Britain, France, Canada and the United States, along with other World War I Allied countries, conducted a military intervention into the Russian Civil War during the period of 1918 through 1920. World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machine guns, and poison gas World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, the War of the Nations and... The Russian Civil War was fought between 1918 and 1922. ...

Rapidly changing circumstances in the late stages of World War I caused the Allies to launch separate campaigns in North Russia and Siberia. Each of these Allied campaigns would ultimately fail to achieve their objectives and the troops were withdrawn. North Russia Campaign Arkhangelsk Oblast May 1918 – Sept 1919 Polar Bear Expedition Russian Civil War North Russia Relief Force // Introduction The North Russia Campaign (also known as the Northern Russian Expedition or the Allied Intervention in North Russia) was the involvement of international troops part of the Allied Intervention in...

During the Allied Intervention, the military presence of foreign troops was effectively used as patriotic propaganda by the Bolsheviks in their struggle to influence the population and win the Civil War. Leaders of the Bolshevik Party and the Communist International, a painting by Malcolm McAllister on the Pathfinder Mural in New York City and on the cover of the book Lenin’s Final Fight published by Pathfinder. ...

Reasons Behind the Allied Intervention

In March 1917, a number of events occured which changed the dynamics of World War I. Following the abdication of Russian Tsar Nicholas II and the formation of a provisional democratic government in Russia, the U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's final reservations about entering the war with an ally that was led by a tyrannnical monarch no longer existed. Thus, the U.S. joined the war against the Central Powers while the Russian provisional government, led by Alexander Kerensky, pledged to continue fighting the Germans on the Eastern Front. In return, the U.S. began providing economic and technical support to the Russian provisional government so they could carry out their military pledge. March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1917 was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machine guns, and poison gas World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, the War of the Nations and... Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia Nicholas II of Russia ( 18 May 1868 – 17 July 1918) was the last crowned Emperor of Russia. ... Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was the 28th President of the United States (1913–1921). ... European military alliances in 1915. ... Alexander Kerensky Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky (Russian: Алекса́ндр Фёдорович Ке́ренский) (April 22, 1881 (May 2, New Style) - June 11, 1970) was the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government, immediately before the Bolsheviks and Lenin came to power. ...

However, the Russian Army proved to be no match for the German and Austro-Hungarian forces on the Eastern Front. The Russian offensive of June 18, 1917 was overwhelmingly defeated by a German counteroffensive. The demoralized Russian Army, plagued by mutinies and desertions, melted away and the Eastern Front quickly collapsed. Only the Czech Legion, a corps of 50,000 ethnic Slavs who had reluctantly fought with the Central Powers and subsequently switched sides after being captured by the Russian Army, remained an effective fighting force. Allied war materiel still in transit quickly began piling up in the already well-stocked warehouses of Arkhangelsk and the ice-free port of Murmansk. The Eastern Front refers to a theatre of war during the first World War in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. ... June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ... 1917 was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... Czech Legion, also called Czech-Slovak Legion was an armed force attached to the Russian army during the World War I. It played a prominent role in the Russian Civil War. ... The city of Arkhangelsk (Архангельск, formerly in English Archangel or Archangelsk) lies on the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the far north of European Russia, at 64°32′ N 40°32′ E. It is the capital of the Arkhangelsk Oblast and was the chief sea... Murmansk, Archangelsk, Dikson, Tiksi, on the Arctic Ocean Murmansk coin Murmansk (Му́рманск) is a city in the extreme northwest of Russia (north of the Arctic circle) with a seaport on the Kola Gulf, 20 miles from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia...

In October 1917, the Soviet Communists overthrew Kerensky's provisional government and five months later, they signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Germans, which formally ended the war on the Eastern Front. This allowed the Germans to begin redeploying troops to the Western Front where the depleted British and French armies had not yet been bolstered by the American Expeditionary Force. Coincidental with the Treaty, Joseph Stalin personally pledged that if the Czech Legion would stay neutral and leave Russia, they would enjoy safe passage through Siberia on their way to join the Allied forces on the Western Front. However, as the Legion made their way along the Trans-Siberian Railroad to Vladivostok, only half had arrived before the agreement broke down and fighting ensued in May 1918. Also worrisome to the Allies was the fact that in April 1918, a division of German troops had landed in Finland, creating fears that they might try to capture the Murmansk-Petrograd railroad, the strategic port of Murmansk and possibly even the city of Arkhangelsk. October is the tenth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1917 was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, at Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk, between Russia and the Central Powers, marking Russias exit from World War I. The treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year but is significant as a chief... For most of World War I, Allied and German Forces were stalled at trenches on the Western Front. ... Officers of the American Expeditionary Force and the Baker mission The American Expeditionary Force or AEF was the United States military force in World War I. The AEF helped the French defend the Western Front during the Aisne Offensive in May. ... Trans-Siberian line in red; Baikal Amur Mainline in green. ... This article is about the month of May. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

Faced with these series of events, the leaders of the British and French governments decided that the Allies needed to begin a military intervention in North Russia. They had three objectives that they hoped to acheive with this intervention:

1. prevent the Allied war materiel stockpiles in Arkhangelsk from falling into German or Bolshevik hands,
2. mount an offensive to rescue the Czech Legion, which was stranded along the Trans-Siberian Railroad and
3. resurrect the Eastern Front by defeating the Bolshevik army with the assistance of the Czech Legion and an expanded anti-Bolshevik force drawn from the local citizenry.

Severely short of troops to spare, the British and French decided to request that President Wilson provide U.S. troops for the North Russia Campaign and the Siberian Campaign. In July 1918, against the advice of his War Department, President Wilson finally agreed to a limited participation in the Campaign by 5,000 U.S. troops that were hastily organized as the American North Russia Expeditionary Force (also known as the Polar Bear Expedition) and 10,000 U.S. troops who were similarly quickly organized and shipped to Vladivostok as the American Expeditionary Force Siberia. Czech Legion, also called Czech-Slovak Legion was an armed force attached to the Russian army during the World War I. It played a prominent role in the Russian Civil War. ... North Russia Campaign Arkhangelsk Oblast May 1918 – Sept 1919 Polar Bear Expedition Russian Civil War North Russia Relief Force // Introduction The North Russia Campaign (also known as the Northern Russian Expedition or the Allied Intervention in North Russia) was the involvement of international troops part of the Allied Intervention in... July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... The Polar Bear Expedition (also known as the Northern Russian Expedition) was the involvement of U.S. troops, during the tail end of World War I and the Russian Revolution, in fighting the Bolsheviks in Arkhangelsk, Russia in 1918 and 1919, having been sent there on the pretext of halting... Vladivostok Train Station. ... The American Expeditionary Force Siberia (AEF Siberia) was the involvement of U.S. troops, during the tail end of World War I and the Russian Revolution, in Vladivostok, Russia, from 1918 and 1920. ...

Foreign forces throughout Russia

The following number of foreign soldiers occupied Russia:

• 50,000 Czechs
• 28,000 Japanese (later increased to 70,000)
• 7,500 Americans
• 4,000 Canadians
• 12,000 Poles
• 4,000 Serbs
• 4,000 Romanians
• 2,000 Italians
• 1,600 British
• 760 French^[1]

Each was a separate expedition within the vast geographical range of Russia's western frontier.

• See American Expeditionary Force Siberia for information on the 10,000 American soldiers who were sent to Vladivostok, Russia at the same time.

Eventually all of these country's expeditions ended in failure. The American Expeditionary Force Siberia (AEF Siberia) was the involvement of U.S. troops, during the tail end of World War I and the Russian Revolution, in Vladivostok, Russia, from 1918 and 1920. ... Vladivostok Train Station. ...

Allied Intervention in North Russia

(aka North Russia Campaign)

• British Army (6th Yorkshire Regiment, Royal Scots Battalion, others?)
• British Navy (plus a detachment of 53 US Navy sailors & officers - including Harold Gunnes - from the USS Olympia during Aug & Sept 1918 only)
• French Army (21st Colonial Battalion)
• Canadian Field Artillery (67th & 68th Batteries of the 16th Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery)
• Slavo-British Allied Legion (aka SBAL, anti-Bolshevik forces, included Dyer's Battalion, British trained and led)
• White Russian Army (previously the army of Kerensky's provisional democratic Russian govenrment, anti-Bolshevik, led by General Eugene Miller, a Russian native)
• U.S. Army, American North Russia Expeditionary Force (aka Polar Bear Expedition, 339th Infantry Regiment plus the First Battalion of the 310th Engineers)
• U.S. Army 167th and 168th Railroad Companies (sent to Murmansk to operate the Murmanks to Petrograd line)
• Miscellaneous Allied troops from Poland, Serbia and Italy
• British North Russian Relief Force (arrived in late May 1919 to cover the withdrawal of U.S. and Allied troops)

Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky (Russian:Алекса́ндр Фёдорович Ке́ренский) (April 22, 1881 (May 2, New Style) - June 11, 1970) was the second prime minister of the Russian Provisional Government, immediately before the Bolsheviks and Lenin came to power. ... The Polar Bear Expedition (also known as the Northern Russian Expedition) was the involvement of U.S. troops, during the tail end of World War I and the Russian Revolution, in fighting the Bolsheviks in Arkhangelsk, Russia in 1918 and 1919, having been sent there on the pretext of halting...

Allied Intervention in Siberia

• White Russian Army (anti-Bolshevik, led by Adm. Alexander Kolchak)
• Russian Cossacks (anti-Bolshevik, led by Gregorii Semenov and Ivan Kalmykof)
• U.S. Army, American Expeditionary Force Siberia (27th and 31st Infantry Regiments)
• Russian Railway Service Corps (a contingent of U.S. railway workers and managers who accompanied locomotives and rolling stock that the U.S. had originally committed to the Kerensky government for improving the Trans-Siberian Railroad).
• Japanese Army
• Czech Legion
• British Army
• French Army
• Chinese Army