presented himself with much bowing and scraping, probably
wondering what further ill-luck was to befall him. The colonel with a
great display of pomp and gesticulating firmly impressed the starosta
that on the following day all the peasants were to bring to this village
their horses, prepared to sell them for the good of the cause. ... The
following morning the streets were lined up with horses and owners, and
they could be seen corning from all directions. At about ten o'clock the
parade began. Each peasant would lead his horse by the colonel, who
would look them over carefully and then ask what the owner would take
for his horse. Usually he would be met with a bow and downcast eyes as
the owner replied: "As your excellency decides." "Very well, then, you
will receive nine hundred roubles or some such amount." Instantly the
air of submissiveness and meekness disappears and a torrent of words
pours forth, eulogizing the virtues of this steed and the enormous
sacrifice it would be to allow his horse to go at that price. After the
usual haggling the bargain would be closed--sometimes at a greater
figure and sometimes at a lesser.

Now the amusing part of this transaction to me was that with my
interpreter we moved around amongst the crowd and got their own values
as to some of these horses.  What was our amazement some moments later
to see them pass before the colonel who in a number of cases offered
them more than their estimates previously given to myself, whereupon
they immediately went through the maneuvers above described and in some
cases actually obtained increases over the colonel's first hazard.

This lesson later stood us in good stead, for some weeks later it
devolved upon us to purchase harnesses and sleds for these very horses
and the reader may be sure that such haggling and bargaining (all
through an interpreter) was never seen before in this part of the
country. Somehow the word got around that the Amerikanskis who were
buying the sleds and harness had gotten acquainted with the horse
dealing method of some weeks past and therefore it was an especial event
to witness the sale and purchase of these various articles, and,
needless to say, there was always an enthusiastic crowd of spectators
present to cheer and jibe at the various contestants. All these various
transactions must have resulted with the balance decidedly in favor of
the villagers, for they were extremely pleasant and hospitable to us
during our entire stay here and instead of being hostile were exactly
the opposite, actually putting themselves to a great amount of trouble
time after time to meet with our many demands for logs and laborers,
although they were in no way bound to do these things.

In our dealings with the community here, as elsewhere, all transactions
were carried on with the starosta or village head. We naturally figured
that this officer was one of the highest and most honored men of the
village, probably corresponding to the mayor of one of our own cities,
but we were later disillusioned in this particular. It seems that each
male member of the community must "do time" some time during his career
as village elder, and each one tried to postpone the task just as long
as it was in his power to do so. True it is that the starosta is the
leader of his community during his regime, but therein is the
difficulty, for coupled with this power is the further detail of keeping
a strict and accurate account of all the business transactions of the
year, all the moneys, wages, etc., due the various members for labors
performed and services rendered. This, of course, is due to the fact
that everything is owned in common by the community: Land, food
products, wood, in short, practically all tangible property.

Imagine, then, the starosta who, we will say, at eight or nine o'clock
on a cold winter's night is called upon to have a dozen or more drivers
ready the next morning at six o'clock to conduct a sledge convoy through
to the next town, another group of fifty or a hundred workmen to go into
the forests and cut and haul logs for fortifications, and still others
for as many different duties as one could imagine during time of war. He
must furthermore see, for example, that the same drivers are properly
called in turn, for it is the occasion of another prolonged verbal
battle in case one is called out of his turn. During the day he is
probably busily occupied in commandeering oats and hay for the convoy
horses and when night comes he certainly has earned his day's repose,
but his day does not end at nightfall as in the case of the other
members of the commune.

During our stay here, practically every night he would call upon the
commanding officer to get orders for the coming day, to check over
various claims and accounts and each week to receive pay for the entire
community engaged in these labors. One occasion we distinctly recall as
a striking example of this particular starosta's honesty and integrity.
He had spent the greater part of the evening in our headquarters,
checking over accounts involving some three or four thousand roubl

IX

"H" COMPANY PUSHES UP THE ONEGA VALLEY

Two Platoons Of "H" Company By Steamer To Onega--Occupation Of
Chekuevo--Bolsheviki Give Battle--Big Order To Little Force--Kaska Too
Strongly Defended--Doughboys' Attack Fails--Cossacks Spread False
Report--Successful Advance Up Valley--Digging In For Winter.

Meanwhile "H" Company was pushing up the Onega Valley. Stories had
leaked out in Archangel of engagements up the Dvina and up the railroad
where American soldiers had tasted first sweets of victory, and "H" men
now piled excitedly into a steamer at Archangel on the 15th of September
and after a 24-hour ride down the Dvina, across the Dvina Bay up an arm
of the White Sea called Onega Bay and into the mouth of the Onega River,
landed without any opposition and took possession. The enemy had been
expelled a few days previously by a small detachment of American sailors
from the "Olympia."

The "H" force consisted of two platoons commanded by Lieuts. Phillips
and Pellegrom, who reported to an English officer, Col. Clark.

The coming of Americans was none too soon. The British officer had not
made much headway in organizing an effective force of the anti-Bolshevik
Russians. The Red Guards were massing forces in the upper part of the
valley and, German-like, had sent notice of their impending advance to
recapture the city of Onega.

On September 18th Lieut. Pellegrom received verbal orders from Col.
Clark to move his platoon of fifty-eight men with Lieut. Nugent, M. R.
C., and one man at once to Chekuevo, about fifty miles up the river.

Partly by boat and partly by marching the Americans reached the village
of Chekuevo and began organizing the defenses, on the 19th. Three days
later Lieut. Phillips was hurried up with his platoon to reinforce and
take command of the hundred and fifteen Americans and ninety-three
Russian volunteers. At dawn on the twenty-fourth the enemy attacked our
positions from three sides with a force of three hundred and fifty men
and several machine guns.

The engagement lasted for five hours. The main attack coming down the
left bank of the Onega River was held by the Americans till after the
enemy had driven back the Allies, Russians, on the right bank and placed
a machine gun on our flank.

Then the Americans had to give ground on the main position and the Reds
placed another machine gun advantageously. Meanwhile smaller parties of
the enemy were working in the rear. Finally the enemy machine guns were
spotted and put out of action by the superior fire of our Lewis
automatics, and the Bolshevik leader, Shiskin, was killed at the gun.
This success inspirited the Americans who dashed forward and the Reds
broke and fled. A strong American combat patrol followed the retreating
Reds for five miles and picked up much clothing, ammunition, rifles, and
equipment, and two of his dead, ten of his wounded and one prisoner and
two machine guns. Losses on our side consisted of two wounded. Our
Russian allies lost two killed and seven wounded.

The action had been carried on in the rain under very trying conditions
for the Americans who were in their first fire fight and reflected great
credit upon Lieut. Phillips and his handful of doughboys who were
outnumbered more than three to one and forced to give battle in a place
well known to the enemy but strange to the Americans and severely
disadvantageous.

Outside of a few patrol combats and the capture of a few Bolshevik
prisoners the remainder of the month of September was uneventful.

The Onega Valley force, like the Railway and Kodish forces, was sparring
for an opening and plans were made for a general push on Plesetskaya. On
September 30th Lieut. Phillips received an order as follows:

  "The enemy on the railway line is being attacked today (the 29th) and
  some Cossacks are coming to you from Obozerskaya. On their arrival you
  will move south with them and prevent enemy from retiring across the
  river in a westerly direction.

  "Open the wire to Obozerskaya and ascertain how far down the line our
  troops have reached and then try to keep abreast of them but do not go
  too far without orders from the O/CA force (Col. Sutherland at
  Obozerskaya). I mean by this that you must not run your head against a
  strong force which may be retiring unless you are sure of holding your
  ground. There is a strong force at Plesetskaya on the railway and it
  is possible that they may retire across your front in the direction of
  the line running from Murmansk to Petrograd. The commandant of
  Chekuevo must supply you with carts for rations and, as soon as you
  can, make arrangements for food to be sent to you from the railway.
  The S. S. service can run up to you with supplies and can keep with
  you until you reach the rapids, if you go so far. Don't forget that
  the enemy has a force at Turchesova, south of you. Keep the transports
  in the middle of your column so that no carts get cut off, and it
  would be a good thing if you could get transport from village to
  village.

    "Captain Burton, R. M. L. I., will remain in command at Chekuevo."
                                                W. J. CLARK, Lieut.-Col.

The Americans knew that this was a big contract, but let us now look at
the map and see what the plan really called for. Forty miles of old
imperial telegraph and telephone line to the eastward to restore to use
between Chekuevo and Obozerskaya. No signal corps men and no telling
where the wires needed repair. And sixty miles more or less to the south
and eastward on another road to make speed with slow cart transport with
orders to intercept an enemy supposed to be preparing to flee westward
from the railway. Not forgetting that was to be done in spite of the
opposition of a strong force of Red Guards somewhere in the vicinity of
Turchesova thirty-five miles up the valley. "A little job, you know,"
for those one hundred and fifteen Americans, veterans of two weeks in
the wilds of North Russia.

The American officer from his reconnaissance patrols and from friendly
natives learned that the enemy instead of seeking escape was massing
forces for another attack on the Americans.

About seven hundred of the Red Guards were heavily entrenched in and
around Kaska and were recruiting forces. In compliance with his orders,
Lieut. Phillips moved out the next morning, October 1st, with the
eighteen mounted Cossacks, joined in the night from Obozerskaya, and his
other anti-Bolshevik Russian volunteer troops. Movement began at 2:30 a.
m. with about eight miles to march in the dark and zero hour was set for
five o'clock daybreak. Two squads of the Americans and Russian
volunteers had been detached by Lieut. Phillips and given to the command
of Capt. Burton to make a diversion attack on Wazientia, a village
across the river from Kaska. Lieut. Pellegrom was to attack the enemy in
flank from the west while Lieut. Phillips and the Cossacks made the
frontal assault.

Phillip's platoon was early deserted by the Cossacks and, after
advancing along the side of a sandy ridge to within one hundred yards of
the enemy, found it necessary to dig in. Lieut. Pellegrom on the flank
on account of the nature of the ground brought his men only to within
three hundred yards of the enemy lines and was unable to make any
communication with his leader. Captain Burton was deserted by the
volunteers at first fire and had to retreat with his two squads of
Americans. The fire fight raged all the long day. Phillips was unable to
extricate his men till darkness but held his position and punished the
enemy's counter attacks severely. The enemy commanded the lines with
heavy machine guns and the doughboys who volunteered to carry messages
from one platoon to the other paid for their bravery with their lives.
Believing himself to be greatly outnumbered the American officer
withdrew his men at 7:30 p. m. to Chekuevo, with losses of six men
killed and three wounded. Enemy losses reported later by deserters were
thirty killed and fifty wounded.

Again the opposing sides resorted to delay and sparring for openings. At
Chekuevo the Americans strengthened the defenses of that important road
junction and kept in contact with the enemy by daily combat patrols up
the valley in the direction of Kaska, scene of the encounter. It was
during this period that one day the "H" men at Chekuevo were surprised
by the appearance of Lieut. Johnson with a squad of "M" Company men who
had patrolled the forty miles of Obozerskaya road to Chekuevo looking
for signs of the enemy whom a mounted patrol of Cossacks sent from
Obozerskaya had declared were in possession of the road and of Chekuevo.
They learned from these men that on the railway, too, the enemy had
disclosed astonishing strength of numbers and showed as good quality of
fighting courage as at Kaska and had administered to the American troops
their first defeat. They learned, too, that the French battalion was
coming back onto the fighting line with the Americans for a heavy united
smash at the enemy.

A new party of some fifteen Cossacks relieved the eighteen Cossacks who
returned to Archangel. The force was augmented materially by the coming
of a French officer and twenty-five men from Archangel.

The same boat brought out the remainder of "H" Company under command of
Capt. Carl Gevers, who set up his headquarters at Onega, October 9th,
under the new British O/C Onega Det., Col. ("Tin Eye") Edwards, and sent
Lieut. Carlson and his platoon to Karelskoe, a village ten miles to the
rear of Chekuevo, to support Phillips.

Success on the railroad front, together with information gathered from
patrols led Col. Edwards to believe the enemy was retiring up the
valley. An armed reconnaissance by the whole force at Chekuevo moving
forward on both sides of the Onega River on October 19th, which was two
days after the Americans on the railroad had carried Four Hundred and
Forty-five by storm and the Bolo had "got up his wind" and retired to
Emtsa. Phillips found that the enemy had indeed retired from Kaska and
retreated to Turchesova, some thirty-five miles up the valley.

Phillips occupied all the villages along the river Kachela in force,
sending his combat patrols south of Priluk daily to make contact. Winter
showed signs of early approach and, in compliance with verbal orders of
Col. Edwards at Onega, Phillips withdrew his forces to Chekuevo on
October 25th. This seems to have been in accordance with the wise plan
of the new British Commanding General to extend no further the
dangerously extended lines, but to prepare for active defense just where
snow and frost were finding the various widely scattered forces of the
expedition. On the way back through Kaska it was learned that two of the
"H" men who had been reported missing in the fight at Kaska, but who
were in fact killed, had been buried by the villagers. They were
disinterred and given a regular military funeral, and graves marked.

Outside of daily patrols and the reliefs of platoons changing about for
rest at Onega there was little of excitement during the remainder of
October and the month of November. Occasionally there would be a flurry,
a "windy time" at British Headquarters in Onega and patrols and
occupying detachments sent out to various widely separated villages up
the valley. There seems to have been an idea finally that the village of
Kyvalanda should be fortified so as to prevent the Red Guards from
having access to the valley of the Chulyuga, a tributary of the Onega
River, up which in the winter ran a good road to Bolsheozerke where it
joined the Chekuevo road to Oborzerskaya. Wire was brought up and the
village of Kyvalanda was strongly entrenched, sometimes two platoons
being stationed there.

Captain Gevers had to go to hospital for operation. This was a loss to
the men. Here old Boreas came down upon this devoted company of
doughboys. They got into their winter clothing, gave attention to making
themselves as comfortable shelters as possible on their advanced
outposts, organized their sleigh transport system that had to take the
place of the steamer service on the Onega which was now a frozen barrier
to boats but a highway for sleds. They had long winter nights ahead of
them with frequent snow storms and many days of severe zero weather. And
though they did not suspect it they were to encounter hard fighting
during and at the end of the winter.