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Remembered Today:

Russian Amy in WW1


Bruce Dennis

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"The Russian Army in World War 1", also released as "THE ALLY: The Russian Army in World War 1" by Ward Rutherford, ISBN 0-86033-039-7

Does anyone who knows more than me know if this book is reliable?

While on the subject, does anyone know of a reliable English language account of the Russian naval war?

Any advice appreciated,

Bruce

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For all aspects of the naval war as opposed to just the Anglo-German conflict I'd recommend A Naval History of World War I by Paul G. Halpern (ISBN 1-85728-295-7 HB & 1-85728-498-4 PB, published by USNI in the US & UCL Press in the UK).

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  • 4 weeks later...

Bruce

Rutherford's book is good. As a source it has been superceded by Stone's The Eastern Front. I use both together, but defer to Stone when in conflict. It has been a long time since I have read it (I flipped through it briefly before I posted), but I don't recall any glaring errors.

As to naval, Rene Gregor's The Russian Fleet 1914-1917 1972 (SBN 7110 0255 x) provides a good outline of Russian naval operations. The book is divided into sections, with each section covering one of the Russian fleets (Baltic, Black Sea, Pacific). A chronological method is used to list events, with some details provided. Generally provides the when, where and who, but not a lot of detail on the actual events. Half the book is photographs, a great source. Worth having.

Jeff

"The Russian Army in World War 1", also released as "THE ALLY: The Russian Army in World War 1" by Ward Rutherford, ISBN 0-86033-039-7

Does anyone who knows more than me know if this book is reliable? 

While on the subject, does anyone know of a reliable English language account of the Russian naval war?

Any advice appreciated,

Bruce

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Thanks to all who responded.

Jeff, do you know if The Russian Fleet covers the Aegean operations? The Askold made an appearance during the Dardanelles bombardments.

Thanks again,

Bruce

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Bruce

The book quickly outlines the major events of Askold's time in the Mediterrarrean. The cruiser was part of the Siberian Flotilla detacted to the Med in 1914. She shelled the Turkish coast several times (notably at Urla on 7 Dec 1914). She operated between Beirut and Haifa, capturing the Haife (a Ottoman steamer) on the 15 Dec and sinking the Peter Rickmers and Sedul Bahr off Beirut on the 16 Dec. In the spring, she operated off Gallipoli. In 1916 she sailed to France for repairs, then sailed to Murmansk. That is pretty much all the book offers on Askold.

I have heard of a good book written by a Russian on naval operations, but I have never found a copy. I need to look in my notes for the title. I also have been looking for a copy of the Turkish naval official from WWI, but have yet to find a copy.

Jeff

Thanks to all who responded. 

Jeff, do you know if The Russian Fleet covers the Aegean operations?  The Askold made an appearance during the Dardanelles bombardments.

Thanks again,

Bruce

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Jeff, thanks again. I am also interested in the Turkish side of that particular story and may be able to get something from a document a forum Pal found at The National Archives. I have looked at it briefly and will copy it when time allows.

There was a thread in OTHER THEATRES about the Turkish Official publication, and although who knows what might happen, it doesn't seem as if there is any access to it at the moment. If I find one, I will get it if the price is even mildly extortionate, and will post the good news (depending on injuries/penalties from wife).

My interest is currently focused on the Aegean theatre and if I can help anybody I will be glad to do so.

All the best,

Bruce

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Ask AG Blume, you can contact via his site

http://warchron.com/index.htm

He is an expert on the Eastern Front WW I

Thanks, I will try that too.

All the best,

Bruce

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Bruce

Your welcome.

RE: Turkish official publication. I assume you are referring to A Brief History of the Çanakkale Campaign in the First World War. I have a copy. While they added a new chapter on air operations from the original Turkish edition, there is little on the naval side beyond the openning operations. The Turkish WWI official series has a volume on naval operations, but it has so far eluded me.

Are you trying to establish which operations Askold supported?

v/r

Jeff

Jeff, thanks again.  I am also interested in the Turkish side of that particular story and may be able to get something from a document a forum Pal found at The National Archives.  I have looked at it briefly and will copy it when time allows.

There was a thread in OTHER THEATRES about the Turkish Official publication, and although who knows what might happen, it doesn't seem as if there is any access to it at the moment.  If I find one, I will get it if the price is even mildly extortionate, and will post the good news (depending on injuries/penalties from wife).

My interest is currently focused on the Aegean theatre and if I can help anybody I will be glad to do so.

All the best,

Bruce

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Are you trying to establish which operations Askold supported?

I am researching a book on the naval war in the Aegean. Askold is refered to several times in the British sources, and it seems obvious to me that she has a place in the story. Any background on her trip to the Aegean, crew, problems (her shooting was laughed at by the RN crew of Aagamemnon: were her guns worn out or was it bad technical training?). Did she carry any passengers, etc etc. You get the idea. The same applies to any ship/personnel from the other Allied nations.

All aspects of the war in the Aegean, especially ASW measures and the involvement of submarines in clandestine activities, are of interest to me. Much of my time at the National Archives is spent trawling through the old Foreign Office diplomatic papers The more information I have from the other participants perspective, the better my chances of recognising a good story when I see it. It can be soul destroying but, occasionally, these papers produce a real gem.

Any advice gratefully appreciated.

Regards,

Bruce

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Here is the abstract of the AG Blume discussion forum on the Eastern Front as it now appears in the CEF Study Groups recommended list.

Borden Battery

Warchron - Great War on the Eastern Front Nov 2005

This is a new discussion forum dedicated to the Eastern Front during the Great War. As such there are 27 members and only about 100 articles - however - interest is expected to increase. The subject of Warchron is Russian military (land-sea-air)- political-social history, a chronology covering the Pre-War period from 1894-1914 and World War One 1914-1917. The many other belligerents involved in the conflicts of these periods are also addressed in some detail. There is a wide range of pre-set topic areas which should result in an organized collection of comments and information.

http://www.warchron.com/forum/index.php

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I am researching a book on the naval war in the Aegean.  Askold is refered to several times in the British sources, and it seems obvious to me that she has a place in the story.  Any background on her trip to the Aegean, crew, problems (her shooting was laughed at by the RN crew of Aagamemnon: were her guns worn out or was it bad technical training?).  Did she carry any passengers, etc etc. You get the idea.  The same applies to any ship/personnel from the other Allied nations.

All aspects of the war in the Aegean, especially ASW measures and the involvement of submarines in clandestine activities, are of interest to me.  Much of my time at the National Archives is spent trawling through the old Foreign Office diplomatic papers The more information I have from the other participants perspective, the better my chances of recognising a good story when I see it. It can be soul destroying but, occasionally, these papers produce a real gem.

Any advice gratefully appreciated.

Regards,

Bruce

Here is an account about the activities of Askold

http://www.argo.net.au/andre/ascoldENFIN.htm

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Here is an account about the activities of Askold

http://www.argo.net.au/andre/ascoldENFIN.htm

Thank you for that. The site looks great, but I have a question: do you happen to know how reliable the site is? I feel ungrateful even asking, but I have visited it before and did not see any references for the information. It probably is good, since most of the other subjects quote the source, but not the page on the Askold. It would be very good news to know that you feel we can rely on the accuracy of the contents.

The links this site makes with ANZACs and the Russian forces is interesting.

Thanks again,

Bruce

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Thank you for that.  The site looks great, but I have a question: do you happen to know how reliable the site is?  I feel ungrateful even asking, but I have visited it before and did not see any references for the information.  It probably is good, since most of the other subjects quote the source, but not the page on the Askold.  It would be very good news to know that you feel we can rely on the accuracy of the contents. 

The links this site makes with ANZACs and the Russian forces is interesting.

Thanks again,

Bruce

Don't know the site, found it while "googling" today, Internet has it's merits, but as you point out, one needs to be carefull and critical.

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Don't know the site, found it while "googling" today,  Internet has it's merits, but as you point out, one needs to be carefull and critical.

I have often wondered how to quote "Google" as my source once the book is ready...

Seriously, so much of my information has come from the web that I expect sooner or later to find that some detail I have believed, and passed on, is pure rubbish. But that can happen from any source, can't it?

My approach to this is to ask, even if I'm boring, 'where did you get that?'. This is because I want to tell the facts, and this forum has proven over and over again that the quest for facts, not merely stories, is an over-riding priority for the serious enthusiast.

Back to the Askold: the web page you redirected me to looks good, and I will of course check out anything from it before committing to print. Thanks again.

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