Rockdoc Posted 7 February , 2009 Share Posted 7 February , 2009 One of the few of my Grandfather's stories that even mentioned killing was from his time in Salonika between March 1917 and December 1918. He must have seen something on the news about Russian troops and said "If we saw a Russian uniform we shot first and asked questions afterwards. You couldn't trust them!" As a youngster I took this at face value and assumed he'd done the shooting but I now know that he was in 99th AAS, a long way from any fighting, so it must have been a tale he heard from the infantry. Has anyone else come across anything similar? Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apwright Posted 7 February , 2009 Share Posted 7 February , 2009 Hi Keith, There were two Russian infantry brigades (the 2nd and 4th, about 20,000 men) with the Allies on the Salonika Front. The first of these (2nd Brigade) arrived in August 1916 and initially operated with the French and Serbian forces against Monastir. The 4th Brigade (IIRC detached from the Russian Expeditionary Force in France) arrived in Salonika in November 1916. At first they were very useful troops, and were generally praised for their physique and stamina. The brigades were later combined into a Russian division. By April 1917 there were the first signs of unrest and mutiny in the ranks. In June 1917 a detachment of 2,500 Russians, who had been stationed in Athens, were brought to Salonika to strengthen the division, which was then sent to the Prespa Lakes area near Ohrid. But the mutinies continued, and by October the division was virtually useless. It finally mutinied and was dissolved in January 1918, most of the men being repatriated. I would imagine that any Russians found at large after that would have been interned at the very least. About 500 Russians are buried in the main Allied cemetery here. There are another 34 at Mikra CWGC Cemetery, all with dates of death in 1920, suggesting that they died as internees (there was a large PoW camp nearby). If you read French, a good book on the subject, by all accounts, is "Le Corps expéditionnaire russe en France et à Salonique" by Gérard Gorokhoff and Andrei Korliakov. Haven't seen it myself yet, but it's on my To Buy list! Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 7 February , 2009 Share Posted 7 February , 2009 The French ambassador in St Petersburg (Petrograd) mentions in his diary one Russian unit en route to Salonika in 1916 that mutinied (in Marseilles I think) even before leaving France. The mutiny was put down with some force by the French army with a number of Russians being shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apwright Posted 7 February , 2009 Share Posted 7 February , 2009 That's interesting, Centurion. I hadn't heard of that before. The British official history does mention that the Russian contingent in Athens had to be compelled by force of arms to board ship for Salonika in June 1917. Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockdoc Posted 7 February , 2009 Author Share Posted 7 February , 2009 Thanks, Adrian. I should have known you would have come up with the goods! One thing the story does show, though, is how such ideas propagate through an Army. As you know, 99th AAS was sited somewhere between Salonika, Harmankoy and Daut-Bali so my Grandfather is most unlikely to have ever been up to the front lines for any length of time, if at all, yet he was just as convinced that a Russian soldier was a potential enemy as anyone who'd been much closer to them. Clearly, the bush telegraph was in full working order on the Macedonian Front, even where conventional communications were less efficient...... And thank you, Centurion, for making clear that there was no love lost between the various contingents if push came to shove. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonM Posted 10 February , 2009 Share Posted 10 February , 2009 Just to add to Adrian's remarks, there was also a Russian Labour Battalion raised from the least suspect/Bolshevik members of the Russian forces. It was raised in 1918 was officially a British unit officered by British officers who could speak Russian. It served with dubious success in the fields around Kukus/Sarigol. Desertion was high and some sabotage of crops took place. On one occasion, the Derbyshire Yeomanry had to break up a disturbance. the War Diary is at the National archives and is one of the oddest/most interesting ones I have read on the Great War. Russian officers generally seem to have fallen into a drink filled existence in the city of Salonika in this period. Perhaps the Russian Labour Battalion is the unit your Grandfather mentions as they had a shocking reputation for desertion/discipline. I did a short illustrated article in an early New Mosquito some years ago on the Russians in Salonika April 2001. All the Best Simon Moody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockdoc Posted 10 February , 2009 Author Share Posted 10 February , 2009 Thanks, Simon. You could very well be right about this Labour Battalion being the target of his venom all those years later. I've recently joined the Society and am looking forward to receiving my New Mosquitos. Can back issues be bought? Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonM Posted 11 February , 2009 Share Posted 11 February , 2009 No problem. Yes, you can get back issues. the NM was a bit primitive in the early days (I was the editor!), but had some good stuff in it; you need to contact the Chairman Alan Wakefield. He can arrange it - he is a member of this forum. Cheers Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter and Ellen Posted 11 February , 2009 Share Posted 11 February , 2009 There are two Russian graves (8 in each) in a small French War Cemetery on D33/D31 between Vermand and Bellinglise, Somme, France. Now I am worried about who shot them! Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockdoc Posted 11 February , 2009 Author Share Posted 11 February , 2009 Any dates on the headstones, Peter? Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter and Ellen Posted 12 February , 2009 Share Posted 12 February , 2009 Hi Keith, Cannot recall. Am in Melbourne, Australia, at the moment but will check it out when I am next passing the Cemetery. I will also get the name of the Cemetery and take a photo. Regards, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockdoc Posted 12 February , 2009 Author Share Posted 12 February , 2009 Thanks, Peter. I'll look forward to it. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trsp62 Posted 12 February , 2009 Share Posted 12 February , 2009 This is interesting. My GF served in Salonika with the Military Mounted Police. He had a wrist wound which my father said he always said he got from fighting Russians - we always presumed supporting the White Russians, but as of yet I have not found any official record that he went to Russia. However amongst his papers I have some note paper used to stick to the back of a birth certificate; when it peeled off it had writing on it which I have had confirmed is Russian, hence supporting, I thought, his travelling there. But now a whole new set of possibilites open up! Simon was there any indication of British Military Police involvement with the Russian Labour Corps in your research? TimP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonM Posted 16 February , 2009 Share Posted 16 February , 2009 Tim, Not specifically, although there must have been some as there was a very high rate of desertion/absenteeism. Some Russians believed that as fellow Slavs the Bulgarians would be sympathetic if they crossed the lines - there is no evidence that they were. I have to revisit a lot of my Salonika material (there is a welcome resurgence in interest in this campaign, despite 'Under the Devil's Eye' being out of print). If I spot anything I will let you know. Cheers Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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