Allied Intervention in Russia 1918-1920

[RodB]

Hello WWI gurus, can anybody point me towards a good source of info about the political rationale and implications of this action ?

I'm looking at it in the context of the later Cold War, and why the Allies felt justified in getting involved in an internal Russian affair. Security issues ? Threat to the remaining aristocracies ? Fear that the masses of Europe would rise up once they realized the extent of the slaughter ?

thanks

Rod

[Neil Burns]

Hi Rod,

A quick answer would be to protect the war materials the Allies had already shipped to Russia (most of which were goen by the time the Siberian and North Russian contingents arrived), to try to 'reopen' the Eastern Front against the Germans by joining forces with Nationalist Russians who wished to continue the war, and in Siberia to aid the Czecholslovak Legion which was comprised of former Austro-Hungarian POWs and had resisted a Bolshevik attempt to forcibly disarm them. This opened the door for Japanese intervention in Siberia which was motivated by geopgraphic aspitaions.

As far as books go I will be happy to post a few titles later when I am home.

Take care,

Neil

[Dolphin]

Rod

You might like to look at:

'Red Victory' by Bruce Lincoln, ISBN 0 7474 0808 4;

'The Day We Almost Bombed Moscow' by Christopher Dobson and John Miller, ISBN 0 340 33723 0;

'The Fate of Admiral Kolchak' by Peter Fleming, ISBN 1 84158 138 0;

'At War with the Bolsheviks' by Robert Jackson, ISBN ?;

'Farewell to the Don' by Brigadier H N H Williamson, ISBN 0 00 211164 0;

'The Ignorant Armies' by E M Halliday, ISBN 0 553 28456 8;

'The Diggers Who Signed on for More' by Bruce Muirden, ISBN 1 86254 260 0; and

'Allied Intervention in Russia 1918-1919 and the part played by Canada' by John Swettenham, ISBN ?.

Some of the books are concerned with events as seen at the 'sharp end' of the Allies' dealings with the Reds, and show the feelings and beliefs of the men who were there at the time.

Happy reading

[jhill]

Hello WWI gurus, can anybody point me towards a good source of info about the political rationale and implications of this action ?

I'm looking at it in the context of the later Cold War, and why the Allies felt justified in getting involved in an internal Russian affair. Security issues ? Threat to the remaining aristocracies ? Fear that the masses of Europe would rise up once they realized the extent of the slaughter ?

thanks

Rod

There is a chapter addressing this aspect of the Siberian adventure from the Canadian point of view in: James Eayrs "In Defence of Canada Volume I - From the Great War to the Great Depression". The Canadian records should be instructive here since the British Siberian expedition was under Canadian command and included only a weak British contingent.

However, after examining all government documents, the author concludes that the British government never unambiguously defined the motives for the operation, despite their desperate appeals for assistance. Nor did the Canadian government define its own motives. Depending on the emotions of whoever was speaking at the moment, the expedition was to open a new front against Germany or to launch a counter-revolutionary drive against the Soviets. The Canadian Prime Minister, Sir Robert Borden, sometimes seemed to be swayed by commercial possibilities in the new Russia. There was much opposition to the plan and only fuzzy thinking and an unlucky combination of circumstances resulted in the Canadians being despatched.

Outside the Canadian debate, there was also the motive of covering the retreat of the Czech Legion to Vladivostok, and the safeguarding of British supplied war materiel which, it was feared, the Soviets would turn over to the Germans. It seems that no one in power ever wrote down the rationale for the exercise.

[Dolphin]

Rod

I left out the recent publication 'Stamping Out the Virus - Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War 1918-1920' by Perry Moore, ISBN 0 7643 1625 7. It's very comprehensive about units, commands, equipment, etc but not exactly easy to read.

Cheers

[RodB]

Many thanks guys, I'll take the book list to MacQuarie uni library and see what they have.

Sounds like a right royal stuffup.

rgds

Rod

[Glosters]

Also:

Allied Intervention in Russia 1917-1920 by John Bradley

for dealings with Wrangel:

General Wrangel: Russia's White Crusader by Alexis Wrangel

among the sources listed by Wrangel are

British War Office

Military Mission South of Russia Situation Reports and Instructions.

Steve

[andigger]

As a slight tangent, are there any books that address the Czech Legion. ITs eems to be a rather odd story, but I never have read much abou it. Andy

[Neil Burns]

As always, I've been beaten to the punch! The only other title I would recommend not listed above is Fighting the Bolsheviks by Donald E. Carey a memoirof a US member of the North Russian Expeditionary Force.

Andy,

The Czechoslovak Legion's story is fascinating, of the above titles The Fate of Admiral Kolchak covers them quite a bit. There is also:

The US, Revolutionary Russia and the Rise of Czechoslovakia by Betty Miller Unterberger.

This title has been sitting on my Amazon wish list for quite some time so I can't actually vouch for it.

Take Care,

Neil

[Glosters]

As a slight tangent, are there any books that address the Czech Legion. ITs eems to be a rather odd story, but I never have read much abou it. Andy

CZECHOSLOVAK LEGION IN RUSSIA 1914-1920 by John Bradley.

A detailed account of the history of the Czech Foreign Legion in WW I & and the Russian Civil War. They played a key role in supporting the White armies in their battles with the Bolshevik Red forces in Siberia 1917-1920.

ISBN: 0880332182

[mordac]

Hi All:

The Siberian campaign is an interesting study in conflicting political interests and national mistrust. There was never a clearly defined mission statement for the allied forces. In theory the combined forces, under the command of Japan's General Kikuzo Otani, were to assist the Czech Legion return home via ship from Vladivostok, to provide stability to the region and to stop the spread of Bolshevism in Eastern Russia. That was the stated intentions of the allies, but their unspoken national interests tell a far different story.

Japan coveted Siberia's natural resources and viewed the discord in the region as an opportunity to push her expansionist policies forward. The Japanese were late comers to 'imperialism' and saw her move into Siberia as the logical next step. They went to war with China in 1894 over the suzerainty of Korea and with Russia in 1904 to establish her mandate in Manchuria. Japan was also annoyed that Britain and the United States had held them in check in the Pacific region during the Great War; she only gained Germany's Pacific possessions. Now there was an opportunity to strike it rich in Siberia. It should be noted that the Japanese forces didn't leave Siberia until 1922.

The United States had no real interest in Siberia. The only reason they joined the coalition was to keep an eye on the Japanese forces and try to keep them in check. There had been a deep mistrust between the two nations over the Pacific region since the mid 1800's.

Great Britain was caught in the middle; she had political ties and obligations to both Japan and the Unites States. She had two reasons to be in Siberia. The first was to maintain her high profile presence as a 'Great Power' on the global stage. The second was to act as a buffer/arbitrator between Japan and the US. There was in fact a real possibility that there would be a military conflict in Siberia between Japan and the US. The British government found themselves in a no win position in this poorly defined campaign.

Canada found herself in the worst position of all. She was being pressured by the British government to play a leading role in the Siberian campaign. The Canadian government really didn't want to participate in Siberia but could find no way out of the dilemma. In the end the Canadian PM, Sir Robert Borden rationalized the Siberian adventure by telling parliament Canada's participation would bolster her international reputation and provide massive trade opportunities for Canada's manufactured goods and agricultural products. The trade opportunities never materialized and the troops were returned home at the earliest possible moment.

Garth

[Staffsyeoman]

Dolphin - a thousand and one thanks - saw that book, meant to buy it, forgot title! Memory unlocked! Need that book for a writing project....

[mordac]

Hi Rod:

I second Dolphin's recommendations of 'At War with the Bolsheviks, the Allied Intervention in Russia 1917-1920' by Robert Jackson and 'Allied Intervention in Russia 1918-1919' by John Swettenham.

Here's some other recommendations:

'The Midnight War, The American Intervention in Russia, 1918-1920' by Richard Goldhurst.

'Canadians in Russia 1918-1919' by Roy MacLaren

'The Siberian Intervention' by John Albert White

'CSEF: Canada's Soldiers In Siberia 1918-1919' by John E. Skuce

'A Canadian's Road To Russia: Letters from the Great War Decade' by Stuart Ramsay Tompkins

Garth