4 II I W MM I& I WHY DID WE GO TO RUSSIA? BY HARRY J. COSTELLO With Illustrations FIRST EDITION Published by HARRY J. COSTELLO Detroit, Mich. 1 Copyright, 1920 HARRY J. COSTELLO Detroit, Mich. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. List of Illustrations...................................... 5 Introduction..................................... 7 Preface........................................ 9 Chapter One Why Did We Go to Russia?................................... 11 Chapter Two Death, Misfortune and Hardship........................... 19 Chapter Three Propaganda and Oratory................................ 31 Chapter Four Discouraging Circumstances............................... 49 Chapter Five The Travesty of Co-operation............................... 68 Chapter Six The Truth About the Mutiny.............................. 75 Chapter Seven Did We Aid Bolshevism?.................................. 89 Chapter Eight Christmas Day................................... 99 Chapter Nine Why Did We Go to Russia?.............................. 109 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Facing Page No. Advanced M. G. Post............................................. 8 Advanced Post Showing Communicating Trench............... 8 American Billets in Rear of Front Line.................... 8 American Infantry Detraining Preparatory to Entering Front Line... 8 Trotzky Prospect the Main Street of Archangel.................. 8 Bakharitza, the Brooklyn of Archangel............................. 8 One of the Many Russian "Cathedrals"............. 16 A Russian Government Building, Archangel....................... 16 One of the any Russian "Cathedrals"............................... 16 One of the few street cars in Archangel............................. 16 Left Flank, American Position, Railroad Front................ 16 A Modern Russia Fire Department (the only one in Archangel)...... 16 A Monastery, Archangel....................................... 32 Lewis Gun Team, Kadish Front.................................... 32 Statue of Peter the Great, Archangel............................... 32 American Headquarters, Archangel........................... 32 A Wedding Party, Following the Marriage of a Doughboy and a "Barischnia"................................................. 32 Famous Archangel Cathedral, Showing Paintings................ 32 A View of the Country Looking South from Headquarters, R R. Front, Toward the Front Line....................................... 48 Another Washing Day Scene Near the Dry Dock, Dvina River...... 48 June Ice in the W hite Sea......................................... 48 The Duma, Seat of the North Russian Government.................. 48 Peasant Women Washing Clothes Through the Ice................... 48 Doughboys Play Baseball in Russia............................... 48 American Graves on Railroad Front................................. 64 Doughboys Watching Bolshevist Shells Bursting Over American Positions...................................................... 64 Engineers Making Barbed Wire Entanglements................. 64 Americans Occupied This House Until a Shell Drove Them Out (Railroad Front).................................................. 64 A Snapshot Taken at Midnight, May 30th, 1919.................... 64 American Graveyard in Archangel................................ 64 American M. G. Officers at Entrance to M. G. Dugout.............. 80 American M. G. Post in Front Line................................. 80 Entrance to Dugout..............................................80 Russian Workmen. Russian Peasant Women, in background, Worked as Hard as the Men............................................ 80 Advanced Post R. R. Front. Doughboy Shaving...................... 80 American Infantry Train.......................................... 80 A "Blockhouse" Crew............................................. 96 Headquarters Slavo-British Legion in Archangel.....................96 Red Cross Hospital Ship "Kalyan" "Frozen In," Dvina River...... 96 Russian Sailors Drilling Back of the Front Line...................... 96 Tomb of Peter the Great, Archangel............................... 96 Russian Peasant Women Came by Boat to Archangel................ 96 Madame Botchkorova, Leader of the Battalion of Death...........112 English Captain Paroled by Bolsheviki to Return to Allied Lines for New Clothing.................................................112 Russian Women Engaged in Their Usual Occupation.............. 112 Major J. Brooks Nichols Leads the Band in Final Selection as Americans Leave Russia............................... 112 Probably the Most Unusual Photograph of the Whole War. Enemies Meet in No Man's Land-Left to Right: Bolsheviki Regimental Commander; Bolsheviki Company Commander; Capt. Horatio G. Winslow, U S. A.; General Kuropkin, Commander-in-Chief, Bolshevik Army of the North; General Kuropkin's Chief of Staff; Lieut. Gordon B. Reese, U. S. A..............................112 American Doughboys in Front Line................................112 Varied Answers to the Question "What reason is there that our Government cannot tell us why troops are in Russia, what is being done, how long they will remain and all other facts?"-SENATOR JOHNSON OF CALIFORNIA. "We are going to withdraw the troops from Archangel and bring them back to the United States. They are there repairing the railroads and waiting for the ice to break up."-GEN. PEYTON C. MARCH. "I want American troops to get out of Russia and let Russia settle her own affairs just as soon as they can do so. Does anybody expect to lick Germany in Russia? Our poor fellows there are suffering and dying, with no hope of accomplishing anything."-SENATOR BORAH OF IDAHO. -"There are 5,419 American troops in North Russia. The War Department has no plan for withdrawing them, and any change of policy will be announced by President Wilson as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy."SECRETARY OF WAR BAKER. "Was not Russia a neutral nation when we invaded herf How then can we complain of Germany invading helpless Belgium?"-SENATOR FRANCE OF MARYLAND. "Our soldiers went to Russia as a war measure, under instructions of the Supreme Council at Paris at the request of General Foch. Their sole duty was that of defense. I have no idea what the British Government will do about withdrawing their soldiers."-SENATOR HITCHCOCK OF NEBRASKA. "Insults to England, though they be even from a civilized government, give England a right to defend herself with arms. England has a full right to say that the Bolshevik Government can expect no mercy from the British Government."-LORD ROBERT CECIL. INTRODUCTION WHY did we go to Russia? AMore than 5,000 American troops, held in the Arctic fastness of Archangel from the summer of 1.918 until June, 1919, fighting as no other soldiers anywhere have fought, even in our war of wars, have been asking this question. The mystery that has been in their minds has remained to some degree unsolved even now, more than a year after their return, following hardships untold. For our campaign only reached its full swing after the signing of the armistice, and when we left our Bolshevik adversaries seemed as strong as when we had begun-even stronger in the face of the hard blows we and our allies struck at them through an eventful winter. That we maintained our fronts at all seems, in retrospect, remarkable. We were beset not only by the expected obstacles, but the unexpected. There was some official mismanagement, more misunderstanding and great misfortune; there was an assault from within and without our lines by insidious propaganda as well as the usual weapons of warfare; allied co-operation became to a great extent, in the fighting areas, only a name. But throughout all this, American soldiers, actuated by American ideals, made their stand in the Arctic wilderness with their backs to the midnight sun, and fought against an enemy they did not understand and conditions that were not all clear to them with unflagging zeal. Though the American North Russian Expeditionary Force-the "Anrefs," to whom history will doubtless accord their due-is all called homeward, our flag still flies in North Russia. Americans left it there, not as a symbol of military conquest, it is true, but it was whipping in the first vagrant breeze of a tardy Arctic spring when we departed-over the graves of our comrades who will not return. FOUND REGION "A FROZEN HELL" The warranty for the questions that to many of the members of our expedition are still unsettled lies in the frozen hell they have been through. Therefore, in revealing the first story of our army in Russia, the conditions must be set forth as we saw them. If we have served our purpose there as soldiers, we all shall be satisfied. What has been going on there all Americans know who have fought. To what purpose, has not been made so clear to them. So the question: 'Why did we go to Russia? I:7 Advanced M. G. Post. Advanced Post Showing Communicating Trench. American Billets in Rear of Front Line. 1%IU _ - I - X.. L _/ American Infantry Detraining Preparatory to Entering Front Line. Trotzky Prospect, the Main Street of Archangel. Bakharitza, the Brooklyn of Archangel. At~ PREFACE A large number of books have been published dealing with the great war. Yet no book has been published to date (June, 1920) which gives an accurate account of one of the most widely discussed, yet least known, aspects of the war-the North Russian campaign of the Americans. This volume has been planned to alleviate this condition and because of the great demand for the author's newspaper series, "WVHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA?" in book form. Every effort has been made to keep intact the phraseology of the news articles which appeared in the New York World, the St. Louis Post-Despatch, the Detroit Free Press and more than half a hundred other newspapers of the United States. The ignorance of the American public in regard to even the geography of Russia is astounding. Often times one will hear the expression: "Archangel, Siberia." Again many are surprised when told that American troops campaigned in EUROPEAN RUSSIA during the great war. These think only of those Americans who fought on the Siberian side and know nothing of the units that fought against the forces of Lenine and Trotzky in the region of the White Sea and the Murmanese coast, in European Russia. If this volume falls into the hands of this latter class of people then my purpose will have been served. THE AUTHOR. CHAPTER I VWE ARRIVE IN RUSSIA T HE American North Russian Expeditionary Force, as it was destined to be, sailed from New York on the cruisers Harrisburg and Plattsburg and other lesser ships July 22, 1918. It was at the height of the debarkation period in our military enterprise. We landed in Liverpool August 4 and proceeded to Stoney Castle, England, in the Aldershot area, at once. The force was composed of these units: The 339th Infantry complete, called "Detroit's Own," formed for the most part of young drafted men from Michigan and Wisconsin; the 337th Ambulance Company, the 337th Field Hospital Company and one battalion of the 310th Engineers. It was commanded by Col. George E. Stewart of the regular forces, our titular leader throughout the campaign. It numbered at the start approximately 5,500 men. Later these ranks were depleted, first by disease, then in battle. The deaths in battle before the armistice were outnumbered by the deaths from disease. After the armistice this condition was reversed. Arrived in the Aldershot area, not a man of us foresaw what fortune had in store. But 11 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA we were not long there when certain facts, insignificant in themselves, reinforced by the rumors which were flying about, gave us to understand that ours were not the fortunes of war of those of our comrades in the American Army who had crossed before us. EQUIPMENT TAKEN AWAY Practically all our ordnance, including firearms, was taken from us at Stoney Castle. Our heavy freight meanwhile had been shipped to France. There we stood awaiting our freakish fate-divested of our fine American rifles and bayonets, as well as our Browning machine guns and automatic weapons. We were soon to be supplied with a conglomerate outfit of which I shall particularize later. We were encamped in English tents. The atmosphere surrounding us was distinctly English. It was here that we were equipped with rifles from the English, guns made in America, purchased by the Russia of the Czar, and stored near Aldershot awaiting shipment to the Russian Imperial Army which had collapsed. It was plain that England was intent on doing all she could for us. Russian rumors of the most fantastic sort, reinforced by the aura which was still Kitchener's, and which remains linked to Russia by his name, were flying thickly throughout England. 12 WE AaRIVE IN RussiA Then the great hint came. It happened in the most casual way. It was merely an announcement that Sir Ernest Shackleton, the Antarctic explorer, was to deliver a series of lectures to us on how to care for ourselves in the Arctic regions. The announcement was enough for us. When we had left the States we were bound for "the big show." Now we were leaving the "big tent" and were billed for the sideshow. Even when we left Stoney Castle and knew we were going to North Russia nobody knew just why. The information, as it gradually was filtered into our unit, resolved itself into these four reasons for our assignment: (1) To guard huge stores of war material and supplies at Archangel, which had been sold by the Allies to the Czar's Government. (2) To capture the railroad running from the Kola Peninsula to Petrograd, and thus prevent Germany coming through Finland and from Southern Russia and establishing submarine bases on the White Sea or the Murmansk coast. (3) To assist the Russians in re-establishing their army on the eastern front and to restore it as an integral part of the "big show," or main front, in this way diverting the Germans' attention from the hard-pressed Allies in France and Belgium. (4) To give aid to the Czecho-Slovaks. 13 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA (This was a dubious point, and how it could be done none of us could learn.) PROMISES MADE BY BRITISHERS In the preliminary lectures by English staff officers in Stoney Castle we had been told that "the great opportunity for the people of Russia has come. Russia's former great armies will rise to welcome us." We were warned, too, "beware of mosquitoes." They promised the machine gunners —and this point interested me because mine was the machine gun company-that we would transport Colt guns on carts and sledges drawn by Siberian ponies and that our mounted personnel would be similarly equipped. Their one great thought was well expressed to me by an enthusiastic staff officer: "We'll just rush up there and re-establish the great Russian Army-reorganize the vast forces of the Czar!" This accounted for the presence in our expedition, in addition to the adequate English commissioned personnel under Brig. Gen. Poole, English Commander in Chief, of 600 excess English staff officers who had been taken along to meet a situation which all England seemed to wish would arise in our favor and, so wishing, visualized. There was more of this wishing and theorizing —for we were all theorists so far in our enterprise. There had been propaganda galore on 14 WE ARRIVE IN RUSSIA this one point: "We are going to win the war on the Eastern front." It endeavored, with wellmeant sophistry to show the utter futility of crushing Germany only in a military way in France and Belgium, yet permit Germany to stretch out her hands toward the East and rehabilitate herself from the Russian opportunity. In other words, the concept of the expedition to North Russia was to serve a dual purpose -military and economic. ARCHANGEL STRIPPED BY REDS Sailing from Newcastle-on-Tyne, August 26, 1918, we arrived at Archangel and anchored at the mouth of the Dvina on September 4. When we viewed the harbor the first things we noticed were a French battleship and a British gunboat. This, of course, gave us the idea that we were not in the wrong pew. Just prior to our arrival these ships, with others, had landed a battalion of Royal Scots, a battalion of French Colonials and a multitude of English officers. As this array was arriving, the Bolshevikipersonified in the soldiers' jargon as "John Bolo" -had seized the huge stores of supplies and practically all the movable material wealth of the inhabitants of Archangel, and had swept with them southward over the railroad and the Dvina River. I did not see that hegira, but I believe that the hordes of Genghis Khan in their heydey never did a more thorough job. 15 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA The City of Archangel resembled nothing so much, after this wholesale looting, as Luna Park in winter time, with its odd architecture of Byzantine minarets topping some of the deserted buildings, while nearby squatted more solid structures surviving the days of Peter the Great, when he put his hereditary curse on Archangel and founded St. Petersburg, and which had endured through two centuries. All serviceable boats, railway rolling stock, hospital equipment and medical supplies, ammunition, guns, foodstuffs, hardware, printing presses and type, jewelry of the wealthy inhabitants-all had vanished with the Bolsheviki. The city normally has a population of about 40,000 -perhaps less. When we arrived it was packed with refugees from where no one knew. They were of all nationalities. All business had practically ceased. Here and there a few shops were open, but they really had nothing for sale. The food of the people consisted of fish and fish products, and bread at that time was baked from a number of non-nourishing ingredients, mostly oats. A pound of sugar, a small sack of flour or a few bars of chocolate would have purchased a silver fox skin worthy of the neck of any occupant of the Metropolitan Opera House's Golden Horseshoe, but nobody had any sugar, flour or chocolate. The monotonous menu of the Russians there at 16 One of the Many Russian "Cathedrals." A Russian Government Building, Archangel. One of the Many Russian "Cathedrals." One of the few street cars in Archangel. Left Flank, American Position, Railroad A Modern Russian Fire Department. (The Front. Only One. in Archangel.) WE ARRIVE IN RUSSIA that time consisted of fish, black straw-and-oat bread and tea. RUSSIANS JUST WALK AND ARGUE There was no coinage in circulation, but there were bales of Bolshevik, Kerensky, local government and Imperial Russian ruble notes, the latter variety being the scarcest. Of what value was money? One couldn't buy anything with it, for there was nothing to buy. Nobody was working individually except a few women here and there who felt it their duty to saw wood and carry on all the tedious tasks, most of the population being engaged in walking around the streets; and any one knowing the Russian character will realize well that all they did was to argue with one another. In fact, weltpolitik seemed verily to be in the city's fetid air. The groups of arguing Russians in the streets epitomized in a way what we were thinking among ourselves. There is no doubt that the expedition intended to help Russia reassert herself, for hardly had we arrived when a strike occurred of all the remaining workers in the city. This strike undoubtedly was a protest against the conditions which were the result of military interference with the civil administration of the district. Street cars stopped, and American soldiers were detailed to run them, and run them they 17 WHY DID WE GO TO RUSSIA did-under orders! Our men acted as conductors and motormen. The country around Archangel, which was so soon to be our battleground, is a vast, swampy area of timberland, like the Masurian Lake region, further south, but with the added disadvantage of Arctic cold, except for a few weeks each year, when the heat is extreme. Here and there along the rivers were small settlements. Tiny clearings were inhabited by wood choppers, trappers and a few peasants. CHAPTER II DEATH, MISFORTUNE AND HARDSHIP AVING reached Northern Russia, where our beleaguered Allies and our own handful of sailors were driving back the Bolsheviki against heavy odds, the Americans were not long to remain in the city of Archangel. In fact, it was only a matter of days until they were fighting actual battles with the Red Army. The story of this strange warfare throughout the long Arctic winter and extending far into the spring-long after the signing of the armisticeshould not be undertaken without consideration of the difficulties that beset us from the start. While we did not know early in September why we had been sent there, the story current in our camps was that the expedition had been decreed direct by the Supreme Allied Council, of which Marshal Foch was the head. Gen. Poole, our British Commander in Chief, so the story ran, had been before the council after having been designated by the British War Office for the leadership. He was an experienced soldier and regarded as an adept in Russian affairs. In Russia nothing was American. Even with American units fighting, they had taken away our American weapons. When we arrived 19 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA in Russia they had redressed the soldiers of our unit until one couldn't tell whether they were English, Russian, Lithuanian or Polish. Our command was quickly scattered. The rushing off of the troops down the Vologda railroad and the River Dvina began almost as soon as we arrived in Archangel. September 7 our boats were moved across the Dvina to Bakharitza, the Brooklyn of Archangel, and the first to debark was the 3d Battalion under Major Charles G. Young. It was composed of Companies I, K, L and M. The men were then loaded onto a train of Russian boxcars, hauled by a queer looking wood burning locomotive, and started for the front. FIRST FIGHT IN THREE DAYS After bumping all night these Americans took over the so-called railroad front from the tired French Colonials, who had just captured Obozerskaia and were occupying the village. Company I pushed ahead and established a front line about four miles South of Obozerskaia, Companies L and M being in support. Three days later their first fight with the Bolsheviki occurred. Company K meanwhile had been sent to the left flank to rescue the British Col. Hazelton and a party of about 300 English, Scots, Russians and American sailors, who had been re 20 DEATH, MISFORTUNE AND HARDSHIP ported as being totally surrounded and cut off. About ten miles east of Obozerskaia, Major, then Capt., Michael J. Donohue's K Company found Col. HIazelton's empty wagon train. They saw evidences of an encounter, but found no one, for Hazelton's outfit, under cover of darkness, had slipped through the enemy lines, the getaway being a case of every man for himself. After spending three days and nights in these dense forests and mudholes, the men of Hazelton's outfit reached the Allied lines. Major "Mike," as we called Major Donohue, led his company on for an extended reconnaissance, and finally reached Seletskoe, where a junction was made with a platoon of Scots, half a platoon of English, and a section of French machine gunners. At this time was established what later became known as the right wing, Seletskoe detachment, or Kadish front. Kadish is about sixty miles east of Obozerskaia. Later Major Donohue was reinforced by Company L and a few Russian cavalrymen. Scattered remnants of Company D also operated temporarily on this front. The 1st Battalion was despatched down the Dvina River. Company A branched off at the junction with the River Vaga and followed it. Companies B, C and D reinforced the Scots at Beresnik. Companies C and D later joined Company A on the Vaga, Company B return21 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA ing to the Dvina front in October. Company H was hurried to Onega and immediately started south. They were in a fight at Chekuevo on September 24. AMERICANS SENT TO SIX FRONTS In November the Bolsheviki became active around the Pinega district and half of Company G was sent there, with about 250 so-called "White Russians" partisans. They advanced southeast to Karpogora, but were forced to retreat to Pelagora because of the overwhelming odds against them. Later, in December, they were reinforced by Company M. Thus six fronts were established, and the almost complete disintegration, in so far as American practice governs, was accomplished, dictated by necessity as the policy of Gen. Poole interpreted it. The American officers took their orders from the British. Even squads were taken away from companies and marched off to isolated posts. Company D was spread over a line of sixty miles in this way. When we arrived in Russia we were minus automatic arms, hand and rifle grenades, trench mortars, one-pounders-in fact we lacked everything but the Russian type of rifle fitted with a bayonet that would not stay on. Any American soldier who has even held one of these Russian rifles in his hands will swear they can "shoot 22 DEATH, MISFORTUNE AND HARDSHIP around corners." They were so far inferior to the American or English Enfelds that no comparison is admitted. Our men had absolutely no confidence in this arm, but they were their only weapons and they made the best of this bad circumstance. These rifles jammed, and broke, and they were inaccurate. Singularly enough, they had been manufactured in great quantities in the Nutmeg State by a war-contract firm, but not an American in Russia would boast of the fact of their origin. WTATER-COOLED GUNS IN ARCTIC It should be borne in mind that many of our men had been drafted as late as May and June, and spent practically a month of the intervening time on transports at sea. The machine gun company was equipped with Vickers weapons of water cooled type for this Arctic climate. They were probably castoffs from the western front, and minus some of their most important appurtenances. The British spent much time teaching us how to keep the water in their jackets from freezing, but they eouid never tell us how, when an attack would eome, the gun itself could be kept warm, so that a press on the thumbpiece would "let 'er go." It remained for an American machine gunner to solve this problem with our water-cooled Vickers 23 WrViY DID WVE Go TO RUSSIA of keeping all the movable parts warm in the Arctic weather so that an instant response of fire would come when it meant life or death to us. One cold morning, this doughboy suggested putting hot water in the jacket, wrapping the gun in several heavy blankets, changing the water frequently when freezing was near. This, therefore, was practiced continually on the railroad front, but on other fronts, where it was next to impossible to build a fire, the water-cooled machine guns might just as well have been thrown into the discard. While deaths in action were already occurring, deaths from disease were at this time a far more serious factor. When about halfway from England to Archangel an epidemic of influenza had broken out on our transports, and there were twenty to forty men ill in each company. Reaching Archangel with these sick men and officers we had found no hospital facilities available. The Bolsheviki had already despoiled the city of medicines and supplies, so the sick were taken off the ships and literally piled into hastily improvised hospital quarters. MEN DIED ON HARD FLOORS In many cases these sick fellows were forced to sleep and suffer on hard floors, and many of them lacked sufficient covering to keep them warm. More than sixty of these died during the 24 DEATH, MISFORTUNE AND HARDSHIP first few days of September. The American surgeons did everything in their power, but a physician without proper medical supplies and equipment can do little more than make a man's death easy. I know every officer in our regiment will testify to the utter lack of proper medical facilities then at hand with which the American doctors could work, and to the deplorable lack of hospital facilities. "In my opinion," writes Lieut. R. WV. Springer of the Medical Corps of our unit, "the medical supplies on the front during the entire campaign were totally inadequate, possibly causing the loss of American lives." Meanwhile, while these victims were dying in Archangel, disease was taking its toll among the forces already on the Dvina front. The men, sick and well, wvent on barges when they were towed up the river into action, and had to spread insufficient blankets on coils of barbed-wire, 283 of which on one barge provided a solid but prickly means of rest. Other equipment, which had been drawn from the regimental quotas, was packed in the holds of the barges, which were in the filthiest state imaginable. There were twenty-one horses and six pieces of light artillery for this detachment of the Americans, and on their trip up the river they subsisted on the British "iron ration"-bully beef, hardtack and tea. This was the equipment which each man carried: 25 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA One blanket, one-half shelter tent, one extra pair socks, mess kit, rifle and 120 rounds of ammunition, but no helmets or gas masks. This "iron ration" of the British Army was a cause of much trouble. Officers agree that it is insufficient for the American soldier for a sustained length of time. In fact, they unite in pronouncing their judgment that there was a continual shortage of rations for the American troops serving in North Russia during the entire campaign. When these barges reached Beresnik sixteen men were ready for the hospital. The British had a hospital boat there, but the sixteen Americans were refused admittance to this boat and were placed in a vacant outhouse at Beresnik. Two days later, when one of them, Private Orville Stocken, died, he had received no medical aid whatever. It is true that a British doctor looked at the dying soldier, but what could he do? On September 13 another of this group of sick died, and Lieut. Marcus Casey of Company C died three days later. For, although Beresnik had been a British base since August, all the medical supplies long since had been exhausted. About the only medicine the doctors had were the far famed "No. 9 pills," known to soldiers everywhere. Lieut. Edward Saari of Company A had in his scouting southward picked up twenty-one 26 DEATH, MISFORTUNE AND HARDSHIP of the Royal Scots suffering from influenza. These men had been sick and nearly dead for days without any aid. Their officers failed to look after them. Company A had no American doctor, but a Russian doctor was assigned to it. Company B, C and D had two doctors. On September-24th a quantity of whiskey arrived at Troytsa, where was located British headquarters. No medical supplies, however, accompanied this whiskey. September 27th Capt. Hall, an American, arrived at Beresnik with medical supplies, but he had a difficult time persuading the British officers there that he must get to Troytsa to treat the sick Americans. Troytsa is twenty-two miles from Beresnik. Meanwhile Company B had had three men killed in action at Seltso on September 21st. The Bolsheviki had shelled them with probably six cannon, but Company B had no artillery support whatever. They had been out in the wilderness and cold for three days without food except that carried on their persons. American headquarters had been established at Yakorlevskoi on September 22nd. During October many of our men were patrolling and fighting in shoes so worn out that their feet were practically on the ground. In many cases the men actually might as well have been barefoot. They had no change of underwear, their clothing was torn, and the majority of them, when they had an opportunity to wash 27 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA their underclothing, gladly went nearly naked in this bitter climate to do so rather than endure the uncleanliness. Between September 20th and October 20th the men had no tobacco of any kind, and coffee was unknown. The English had issued tea. There was a use for this tea, however, as necessity proved. Deprived of their smokes, which they craved above all, the men rolled cigarettes out of the tea leaves and filled their pipes with it. SLEPT IN WOODS During this period the luckiest of the men were sleeping on the floors of peasants' shacks, when such wonderful boudoirs were available, which was seldom. The usual bed, however, was a shake-down of pine boughs in the open woods or swamps. Soap was scarce. There were no toothbrushes. The food at this time was at its worst. There was no bread. On one day-and this is typical rather than unusual, for I happen to know the circumstance -Corpl. Cook and Privates Cyr and Blatchoe of Company B were detailed by the British to fix damaged telephone wires between Beresnik and Ust Vaga. Their rations for the three-day task consisted of one tin of biscuits. The kindly feelings of our French comrades were like a benediction to Americans. An incident will illustrate: Through some Providential 28 DEATH, MISFORTUNE AND HARDSHIP stroke, the French soldiers had "caught" and butchered a calf. Knowing the numbers of Americans ill in their vicinity, they proffered to us for the use of the sick half the carcass. In order not to wound our feelings and with characteristic French tact, they accepted in exchange a single tin of bully beef. But the veal never reached our sick men. The British officers got it. One bright episode in the lives of our sick and wounded along the Dvina was the ministration of a Miss Valentine, Russian-born daughter of English parents. She nursed the men as best she could and was the Americans' good angel. As a volunteer she went as near the front as she dared. Such fortitude as hers deserves epic praise, and compelled the gratitude that came from the depths of the men's hearts. Among the 3rd Batallion on the railroad front the sick and wounded could be transported to Archangel, but at Onega, Kadish and Sred Makrengo it was a reproduction of the Dvina situation outlined above. EVEN OIL FROZE SOLID I have spoken of the artifice and skill of the doughboys in accustoming themselves to their inadequate weapons in this Arctic wilderness. But there were times when invention was defeated through the very rigor that bred the necessity which was its parentage. Our Major, Mike 29 WHY DID WE GO TO RUSSIA Donahue, on the Kadish front had set up a watercooled machine gun and had a chance quite soon to pot some "Bolos." But before he could make a demonstration against them when they were lurking nearby his gun froze solid, as was to be expected. Even the oil lubricating it froze. Major Mike had intended to open fire himself and start the show. Heating the water was out of the question. On this front one never struck a match even to light a cigarette, because a light would have drawn the Bolsheviki fire, so active were they at this time. The temperature was 35 below zero Fahrenheit and getting colder every minute. Major Mike aligned the gun on a Bolshevik target across the river and pressed the thumb piece, but no response came from the Vickers. Major Mike found the water frozen, of course, and he was not surprised. The fact that the oil was frozen was a surprise to him. He returned to a shelter where crouched a Sergeant and Lieut. Johnny Commons, son and namesake of the noted University of Wisconsin economist. There was a whispered consultation. The Sergeant said he had read that on the western front the men had slept with the machine guns to keep them from freezing, and Major Mike adopted his suggestion. Three days later he was heard to yell at Commons: "Hey, Johnny, I've slept with this blankety-blanked gun for three nights and it 30 DEATH, MISFORTUNE AND HARDSHIP isn't even warm. I'll be frozen myself if I sleep with it any longer." And it was literally true. BEEF NEAR, BUT NONE TO EAT One feature of the inadequacy of our transport will bear recalling. Despite the scarcity of meat and adequate rations of any kind, there were hundreds of tons of Argentine beef at Archangel and Obozerskaia. It had been shipped 8,000 miles to serve our troops. But at Kadish, sixty miles away, our men actually were fighting on empty stomachs, but without complaint. But they all wondered with Lieut. Charlie Ryan when he asked this question: "They can bring that beef 8,000 miles from the Argentine. Now why can't they bring it the other sixty miles from Obozerskaia to Kadish?" It was questions like these which, unanswered or unsolved, added to the difficulties of our fighting, which, normally, under the Arctic climate conditions in October, were bound to increase with every shorter day. RELIEVED WORN-OUT ADVANCE GUARD As the Bolsheviki had fled with their immense booty, the Royal Scots, the French Colonials and about fifty American sailors from the cruiser Olympia-Dewey's old flagship at Manila Bay-had pursued them down the railroad and up the river. All of us laud the efforts of these men. They were the pioneer armed force in North Russia, and they were marvelously 31 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA game. They had even established two temporary fronts-one along the Dvina and the other along the Vologda Railroad, having been fighting continuously for about a month without relief prior to our arrival-often without food and clothing. When we arrived, they were worn out. They were fighting the Bolsheviki rear guard, and at that time "John Bolo" was a disorganized mob. The warfare was cave-man stuff, and this was not the Bolsheviki Army which we later were to meet. Those American bluejackets, under command of Ensign Hicks, were already well known to the inhabitants of Archangel Province as a band of fire-eating fighters. Without preliminaries, therefore, except as strike-breakers, we plunged into the action which developed on the side of our foes as rapidly as our own preparations could be made to meet the situation. Our detachments, from right to left, were soon organized as follows: Right Flank-In the valley of the Onega, "Onega Detachment." Railroad Column-In the vicinity of Obozerskaia, "Vologda Force." Seletskoe Column-In two parts. The first called the "right wing," in the vicinity of Kadish. The other the "left wing," in the vicinity of Shred Makrenga. This column under "Vologda Force." 32 A Monastery, Archangel. Lewis Gun Team, Kadish Front. - a a i Statue of Peter the Great, Archangel. American Headquarters, Archangel. A Wedding Party, Following the Mar- Famous Archangel Cathedral, Showing riage of a Doughboy and a "Bars- Paintings. chnia." DEATH, MISFORTUNE AND HARDSHIP Vaga Column-On the Vaga River, a tributary of the Dvina. Dvina Column-On the Dvina River, below the junction of the Vaga and Dvina. Pinega Detachment-In the vicinity of the Village of Pinega, 90 miles east of Archangel, on the Pinega River. Our line, as the map will show practically enveloped the territory about Archangel, and was roughly 600 miles long. On the Kola Peninsula that great, jutting strip of land to the north, which shelters the world's northernmost railway line-Allied units had been established to guard the railroad, which runs down the Toluma River through the peninsula along the Gulf of Kandalak to Kem, and thence to Petrograd. This line, reaching the capital through the lake region of Olonstz, was supposed to be of strategical importance. BLACKNESS BEFORE AND BEHIND The long Arctic night was coming on. To our south and west the blackest cloud in social history was rising. Already it had overshadowed "White Russia." It was spreading northward toward us-as the midnight sun receded. Link by link the ties that had bound us to the rest of the world were slipping and breaking. The rest of the war, too, was far away. We were even now in action. How we fought, how we lived 33 WiiHY DID) WE GO TO RUSSIA and many died, makes one of the war's most remarkable chapters. The black border of Bolshevism was in front of us as we started south. The black Arctic night was behind us and creeping closer and closer. Through it all the Americans' spirit never was sombre. But we asked the same old question, only it had arisen louder, and now was this: "The war is over! Huh! What war?" I have before me this copy of a poem that was penned in this wilderness by a Michigan doughboy shortly after he had been introduced to our own little war, which echoed the feelings of many before our whole being became a tragedy: When the Lord was designing Creation, And laying out ocean and land, With never an hour's relaxation, Nor a moment to steady His hand. As any one will in a hurry, He let things slip by now and then, That in the excitement and worry, HIe should have done over again. So rather than gum up the outfit, IHe saved every blunder and blot, And laid it aside in the ocean, To use at the end of the plot. 34 DEATH, MISFORTUNE AND HARDSHIP And the sixth afternoon of his contract, (His bonus expiring that day) He baled out the dregs of Creation, And shoved all the latter away. He scrapped all the wreckage and tailings, And the leavings and scum of the dump, And he made on the shores of the Arctic A great International Dump. He rushed the thing through in a hurry, And because of the rush He was in, He dubbed the locality Russia And Russia it always has been. And then, feeling blue and sarcastic, Because it was Saturday night, He picked out to call the worst corner of all With the name of Archangel for spite! This vernacular, perhaps, epitomized then the natural attitude of the doughboy. Troubles were in store for him, disease and death. Home and all that this meant was not only far away, but his isolation was supreme. Was it any wonder that we turned our faces northward and said: "The only friends we have are the North Star and the Aurora Borealis?" 35 I I CHAPTER III PROPAGANDA AND ORATORY FROM the outset of our campaign in Russia, we had not only to fight a constantly growing and increasingly-equipped military force, under guerilla conditions well-nigh impossible, but we had to cope as well with that new element in the warfare of the world which is called bolshevism for want of a better name. There are two kinds of bolshevism, of course. They might well be called civil bolshevism and military bolshevism. It is of the latter that we immediately learned and, learning, realized that we were in a war like no other campaign ever fought. PROPAGANDISTS WERE BusY The bolsheviki combined in their warfare with us from the start, a strange mixture of military movement and the drive of a huge system of propaganda. Their propaganda, in fact, was hurled at us with a force as great as their shells and their bullets. Trains of box cars actually loaded with propaganda matter were sent to the front lines. Trails were strewn with the stuff at night. We found it scattered on the ground, hanging to 37 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA the branches of trees, stuck in the crotches of them. The bolsheveki seemed to have an uncanny ability to figure out where we would reconnoiter, and there they "put out" the propaganda like a small boy earning his free ticket on circus day. To supplement this strange drive, on the Kadish front the bolshevik army was equipped with a corps of orators. We actually have received, too, from the United States copies of bolshevist propaganda, printed on the east side of New York, which was, verbatim, the same stuff which, printed in Moscow, was scattered along our path in northern Russia. The east side stuff was sent on as a curiosity to some of our men, notably my orderly, and the only point of difference we could find between the two varieties of it was that whereas the Moscow circulars, leaflets, manifestos and periodicals spoke of a great revolution in America, the New York propaganda made no mention of this fake. A MYSTERIOUS ORATOR On the night of November 20th, when some of the men were in the first line in a dense forest near Kadish, a bolshevist orator presented himself in the darkness and, in a clear, though ghostlike voice, cried out amid the stillness, "Americans Can you hear me?" As in the woods it is difficult to locate a voice on account of the echoes and other causes known 38 PROPAGANDA AND ORATORY to woodcraft, and though knowing that a chance for a potshot would reward them if they located him through their answering, the doughboys remained silent. The question was repeated. Still no answer. For the third time, louder than before, the bolshevist orator cried: "Americans! can you hear me?" Finally a doughboy, eager for a potshot yelled: "'Where the hell are you?" And then the orator, his voice reverberating through the Arctic stillness, his articulation faultless, though the doughboys fancied it had a slight New York east side accent, proceeded: "WThy are you fighting us, Americans? We are all brothers. We are all workingmen. You American boys are shedding your blood away up here in Russia and I ask you, for what reason? My friends and comrades, you should be back home. For the war with Germany is over and you have no war with us. The co-workers of the world are uniting in opposition to capitalism. Why are you being kept here, can you answer that question? No I We don't want to fight you, for you are our brothers. But we do want to fight the capitalists and your officers are capitalists." WAS ELOQUENT SPEAKER He spoke for 20 minutes in that strain that night. His exceptionally strong and clear voice 39 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA revealed the trained speaker. His language was simple, and almost eloquent. It is a known fact that in several of the attacks staged by the "Bolos" at the time, the first lines to attack us were composed of Russians who had been forced into the bolshevist army and who were made to attack by the real bolshevist who, stationed in the rear with their machine guns, had them ready to turn on these poor fellows the instant they showed signs of faltering. Time and again, after unsuccessful attacks by wavering first lines of the "Bolos," we heard long antd steady firing in our foe's rear. We were forced to draw our own conclusions, and we believed that many a poor peasant boy was being shot down in cold blood because the bolshevist offensive had not been successful. We learned that another method of the bolsheviki was to group their men in squads and platoons, each man being accountable for all the others. And if even one out of such a group deserted, the others would suffer the penalty. REDS BETTER EQUIPPED Their equipment was far better than ours. They had, for one thing, plenty of artillery, which we woefully lacked. Inasmuch as the bolshevist army controlled practically all the food in that part of Russia, a Russian had to join the army in order not to starve. 40 PROPAGANDA AND ORATORY Their officers wore no insignia at first, but we learned subsequently that the soviets' ruling forbidding insignia had been abrogated, and that officers were then placed in the category generally allotted to them by all armies. These officers gave proof of their high military training by strategy which the bolsheviki employed many times. Some of their troop movements in the snow were really wonderful pieces of military maneuvering. They had snowshoes or skis and in general were warmly clothed, although this was not true of all fronts. In some places many of the bolsheviki were well clad, while in others they were dressed so lightly one wondered why they did not freeze to death. WrORE WHITE ON SNOW Some of the bolsheviki, notably in the attack on Ust Padenga, November 25th and 26th, when the snow was deep, wore white clothing as camouflage. During this engagement, one of our patrols of 48 men from Company C, an unusually large one for the Americans, was ambushed by about 400 bolsheviki. A number of the Americans were killed in action, and many more were wounded. An officer of this patrol, whose name is known to every officer of the 339th regiment, was one of the slain. His body was found where the 41 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA bolsheviki had perpetrated one of their most common atrocities upon it, hacked almost beyond recognition. The legs and arms had been hacked from the torso, and the skull had been cleft from top to bottom. Out of respect to the feelings of his family, the fellow-officers of this man agreed not to disclose the victim's name. After this ambush, Company A was sent to Ust Pagenga to relieve Company C, and on December 6th, the bolsheviki began to shell Ust Paganga heavily. There was also daily infantry activity until on January 19, 1919, the bolsheviki attacked with a force of about 1,000. They wore white clothing and had skies and snowshoes. They surrounded the outpost of Company A, of which six men fought their way out in one of the finest pieces of heroism in the expedition. The balance of the party were wounded, slain or missing in action. WE LACKED ARTILLERY If the Americans had had artillery in any respect approximating that of the bolsheviki, this and many similar disasters could have been prevented. For three days following this, Ust Padenga was shelled by the reds until it virtually was blown off the map. But the Americans stuck to their task until ordered to withdraw to Shenkursk on January 23, 1919. Our artillery, making a stand outside Shenkursk, while the wounded were being taken from 42 r PROPAGANDA AND ORATORY the city consisted of one eighteen-pounder, which was so badly outranged by the bolshevist guns that the artillerymen fired pointblank range at the attacking bolsheviki infantry. During the evening the men withdrew into Shenkursk utterly exhausted. They slept where they stopped in their tracks. Three hours later the general evacuation of the city was begun. Here the British counseled leaving the wounded, but the Americans and a detachment of Canadian field artillery, would not hear of this. There was long and heated discussion before the Americans and Canadians finally carried the point and saved the wounded. The investiture of Shenkursk by the bolsheviki was a fine piece of their strategy. They had the city practically surrounded, but escape was made by the use of a back timber trail through the snow and forest. That night and the following day this column marched 33 miles in the Arctic wilderness. They arrived at Shagovari about 4 p. m. the next day, closely pursued by the bolsheviki. A stand was made at Shegovari for one day and that night the outfit withdrew to Vistoukaia, 15 miles away, on the right bank of the Vaga. CEASELESS PROPAGANDA DRIVE During all this time the propaganda drive never stopped. Many were the expedients em 43 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA ployed to drive home by leaflet, circular and pamphlet the doctrine of bolshevism. Father Roach, an Irish chaplain with the British detachment, had started one day toward Bolshoe Ozera to visit the wounded at our outposts protecting the right flank of Obozerskaia. He didn't know that the reds were in Bolohoe Ozera and "padre" was captured by them. They marched him to Empsa and brought him before the chief commissar of the bolsheviki in that region. A long conversation followed in French. The chaplain, with true Irish blarney, was attentive to the commissar's exposition of bolshevist doctrines, while racking his wits for a way to escape. As he lent a respectful and deferent ear, he was struck by the red's words, wavered, andcbecame aloyal"convert"all in one hour. The stage was all set, immediately thereafter, to give the padre a free ride to Moscow to study more of their tenets at the feet of Trotzky and Lenine. The chaplain at this revelation was in a state of panic. He later said that he figured that if the journey to Moscow even remotely resembled the one he had taken from Bolshoe Ozera to Empsa, he never could be a good, true and loyal bolshevik. CONVERT WINS RELEASE So, whetting his broguish French on the blarney stone of persuasion he convinced the bol 44 PROPAGANDA AND ORATORY shevist commander that he could do more proselyting among the men he had just left than in Moscow, no matter how anxious Trotzky and Lenine would be to meet him, and he told the commissar that the busy bolshevist moguls were to engrossed in the affairs of setting the world right to be bothered with the intrusion of a trifling, but receptive non-combatant like himself. The bolshevist commander knew good logic when he heard it. After treating Father, then "Comrade" Roach, to a bountiful meal of dried fish, beef, sour cream cheese and a plate of caviar that would have fetched untold rubles at a New York restaurant, he gave him his conditional liberty. Before being taken back to the outpost, Father Roach actually was stuffed with red propaganda. They filled his pockets with it, thrust it into his shirt and coat, did not neglect his trousers in the same way, and would have doubtless put some in his shoes if the bolshevist copy readers in Moscow had gotten out any miniature editions. Other sheaves of propaganda were placed in his hands and he was escorted to an outpost where he was blindfolded and under a white flag came back to the Allied lines. So was lost a speedy, but shortlived conversion to the cause of bolshevism. The preponderant reason why the Ameri 45 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA cans would never be swayed by this propaganda drive lay in their hatred of laziness and their love of industry. The vast majority of the men in the 339th came from the industries of Detroit and the farms of Michigan into the army. They were accustomed to industry and despised laziness long before they arrived. The shiftlessness, the abandonment of the bolsheviki, their cruelty and atrocities, convinced these men of Detroit and Michigan that the Bolos were really not "toilers," but men who turned the evils of Romanoff rule into anarchy, murder, rape and pillage. It might be well here to state that men of the 339th were also immune to Allied propaganda as "passed along" to them in North Russia. The average soldier in "Detroit's Own" had a mind of his own, and, above everything else, was very logical, to say the least. If we had our troubles with the propagandists, the English the French had even more. The' pervading English atmosphere indeed drove the French nearly to despair. Had the command of the North Russian forces been in the hands of either the French or the Americans, there would have been a far different tale to tell. But, unfortunately, no such luck. The French not only distrusted the British but they jeered and despised the military methods of those in command. If the English, the French argued, wanted all these attacks made and all this fighting done, and 46 PROPAGANDA AND ORATORY gave all the orders, why didn't the English send troops to the front lines and do at least part of their share? Added to this was the fact that in France demobilization was going forward at a rapid pace and the "poilu" in North Russia desired a glimpse of their beloved France. Our French comrades had seen more of war than we had, and on other fronts. As they put it themselves, "La guerre, c'est fini en France." But as for the Americans, they stood propaganda proof, and bolshevism has as much chance with the hardy sons of the middle west as it has with Cardinal Mercier. 47 A View of the Country Looking South Another Washing Day Scene Near the Dry from Headquarters, R. R. Front, To- Dock, Dvina River. ward the Front Line. June Ice in the White Sea. The Duma. Seat of the North Russian Peasant Women Washing Clothes Through Government. the Ice. Doughboys Play Baseball in Russia. CHAPTER IV DISCOURAGING CIRCUMSTANCES HROUGHOUT northern Russia, wherever fighting was taking place against the bolsheviki, the Americans were doing the bulk of it. It is true that some Russians, some English and some French helped-the latter more than any of the others-but it was practically an American fight from the day we landed until the day we departed. Perhaps others were trying to help us in the fight, but they didn't succeed in accomplishing much. A statistical survey of the various fronts would have shown, about the first of October, 1918 in addition to the Americans the following Allied units: Onega-About 100 Russians and two field pieces. Railroad -Three companies of French colonial infantry, a few Polish artillerymen, an armored train equipped with a couple of twopounders and a three-inch piece operated by the British, some Lithuanians and a few Russians. Kadish-One section of French machine gunners, little more than half a platoon of British marines and two field pieces. Vaga-About 30 Russians. 49 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA Dvina-Four companies of the Royal Scots, 100 Russian artillerymen with two field pieces, and three improvised gunboats, manned by the British. Pinega-Three hundred "white guards," or Russian partisans. The total number of all troops in North Russia, including the American forces, could not have been more than 9,000. This does not include, of course, the 2,000 or more "batmen," or personal body servants of the British officers in the officers' clubs at Archangel, or the "crocks," or "category troops," men who were unfitted for front line duty; non-combatants, etc., doing "tedious" duty in Archangel. Nor do the above figures include the forces of English, Italian and Serb soldiers operating on the Murmansk coast, as they play no part in this narrative. All of these fronts, with the possible exception of the railroad front, were practically wholly American. American soldiers were doing most of the front line duty, although it must be admitted that the Royal Scots did yeoman service. On the railroad front as well, the French troops, with the aid of the Americans, did all of the fighting. There was British artillery unit in support, but no British infantry. The Russians on this front retarded rather than aided us. A number of desertions and acts of treachery are plainly traceable to these Rus DISCOURAGING CIRCUMSTANCES sians. In fact, they were really bolsheviki within our own ranks, and as such they must be considered in a recital of the story of the Americans in Russia. It was next to impossible at any time to tell a bolsheviki from any other Russian. We had, of course, the difficulty of making ourselves understood and of understanding them, and the same was true with the Poles, the Lithuanians, the Finns and numerous other nationals who would occasionally appear on the scene and make our task more difficult. THE "RATION DESTROYERS" On the Kadish front the Americans did all the fighting until far into the winter, when a British outfit, known as the Yorks, came overland from Murmansk side to aid us. When these Yorks saw the conditions around Kadish they began, first, to ask questions. These queries, aiding in no way to ameliorate their condition, they did the next most forceful thing, which was to write letters to Premier Lloyd George. And then, when this extremest of measures failed, they finally decided that fighting in that part of Russia for a reason they could not understand was not in their line, and they endeavored to mutiny. This should be borne in mind at this time, for those Yorks, the first to show any signs of 51 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA actual and serious disaffection, had forms of bolsheviki propaganda which were reaching out to undermine our forces. In strange contrast, indeed, to the scenes in Kadish which drove the fight out of the English Yorks almost at sight, was Archangel at this time. The city again had been transformed into a gay, war-time capital and seat of the Tschaikowsky "White Russian" government. Russian soldiers and their officers in bright uniforms, British officers likewise, British non-combatants and soldiers whom one couldn't identify-all paraded the streets. To the Americans they were known as "ration destroyers." They did most of their fighting on the street corners, by word of mouth and by gestures; in the sergeants' and officers' clubs and on the wharves, where they always seemed to be, ready to welcome other soldiers come to "save Russia." About this time we were receiving our mail regularly. Included in the matter from home were, of course, large numbers of American newspapers. These carried lengthy reports of the speeches of Victor Berger and Eugene V. Debs and even more radical persons. On September 29, 1918, for instance, when Americans were giving their lives for a cause which they at least didn't understand, Americans who were fighting because they actually believed they were preventing Germany establishing a submarine base 52 DISCOURAGING CIRCUMSTANCES on the White sea, Debs, so the newspapers from our home city told us, was in Detroit delivering a speech telling of the wonderful work of the Russian brethren-the very men who were taking American lives, outraging every law of God and man in Russia, and endeavoring to upset the entire social standards of the world. Debs was praising in this speech, which was widely published in the locality where most of the 339th men had their homes, the so-called workingmen of Russia. What did Debs know about Russia and Russian workingmen? Didn't he know that American workingmen were being killed and in some instances tortured by these so-called brethren in Russia? Didn't he know that these brethren of his were outraging women in Russia? Didn't he know that some of the sons of mothers and fathers in Detroit, the very city where he spoke, were giving their lives in Russia? And so it was difficult for us, away up there in isolated and frozen swamps and dense forests, to realize how such a thing as permitting Debs to speak as he did was possible. The men asked how long we would escape punishment if any one of us committed any of the offenses of Victor Berger. They were not demoralized by these newspaper reports, but they were indignant. If men were struck by any propaganda in North Russia it was the dilly-dallying tactics of people responsible for allowing such 53 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA as Debs and Berger to run rampant in our own "God's country" that was to blame. The power of epithet and invective was exhausted in the Americans' discussions of these persons. The military authorities had taken care, after a few alarming reports, many of which were grossly exaggerated had appeared in the home newspapers, to censor carefully outgoing mail to the United States. They were fearful of possible demoralizing effects on the people at home of such reports, vague and untrue though they were. If the censors only realized that it was the incoming mail, such as newspapers carrying accounts of the speeches of Debs and Berger, which needed attention, it would have at least aided in balancing an expedition which was terribly unbalanced at the time. The American fighting men, after weeks of grueling experiences resisting the bolsheviki and coping with the treachery of many nationals who were their supposed friends, occasionally would gain the prize of a short rest in Archangel. It was difficult for them to realize, when they came up out of the frigid wilderness, that it was the same place that had greeted them on their landing in Russia after the bolsheviki had raided it. The effect of the conditions at Archangel on these Americans, who constantly were beset by hunger, scarcity of artillery support and other extraordinary mishaps of war, could not but be 54 DISCOURAGING CIRCUMSTANCES demoralizing. When our fighters, coming in their grimy clothing, saw the array of highly-uniformed soldiers and officers parading the bedecked streets, saw the clubhouse of the British officers, with cases upon cases of empty whiskey bottles standing before it; when they failed to see anywhere but over the American Embassy and the headquarters of the American Mission the Stars and Stripes, is it any wonder that the doughboy took the line of least resistance and become restive under what he saw? WHISKEY BUT NO MEDICINES Perhaps it is a trivial thing, but these same doughboys, fresh from the Russian snow-clad forests and the firing line, saw the Russian civil population, the British non-combatants and those highly-uniformed soldiers smoking American brands of cigarettes, while they at the front often were without smokes and the rest of the time smoking English brands, which they didn't like; then they began to wonder about greater things, for it is a fact that the American doughboy pays more attention to detail than any other soldier in the world. Some of these very soldiers had lost comrades through disease. They knew that lack of medical attention was at least a contributory cause in the deaths that occurred. They knew that there had been loaded into the boats before 55 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA they left England, thousands upon thousands of cases of Scotch whiskey, and it wasn't stretching the imagination for them to wonder, if there was transport room for this whiskey, why medical supplies were left behind. Isn't it reasonable for a doughboy who knew of the deaths on the Dvina to resent the presence of the whiskey at Archangel, while there were no comforts for the sick and wounded? The forces of North Russia had no transport of their own. They were dependent upon civilian Russians and peasants. There was absolutely not one good road there-not even in the city of Archangel. A road in Russia, indeed, is nothing more than a mere trail through the woods and corresponds to what Americans in the rural districts would call a "wood-road." During the rainy season in the autumn these roads were morasses of mud, and almost impassable for a man afoot, let alone a poor, starving Siberian pony dragging a loaded drosky. The Russian wagon is a primitive affair at best, generally heavier than the cargo it bears. But when the rivers and the mudholes and the impassable roads froze, when the snow flew, sledges were used that improved the transport system. But it must be remembered that during this period supplies had to be hauled overland for distances up to 350 miles. It was a trying task to keep troops supplied who were scattered 56 DISCOURAGING CIRCUMSTANCES over a vast territory, and much of the suffering and hardships encountered by our men were caused by the difficulties of transport in the advanced sectors. A Russian transport driver is the hardest person in the world to do business with. He must appear very gullible, but he is foolish with the foolishness of the Arctic fox. The Russian transport drivers were generally lazy, not even as immune to the cold as we were, and if it were not for the fact that there is something appealing in the nature of a Russian peasant, they would not have been treated by us as nicely as they were. BATTLE LIKE A BABE With all the various nationals on these fronts, and with conversation necessary among them, it is a simple matter to understand how difficult it was for affairs military to run smoothly. Each national seemed to have a pet grudge, and naturally it was directed against the commanding force-which in this case happened to be British. Red tape added to the difficulties of everything. I know of an occasion when there were operating in one offensive staged by the Allies in north Russia, English, French, Americans, Poles, Finns, Lithuanians and Russians. And speaking of the polyglot character of our verbal 57 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA and written communications, it might well be stated here that the British in north Russia were just as hard for an American to understand over a military telephone as if they spoke a different tongue, while it was useless for us even to "gargle" the words of all these various languages to anyone who might aid us in a pinch, or who might be unknowingly working a severe hardship upon us. This state of affairs was greatly relieved, as were many, many others by two new persons in our command, Major J. Brooks Nichols, of Detroit, and Major General Edmund Ironside of the British army. From the day he arrived on the scene with us in the middle of a battle on September 29th, Major Nichols proved himself one of the most energetic, resourceful and competent military leaders of the whole campaign. Major Donohue, too, was known from end to end of the expedition as a good, two-fisted fighter. General Ironsides held the respect and confidence of everyone, a condition which his British associates could not even remotely approach, and his methods were such an immediate improvement that we could hardly believe that one man could accomplish so much in such a short time as he succeeded in doing, backed up by sterling subordinate Americans. 58::i DISCOURAGING CIRCUMSTANCES, GENERAIL OFTEN AT FRONT General Ironside is a picturesque character who dwarfed completely, by his personality and attainments, his predecessor, General Poole. At the age of 11 he had run away from a boys' school and had become the drummer-boy for an army unit. He served thus for several years, returned to school, completed his education, and entered the army as a second lieutenant. He is 39 years old and has been an officer in the British army for 20 years, 12 of which have been passed in actual campaigning. He is one British officer who has had an actual command in every grade of his rank from second lieutenant up. He traces his lineage to that Ironside who came to England with William the Conqueror. He was tremendously popular with all nationalities in Russia. Of marvelous physique, standing 6 feet 6 inches, and weighing in the neighborhood of 250 pounds, he looks bigger than Jess Willard. General Ironside was at the front visiting the troops in the advanced outposts at every opportunity. He knew every American officer serving in the front lines. He never failed to inquire of individual soldiers by name, in regard to their food, their health, and their general welfare. Major Nichols in May, 1917, was a first lieutenant in the United States army reserve corps. He was commissioned a captain at Fort 59 WiHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA Sheridan, August 15, 1917; was regimental adjutant of the 339th from the day of its inception. His methods were those of Colonel Craig, his mentor and organizer of the 339th and its first commander. Hundreds of times I have heard officers, non-commissioned officers and privates of the 339th express the wish that Colonel Craig, OUR OWN John W. Craig, were with us to watch out for our interests in North Russia. All of us realized that with Major Nichols as his right hand man, this soldier of soldiers, John Craig, would have made our campaign in Russia one that would have demanded of the whole world that it turn its eyes to Russia and the 339th. Col. Craig would not have stood supinely by while his outfit was stolen. Nor would such non de plume as "the King's Own" be tolerated by us if we but once knew we had a commanding officer who would back up his officers and soldiers as Colonel Craig did when he was the "Old Man" of Detroit's Own. It was in the grand old days of Colonel Craig's superb regiment, when thousands and thousands of persons and hundreds of military men pronounced "Craig's Outfit" as one of the finest they had even seen. Today in Detroit's Own Regiment Colonel Craig's name is revered, the man himself is worshipped by all those he ever came in contact with. The "Old Man" has but to call any one of us from no mat60 DISCOURAGING CIRCUMSTANCES ter what end of the earth and we will come "hot foot." Here was a man who knew men, discipline, and the way to win the "hardest" of soldiers to his way of thinking. He taught most of the officers of his regiment their A B C's of the military game. He was a FIGHTER and not one who would sit calmly back in Archangel and blame the war department because they sent him orders to place himself at the disposal of the British. He would have placed himself at the disposal of the British and he would have had a thorough understanding with them also that he was the commanding officer of the 339th and not the first and second lieutenants of the British army. Can anyone tell us that John Craig would have been "lolling" back in Archangel and his men scattered to the four winds? I should say not! John Craig would have been with his men in the front lines the same as Major Nichols was. He would have been 'way up in front watching out for the health and welfare of his troops. What a disappointment to have John Craig "boss" of the outfit and then have him taken away and anything like the C. O., A. N. R. E. F. wished upon youl WVhat a blowl It was the attributes of such men as Colonel Craig and Major Nichols reflected in the spirit of the men who served in "Detroit's Own" and implanted into the morals of the whole 339th, which made Russians of every class say of 61 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA Americans in the expedition: "Amerikansky, dobra," "Amerikansky, correshaw," which meant, "Americans, goodl" "Americans, fine!" and which were the highest Russian tributes. 62 CHAPTER V THE TRAVESTY OF CO-OPERATION T HE lesson of co-operation is continually on the minds of all military men. Needless to say., it is essential that close co-operation exists among all arms and branches of the service in order that success be attained. But in Russia the idea of co-operation among our Allies developed into a travesty. A variety of conditions was responsible for this, but the results showed along three lines-military, political and economic. To begin with, there was a variety of military methods, characteristic of each individual element in the expedition, which methods were totally dissimilar and not susceptible of co-ordination. British army methods are not American methods; Russian methods are even more foreign to our makeup than are British. As for the Poles, Lithuanians, Finns and others with whom we campaigned, co-operation was out of the question. With the French alone we attained as full a measure of co-operation as might have been desired with all. To illustrate. One night on the railroad front in the 445 area, with Russian artillery in support and Company I of the 339th and one 63 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA platoon of machine gunners holding the front line, the bolsheviki opened up machine gun and rifle fire on our left flank. Without doubt the enemy was located in a dense forest 200 yards east of our left flank barricade. An officer went to the telephone to communicate with the Russian artillery, calling for what was required —a barrage known as "No. 2." The artillery responded to our request by shelling our own position with the first eight or ten shells I THEY UNDERSTOOD "FINISH I" The officer rushed to the telephone again, got the Russian artillerymen on the other end of the line and spoke the one word welcome to all Russians at the front: "Finishl" The firing of the bolsheviki continued meanwhile for 25 minutes, and we sat tight, expecting an attack which we would have been forced to ward off without the aid of our own artillery. This is only a typical instance of numerous such. With the French artillery we did co-operate. The French artilleryman is always willing and anxious to fire his 75s; as a matter of fact someone is always at the gun, and they are likely to start "practicing" any minute. If lack of co-operation, which meant serious consequences, was so apparent in the field, conditions were vastly worse in Archangel, where were 64 THE TRAVESTY OF CO-OPERATION located all the various headquarters. There cooperation was conspicuous by its absence. There was a continual divergence in everything, instead of a getting together. Many American officers had little or no respect for the majority of the British officers, all statements to the contrary notwithstanding and without regard to the causes for this condition. At times and this statement is made without reservation-the feeling among the various units of the expedition bordered on hatred. In justice to the English command it should be stated that many of the British officers struggled to secure co-operation, but in order to understand the futility of these efforts one must have been in Russia. COLD SHOULDER AT HEADQUARTERS The British officers' clubs were the subject of much discussion all over the front. There were hundreds of officers occupied with swivel chair duties in Archangel which a New York office boy, as the saying goes, could "run ragged" in a few hours. There were, in this desperate military business of theirs, tea time, dances and cotillons, luncheons, and other social activities at nearly all hours of the day and night. At American headquarters, for some unexplained reason, when an American officer returned from the front line his welcome usually 65 WHY DID WE GO TO RUSSIu resembled the coldness of the Arctic winds. On one occasion Lieut. George Stoner of Company M. was detailed by Capt. Joel R. Moore to proceed to Archangel to exchange the company funds, which were in old Russian rubles, for new Russian ruble currency issued under British supervision and which had a stable value, instead of the constantly decreasing value of the old ruble. This was done to save the funds from such depreciation that they would have been eventually valueless, and was a regular procedure. Lieut. Stoner noticed the chilly reception at American headquarters, but he had business to attend to and consulted Colonel Stewart, the American commander. BRITISH PAYMASTER TO RESCUE The colonel told Stoner of his great regret at being unable to help him, but that he was powerless. Lieut. Stoner then proceeded to the offices of the British paymaster and requested the exchange. He was gladly accommodated. The paymaster, on being questioned by Stoner, said that no effort had been made by American headquarters to arrange for exchange of the money, the property of the men at the front, although the pound value of the ruble was steadily dropping and lack of such exchange facilities meant a big loss daily to the men. 66 THE TRAVESTY OF CO-OPERATION When an officer would leave the front on his way to Archangel, his relieving officer would invariably make the ironical suggestion that he would have a "good time" at American headquarters. This was one of the regimental pleasantries and classed with "Congratulations on the end of the war," made in a similar spirit. If American combat units at the front wanted anything, they generally relied upon Major Nichols, Major Donohue, Captain Otto Odjard or some few other officers lower in rank than our commander. The fact that the railroad front was better equipped than the other fronts at this time was due to the activity of Major Nichols. WTe had him to thank for this. When he took charge of this front in the fall he consulted as soon as possible with the French and with General Ironside. Here, then, was an instance which showed the possibility of cooperation, and its practicability. But on other fronts the men were less fortunate. I am stating facts when I charge that American front line officers were treated with disrespect and discourtesy at American headquarters. This state of affairs, while to be regretted, actually existed. It was remedied, however, upon the advent of Brigadier General Richardson, who arrived in the spring of 1919 to make preparation to get us out of Russia. 67 WVuHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA DIDN'T KNOW His OFFICERS To illustrate how well known the American line officers were to the commanding officer of the Americans, I cite the famous "hand-shaking episode." Lieutenants George Stoner, Wesley Wright and Robert Wiezcorek, of M. Company, and John O'Callaghan, of the machine gun company, were introduced three times in the same day to the colonel. On each occasion the colonel grasped the hand of the officer being introduced and said: "How are you, lieutenant? When did you get in?" Even after three introductions! One can easily see from these few illustrations how closely in touch with the front headquarters was. Another incident which caused much discussion was a conversation between Lieutenant Harry Mead and Colonel Stewart. Lieut. Mead described to Colonel Stewart the evacuation of Shenkursk, when the Americans, by flatly over-ruling the British commander, took with them all the wounded instead of abandoning them to the atrocious bolsheviki. This evacuation I described in a former chapter. Colonel Stewart laughed at this recital by Lieut. Mead, and observed: "It must have been funny to see those people getting out of Shenkursk." One can easily imagine how officers and enlisted men felt when this story was whispered along the lines. 68 TH3E TRAVESTY OF CO-OPERATION On another occasion an officer from Archangel, holding a high command in the American expedition visited a sector of the railroad front. On the left rear flank of our front line position was a Vickers machine gun. One of my men doing sentry duty nearly fell over when this officer, placing his hand on it, said, "Ah, I see you have a Lewis gun here!" The same sentry had to turn away his smiling face when the same officer, picking up a Very pistol, turned to Major Nichols and inquired, "What kind of a cannon do you call this." Major Nichols was forced, in the presence of the enlisted men, to give to his superior all the information about the Very pistol, even to the detail of pulling the trigger. This officer was a colonel. KIDNAPPING A GOVERNIMENT As to the political lack of co-operation, an incident occurred at the start which is illuminating and, but for its being overshadowed at that time by the approach of the armistice on the western front, might have been one of the historical classics of the year. This consisted in nothing less than the kidnapping of the whole government of Archangel, hauling them into the White Sea in a steamer, and locking them up in a monastery, on a desolate island. So far as I know this is the first time the facts have been made public. 69 VHY DID WE Go TO RUssIA It destroyed the possibility of co-operation between the British command and the Russian local government at the very start. When our forces arrived, control of Archangel was in the hands of the so-called "White Russians," though the government was not fully organized. These are the same men who are today allied with the Kolchak and Denekine element and are doing all in their power to restore stability and kill off bolshevism. A mercenary young naval officer-some said he had been a lieutenant in the Czar's navy, although he had been made a lientenant-colonel in the British army-was prominent also in civil affairs. One night he met the officials of the Archangel government on board a vessel moored at Solombola, which might be called the Hoboken of Archangel. When the officials were all on board the vessel steamed without warning for a desolate island monastery, and every man of this regime was to be imprisoned. The young officer and his associates in this plot returned as conquerors to the city. He had adopted an American name, and it was by this name he was known and enforced, too, with all seriousness. NAME "CHARIE CHAPLIN" Being a progressive chap, he picked out the most prominent American name he knew, which 70 THE TRAVESTY OF CO-OPERATION was Charlie Chaplin. Needless to say, the political antics of "Charlie Chaplin" provoked a furore. But as he seemed to have the confidence of the recently-arrived command, he was in a fair way of maintaining his rule, despite the affront to order and co-operation which such a procedure entailed. That the travesty went no farther than it did was due to the initiative of our own ambassador, David Rowland Francis, who, on his own responsibility, "cut out" Chaplin from the Archangel governmental film with a quick flicker, and had the imprisoned White Russian officials returned, restoring the semblance of a government. Thereafter Chaplin was as big a joke around Archangel as the antics of his namesake, but a blow had been struck at political co-operation which left an irreparable injury there despite the good offices of our ambassador and his British associate. All of us still question whether this burlesque government had any real power. But when the usurping "Chaplin" was in full bloom rumors of new revolutions were rife, and he had the ear of the swivel-chair specialists. Solombola was supposed to be the center of the expected revolution, but Ambassador Francis stopped it in the first reel. WVhatever power the crazy "Chaplin" travesty of government had, it was recog 71 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA nized by citizens there generally that General Poole had been relied upon by the usurpers to be the power behind the throne. In theory, perhaps, there was some justification for this attitude of General Poole's, for he was the man who counted on the resurrection of the old Russian army around his staff, which he had brought there expressly for that purpose. It was the theory that there would be a mad scramble to re-form that army, supported by the Allies with food and munitions. There was a scramble for the food, but the unedible appurtenances of this scheme were repugnant to the Russian appetite. The strike at Archangel which followed at once is ascribed by all observers of conditions at that time directly to this faux pas. On one occasion two American officers were invited to -a dance at the British naval officers' club in Solombola. Soon after their arrival, and after dancing with several comely "barishnas," they entered the smoking room. A bar ran along one side of this room. The bartenders were several British sailors. There were present many naval officers, Russian and British, and quite a number of well-gowned women, and the crowd was drinking cocktails, smoking cigarettes and discussing Russian politics. In one corner of the room hung a portrait of the late Czar Nicholas. Under it, and with their 72 THE TRAVESTY OF CO-OPERATION eyes turned toward the picture, was a group of British and Russian officers. One of the number, finally raising his cocktail glass, was heard to exclaim: "To your health!" All eyes in the room were turned toward the group, but this did not deter the British officer, who calmly approached the picture, gazed up at Nicholas, and raised his glass until it was nearly on a level with the tip of the czar's Vandyke beard. Then he gulped his cocktail. Perhaps these people knew the czar was dead, but one of the main topics of conversation in that room at the time was the possibility of the czar being still alive. The two Americans, who figured that a dead Romanoff was being taken liberties with, wondered afterward if some of the apocryphal stories that the czar was still alive had not been maintained by instances such as this! Here, then, in Archangel, co-operation did not exist, as these instances show. Militarily, the facts were plain to us. Politically-though we were not adepts in Russian politics-we had seen enough in Archangel to convince us that co-operation was only a name. 73 Ia I CHAPTER VI THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MUTINY O NE of the leading questions asked of men of the North Russian expedition returning to the United States in July, 1919, was, "How about that mutiny up there in Russia?" On many sides the American troops composing the North Russian outfit have been vigorously assailed for fancied disaffection. But those of us who were in North Russia know full well that even the War Department know little or nothing of the incident on March 30, 1919, which was reputed in the United States as a mutiny, although a well-concentrated plan to strike a blow at the honor of our regiment was launched. Whence this plan received its impetus, as well as the facts of the case, I will lay before the public, so that for the first time they may know the truth of the so-called mutiny in North Russia. It is necessary, before going into the details of this affair, that attention be called to the fact, which is a matter of record, that prior to March 30 the British and French troops in North Russia were causing a great deal of annoyance by "kicking over the traces." As the newspapers of April -11 1919, carried the story: "Intimations that a general feel 75 WiHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA ing of unrest pervaded the North Russian Expeditionary Forces (Allied) have previously been received from General Ironsides, British commander-in-chief. Both British and French troops have been involved, according to rumor, in similar incidents." I take it "similar incidents" meant to compare the American incident to the ones in which the British and French troops figured. This, of course, is absurd, because the British and French incidents were really refusals to fight the Bolsheviki. The French trouble was the first to start. I was in the front line at the time with an American company of infantry which was due that day for relief. When only one platoon of French arrived the French officers accompanying it showed no hesitancy in admitting that the French soldiers of the battalion were "practically in a state of mutiny." Ninety of them had been placed in arrest at Obozerskaia, stripped of their arms and equipment, and returned to Archangel under armed guard for confinement. These ninety refused to fight because, as they put it, "the war is over in France." "Why should we be fighting here in Russia when France has declared no war on Russia or the Bolsheviki?" they asked. *The English trouble was kept quiet, but the facts stand out that when the English troops, 76 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MUTINY recently arrived from the Murman side, reached the vicinity of Kadish they refused to attack and for several days were satisfied that their attitude in refusing to fight was one which they had every right to assume. It is also a fact that these British troops had written to Premier Lloyd George a formal protest which they insisted be delivered to him. This protest stated the grounds for their refusal to fight and asked a number of questions. Fortunately, General Ironside handled the situation in such a manner that, after a short consultation, in which General Ironside did all the talking, the British decided they were wrong, or rather, General Ironside proved to them that they were wrong and furthermore showed the Tommies "who was who, and why." But the French troops at this stage could not become reconciled to the task of fighting in North Russia. THE AMERICAN INCIDENT Company I of the 339th United States infantry had been ordered to leave Archangel for the front on the morning of March 30 at 9:30. Captain Horatio G. Winslow, commanding, noticed that the droskys were not being loaded. He called the attention of First Sergeant Whitney McGuire to this and McGuire went into the barracks and ordered the men out to load the sledges. 77 WHY DID WE GO TO RUSSIA The men remained in their barracks. It should be noted that at this time that all of the company property, such as kitchen equipment and supplies, had been loaded, and some of the platoon property as well. The first sergeant reported that he was having difficulty in getting the men to load up the droskys. Captain Winslow, going into the main building, where most of the men were, asked them what the trouble was. The men replied that they didn't see why tley should go to the front when the Russian troops were not being sent there. They also said they didn't see why they should be fighting on the front lines while the Russians remained in Archangel. While the captain was communicating with Colonel Stewart, Lieutenant Albert E. May, senior lieutenant of the company, entered the barracks and ordered the men to load the droskys, stating that loading doskys was not going to the front. One man, Private Petrowskas, seeming to hesitate, was put in arrest. On Colonel Stewart's arrival the men were gathered in the Y. M. C. A. building, where he addressed them as to the necessity of obeying all orders without question and as to their duty as soldiers and upholders of the reputation of the American army. At the conclusion he asked if there was any man present who would refuse to go to the front. There was no response or refusal. The colonel then congratulated them on 78 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MUTINY their attitude and asked if anyone had any questions to ask him. An enlisted man spoke up: "Why do we have to go to the front and fight for the Russians when they won't fight for themselves? We are willing to risk our lives for Americans, but why should we fight for Russians?" The colonel answered, stating that he could not tell the men why they were in Russia, but that "whatever other reasons there may be, there is one good reason why we must fight now. We must fight now for our own lives. If we don't fight we will all be wiped out." On leaving the Y. M. C. A., the platoon leaders took their men immediately across the river to board their train. The platoon to which Private Petrowskas belonged had not started when Captain Winslow left the Y. M. C. A. The platoon sergeant then stated that Private Petrowskas (of Polish descent, speaking English imperfectly), had not understood the order given by Lieuenant May and asked that, in view of this fact, the arrest might be reconsidered. The two other platoon sergeants, being questioned, agreed that Private Petrowskas, who had just come into the room when the order was being given, had not understood it. Lieutenant May stated that such a misunderstanding was possible, as the man had been arrested upon the slightest sign of hesitancy, and 79 WVHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA no opportunity had been given to him at that time to make an explanation or to say anything. Under these circumstances Private Petrowskas was allowed to join his platoon and proceed with them across the river to board the train. The officer in charge of the platoon had been sent ahead of the company early that morning, leaving the platoon sergeant in command. This platoon had received no orders from any of its sergeants or from anyone else to move off until after this incident. The following facts stand out: The only order disobeyed was the preliminary order of the first sergeant to load the droskys. When this order was repeated by an officer it was obeyed at once. Investigation fails to show any "plot" or "plan" to "mutiny" or anything of the sort. COMPANY HAD GOOD RECORD The action of the company before and after suggests that this fling of excitement, which lasted less than an hour and a half, was, at worst, a sort of fit of group hysteria, induced by the hardships the men had undergone, the lack of a policy or reason for fighting, overwork, the behavior of our allied troops, newspaper items from home, and a mass of other reasons of a similar nature. The following exceptions are taken to satements in the official report dated March 31: 80 -i 4. 1 I 1, II t a,... I!;: American M. G. Officers at Entrance to M. G. Dugout. I:I American M. G. Post in Front Line.. 1:.::: Entrance to Dugout. Russian Workmen. Russian Peasant Women, in Background, Worked as Hard as the Men. Advanced Post R. R. Front. Doughboy Shaving. American Infantry Train. IC II rI THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MUTINY 1. There was no "considerable delay" after Lieutenant May gave the order to load the droskys. It was obeyed at once. 2. The men did not state to Colonel Stewart or to anyone else "that they would go to the front only if Private Petrowskas were released." They went immediately to the front without any conditions. The platoon remaining made no demands of any nature and received no orders except those which they obeyed at once. 3. No man or men of the company "openly stated that they would not go to the front line positions; that they would go only to Obozerskaia" or that "unless some definite statements were forthcoming from Washington regarding the removal of the American troops in Russia at the earliest possible date, there would be a general mutiny." Incidentally, no man left the train at Obozerskaia, although there was plenty of opportunity to do so. The entire company went into the front lines, walked into a fight as they relieved the front, and withstood ten days of artillery and infantry attack without flinching, and defeated the enemy at every turn of the road. Two days later, after being relieved from the front lines, two Lewis gun teams acted as a convoy for ammunition to Volscenitza, a place then under attack by overwhelming numbers, and later the same day a platoon and a half departed on 81 WVHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA a 27-verst night hike through the snow to support this detachment and to rescue it, it having been reported cut off by the enemy. All the men selected for this dangerous task went willingly and eagerly, and without any grumbling, although they were worn out and exhausted and the weather was severe. 4. With the exception of the incident of March 30, there was no refusal to obey orders on the part of any enlisted man of the company. They fought exceedingly well and worked well, under the most trying conditions, and have always shown respect for all American officers, like all other American troops in North Russia. The message received by the War Department dated March 31, 1919, evidently came from the Military Mission. On the day in question a representative of the Mission stated to Lieutenant May that they (the Mission) had sent repeated cables to the War Department at Washington relative to the seriousness of conditions in North Russia, the need of some sort of policy or statement from the Government, the need of reinforcements, etc.; but that they had been unable to "wake up" the War Department to the acuteness of the situation, and that at least this "incident" would allow them to send in a "good stiff message" to Washington "that will perhaps stir them up and bring some sort of action." This perhaps accounts for the contents and 82 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MUTINY form of the messages, but it is important to note that the message did have its effect and did "wake up the Department" and did "get some action." It is also peculiar to note that this message received a great deal of newspaper publicity and that none of the other messages sent to the Department by the Military Mission relative to the seriousness of the situation ever were answered or given to the newspapers, but that instead the information was given out that "everything was as good as could be expected," or words to that effect. That Colonel Stewart handled the affair with tact is certain. It had come to the attention of the American Embassy that the treatment accorded Americans at the front was anything but what was warranted. Consequently investigators were sent by the embassy to procure facts. When these investigators arrived at the front they consulted various officers, among them Major Nichols and myself. Since these investigators were from the American ambassador, Mr. Francis, I frankly stated the facts relative to treatment accorded to the men under me. I explained to the investigator that "peace rumors" or an armistice would undoubtedly cause the men to ask a great number of questions as to why we were in Russia. I endeavored to impress upon this investi 83 WHY DID WE GO TO RUgSIA gator that American troops were immune from propaganda, both Bolshevik and Allied.. I told him that, in my opinion, someone in authority should give the Americans a, reason why they were fighting when the rest of our army in France would be no longer fighting. I pointed out a number of other things, such as the fact that a great deal of bad feeling would be the result unless the British took more action in remedying ills which existed. (It must be remembered that Ironside had not yet taken command.) I frankly told him that the British methods employed by the staff of General Poole were very trying to the Americans and that unless an American officer were a "good politician" his men would starve. I cited instances of occasions when American troops were practically without food. What Major Nichols told this investigator I do not know. I do know that this investigating officer was a personal representative of the Ambassador. Consequently I was frank and above board, hid nothing. One of the questions he put to me was in regard to the "visits" of Colonel Stewart to the American troops. The colonel, as previously stated, was an American army officer, our titular leader in Russia. I was hesitant to answer the investigator's question and he put it differently. He asked me if it were true that Stewart had sat in the 84 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MUTINY house while an American soldier, one of the first to be killed, was being buried outside the house or within a few rods of it. I advised the investigator that he'd better consult with officers of the company to which the dead soldier belonged. He then asked me if it was not a fact that American officers were greatly incensed at the Colonel's attitude. I told him that while I had every interest in the welfare of all Americans, my main efforts were to see that the men under me were Well fed and clothed, and this task was keeping ine mighty busy. Finally the officer insisted that I answer his question. I told him that it was a fact that "I had heard" the company officers of the dead soldier say that Stewart had sat in the house, reading a magazine, while the soldier's funeral was taking place immediately outside the house. Soon after this incident, as I understand it, the Ambassador sent for the Colonel to talk over "the situation." At this time, according to a naval officer, Lieut. Riis. who stated to me that he was present, Stewart expressed the opinion that I should suffer disciplinary action. The Ambassador thought differently, I imagine, for nothing came of it. After the action of September 29, 1918, on the railroad front, an action in which every military rule was broken, I wrote a report and forwarded it to Colonel Stewart. In that report I 85 WVHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA endeavored to point out that the enlisted men would lose confidence in American officers if we were forced to go into action under orders from Allied officers who knew less than we did about warfare. I explained the action of a certain Allied officer who had ordered me to take men forward under circumstances that were suicidal. I told of my inability to do other than obey. Afterward, verbally, I went over the entire movement of that day. I drew sketches of the ground on which the action took place, and openly stated to the Colonel that the "action of September 29 was a half-cooked affair," and asked for a better deal for the men under me. Soon after this I found out from Colonel Stewart's adjutant that the Colonel was "sore on" me. I asked the reason. The adjutant informed me it was because my report on the action of September 29 was "unmilitary." My report was "to the point." In other words, because I thought more of the lives of the men under me than I did of military etiquette I was "in bad." It was common knowledge in the whole expedition that Major Nichols was continually struggling, even against American Headquarters, to obtain better conditions for the Americans. Major Nichols was far better known to the British and French than was Colonel Stewart. for, when his outfit needed anything, he went directly to the commander-in-chief. And, the 86 THE TRUTIH ABOUT THE MUTINY railroad force commanded by Major Nichols was finally so well equipped, and its front line position so well defended, that the "Bolo" openly avowed it was useless to attack such a "fortress." If the truth were generally known it would be found that Major Nichols was about the only American officer who could get what he went after at General Headquarters. 87 I CHAPTER VII DID WVE AID BOLSHEVISM? I Bolshevism has been checked in Russia as a result of the American expedition, the situation when we left did not so indicate. In fact, judged by the ferocity of the Bolshevik attacks, their surprising knowledge of military strategy, and the increased strength which they developed along the North Russian front after the signing of the armistice, it is a grave question whether it has not received a great impetus since the North Russian Allied expedition first took the field. This conclusion is regretfully drawn, and must not be ascribed to the spirit of the force opposing it, or exclusively to the succession of misfortunes and unfortunate situations which we encountered. What is Bolshevism? Is it a mood, a religion, a movement or a mania? This was the question the American soldiers constantly asked themselves. They expressed varying opinions on this phase of the situation, but they are all united on one point. They hate Bolshevism and all that it stands for. WHY THEY HATE IT They hate it because they have seen the results of it. They all left Russia with one thought 89 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA uppermost in their minds, and that was that Bolshevism, which first was viewed by them as being only disagreeable, pro-German and a retarding factor toward the successful prosecution of the war, had assumed the proportions of a worldmenace. In the ranks of the Bolshevik army which we opposed were many radical soap-box orators from America, and we all agreed up there that they richly deserved what they got when they deserted, "God's own country." Also in their ranks were numerous German agents and spies. But with the collapse of Germany, Bolshevism in Russia has grown and grown, until today from a military standpoint, the situation may well be described as more menacing than when we found Russia disorganized in September, 1918. MOVEMENT NATIONAL When we came away, many of us wondered if we had not succeeded by our failure to crush it, in translating this whole Bolshevist business into a national movement. That the results of the expedition at first gave to Bolshevism in Russia a positive impetus cannot be denied, for soon after we arrived, two months to be exact, we were facing an enemy that was clever, resourceful, and lacked only one thing, good individual fighters. Despite this drawback, they were en90 DID WE AID BOLSHEVISM? abled to hold their own, though pushed on all sides by military movements. That they moved troops throughout the interior of European Russia with great dispatch was shown time and again, when the difficulties of our transport were almost insurmountable. On one occasion I examined the effects of a dying Bolshevist officer. His papers showed that he had received orders to proceed from the Simbursk area, which is in southeastern Russia, in the territory of the Don Cossacks, to Archangel. He had traversed this distance in 72 hours, with his command. SPEED Is ESTABLISHED This we established after checking up their military passes, etc., and making due allowances for the differences in time of the Russian calendar, and other data susceptible to question. When we first encountered the Bolsheviki they were always retreating. When we left this summer they were always attacking. Some of the individual exploits of the Bolshevist soldiers were acts of extraordinary bravery. I will give one instance. On the railroad front a party of Bolsheviki came from their lines near Empsa through the dense forests over the snow to a spot three versts in the rear of our front line position and blew up a 1.55 field piece under the very noses of the Russian artillerymen 91 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA handling it. Many of the Bolsheviki were killed in the action which followed. BODIES LAY IN SNOW Soldiers all along the line, despite their hatred for Bolshevism and the Bolsheviki, would probably have buried these dead with military honors had weather and other conditions permitted, for we recognized in their act a feat of remarkable bravery. Their bodies lay in the snow several days, where they had fallen, for there was a continuous shortage of men and we were forced to be on the alert at all times. Under such conditions, military funerals, even for our own men, were out of the question. Finally the dead Bolsheviki were buried together in a pit, by Americans. As our study of their method continued, we could see that the tactics and strategy of the Bolsheviki were constantly improving. We could recognize in the Bolshevik activities, through our intelligence department, that their concentration of forces for an offensive movement was being accomplished as well as could be expected of any army under conditions as they existed in the Archangel district. WHAT CHANGE MEANT This development of military efficiency on the part of our foes meant one of two things: 92 DID WE AID BOLSHEVISM? Either they were able to increase the efficiency of their army until it was reaching a stage where it would mean the reconquest of Russia on a vast scale, or the pick of the soviet hordes were being used against us. The best opinion inclines to the belief that both theories were partly true. Every American soldier in our north Russian expedition, it can safely be said, regards Bolshevism today as the chief menace to the world-a menace not.alone from a military standpoint, not alone from the standpoint of a threatened social and political order, but from the standpoint of the very safety of humanity itself. Most of us believe that the day will come when we must again bear our share in the crushing of this vile manifestation of the world gone awry. WHY YANK HATES BOLSHEVISM When word first reached the American soldiers that the Bolsheviki had nationalized women, it was a revelation to hear the comment of the men. And this is probably the chief reason why the American soldier hates Bolshevism, and always will hate Bolshevism, with an enduring hatred. I personally have listened to a dozen conversations among the enlisted men and, strange as it may seem, each of these conversations bewailed the fact that the forces of religion in the western world little realized that this move93 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA ment called Bolshevism was reaching out at the heart of Christianity, and striking at the soul of humanity, at their homes, at all things that Americans hold most dear. Soldiers' conversations are on a vast variety of topics, but let Bolshevism in Russia be the subject among the men and there was a unanimity of denunciation, a return to the defense of our institutions, in the talk of the doughboys, which proved inspiring. Throughout these conversations there was a continuous allusion to the religious aspect presented by the soviet Bolshevik doctrines. WOULD DESTROY CHURCH Soldiers have asked many times, "Why don't the religious forces of America, the churches and Christian forces generally, realize that Bolshevism has for one of its objects the destruction of the church and Christianity? In Russia will be a field for missionaries when the field for soldiers has ceased to exist." In other words, it is the conclusion of the men who have fought the Bolshevist armies that military measures alone will be insufficient to crush Bolshevism. Regeneration must come, they are convinced, through the heart and soul of the Russian people as well as by the force of arms. Military observers are convinced that had 94 DID WE AID BOLSHEVISM?. religious opportunities among the Slavic races been improved before the war, Bolshevism would not have arisen. Many of these soldier conversations bemoaned the fact that America had failed to take cognizance of this religious aspect of Bolshevism when such cognizance might have been of great avail. WVANTED FIGHT TO FINISH For some reason which we can't understand, it is an opinion shared by many that a soldier loses his religious aspect in the face of perils and discouragements and provocations such as we encountered. This in so far as our expedition to Russia was concerned, is a grave mistake. Most of the men in our expedition can speak readily and intelligently of the religious aspect of today, and I advance their opinion of Bolshevism for what it really is worth-a valuable verdict to guide the policy which America must take before this mania or movement, or manifestation, is stamped out of Russia and the world it menaces. It is the regret of every man among the Americans who served there that we were unable to deliver to Bolshevism a body-blow. We judge that the results of the fighting in Russia so far, as it relates to the Americans-has been neither to kill off Bolshevism nor yet to approve it. 95 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA GIVE WORDS OF WARNING On our return we found apologists for the Bolsheviki running rampant in the United States with word, gesture and propaganda. How long will this be permitted to exist A word of warning from those who have grappled with it at the place of its genesis seems not amiss. Our intelligence department, in classifying the various Bolshevik propaganda and civil influences in north Russia, soon found that the chief agencies for the proselyting of Lenine and Trotsky were three periodicals-one in English, one in French, and one containing sections in Russian, German, English and French. The English periodical was published from the soviet publishing headquarters in Moscow. My reader will be interested to know that its namie was "The Call." On its first page it bore a succession of bulletins from the various world-capitals, some innocuous enough, others of the most lying and insidious character. PURPOSE OF PROPAGANDA The purport of the whole was to indicate plausibly that the world was on the eve of an international revolution. Before the armistice, many of these news bulletins in "The Call" came from the German government radio station at Mauen direct to Russia. 96 A "Blockhouse" Crew. Headquarters Slavo-British Legion in Archangel. Red Cross Hospital Ship "Kalyan" ' Frozen In," Dvina River. Russian Sailors Drilling Back of the Front Line. Tomb of Peter the Great, Archangel. Russian Peasant Women Came by Boat to Archangel. DID WE AID BOLSHEVISM? Some were cribbed from authentic news sources, such as Haras and Reuters, others were from the questionable Wolff News bureau. The news dispatches had been filched by the Bolshevist radio agencies in Moscow and Petrograd, and distorted to suit their ends. The edition of Bolshevist propaganda published in French was called "L'Internationale." It was much more ably edited than was "The Call," for "The Call" was produced by an Englishman apparently, with Bolshevist aspirations, for English and American consumption. The reader may judge the impossibility, even to propaganda less repugnant than this, of appealing both to the English and to the Americans at the same time on our north Russian front. DIFFERENT WITH FRENCH But with the French it was different. "L'Internationale" was edited by a master Machiavellian mind, whoever he was. Try as hard as they might, the French soldiers in our expedition could not abstain from reading this sheet, and discussing its lying contents with increasing interest. Poor fellows-they were not to be greatly blamed. The polyglot edition of Bolsheviki propaganda was the most expensively-adorned of all, and was called "The Commune" or its equivalent in the various languages of its sections 97 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA Russian, German, French and English. Perusal of its columns showed that considerable brains had been devoted to its issue. Typographically, too, it was better dressed than its contemporaries, and bore unmistakable evidence of having been composed, printed and distributed by adept craftsmen, as well as written by able editors. MUST PLEASE LENINE If the Bolsheviki were wasting their time, however, in their propaganda efforts directed at the Americans in the field, it must be a source of great comfort to Lenine and Trotzky, Tchitcherin and Peters and others of their ilk, to know that their able, and in some cases unwitting allies in America, who condone Bolshevist atrocities, apologize for soviet shortcomings, appear before congressional committees and other agencies, and contribute weak attempts at defense of this red curse, are serving them so well. Let America beware of these ravings, whether they come from scholar or spy, dupe or fanatic. There is no room in the patience of the American citizen soldier for indulgence to these parasites. 98 CHAPTER VIII CHRISTMAS DAY A BOVE all other days we spent in the Arctic wilderness during the American and Allied campaign against the Bolsheviki, there is one that always will remain in our memory. That day was Christmas. It was the custom to decorate all homes during the Yuletide season with Christmas trees and evergreens. But in North Russia our abodes needed no decorating. Millions of Christmas trees, standing majestically in the dense forests of "Santa Claus land," laden with white snow, gave the appearance of the festive trees at home. They seemed bedecked as though in anticipation of us. What a strange Christmas! Thousands and thousands of miles separated us from our country and homes. There we were isolated in the cold, bleak forests of northern Russia surrounded by this vast panorama of giant Christmas trees. And although at times the loneliness of those same trees was nerve-racking, on Christmas of all days they seemed resplendent to us. CAUSED MEN TO THINK Back in Archangel the church bells tolled out glad tidings and divine service was held. But 99 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA it was at the front, with the armistice to us only a name, that this strange Christmas was a day that caused men to think. On the railroad front a company of French infantry and a section of American machine gunners occupied the front line. On Christmas eve their celebration began. There were "get togethers" in the various dugouts, comrade treated comrade, and it was share and share alike. Even old "John Bolo" seemed to realize that on the morrow we would be flashing good tidings to each other, for promptly at midnight he dropped a "wide" shell over into our lines to let us know that he, too, possessed that same feeling which makes Christmas the great holiday. The "get togethers" in the various dugouts lasted until well toward morning, nor were the lone sentries forgotten. SING CHRISTMAS HYMNS Every Yuletide hymn one ever heard was sung together by the Americans and the poilus. Men who never before sang could not help but join in the choruses. Lone sentries standing post in the black, still night, haggard of eye and unshaven, in their long vigil hummed Christmas songs. Company M on the desolate trail between Archangel and Pinega had a Christmas dinner of bulley beef and hardtack in the village of Nezna Polenza. Company I was more fortu100 CHRISTMAS DAY nate. They were stationed at the village of Kholmagorskaia, where wild turkeys were the game of the native peasant hunters. With the true bargaining proclivities of Americans, the men of Company I swapped curios for wild turkeys and enjoyed a feast such as might gladden Americans at home. Company II on the Onega sector, and other American troops on the Onega, Dvina and Kadish fronts, depended upon their abilities as huntsmen for their holiday food. PROMISrE OF BOLSHEVIKI Before the signing of the armistice, and the immediate developments which led to it, the doughboys had a big incentive-something to fight for. It balanced the hardships of the campaign to a great extent. We were able to forsee, from the fragments of news which filtered up into the Arctic, the approaching downfall of Germany and with this, a realization of what might be our own victory. But before the armistice actually came, officers and men of the "Anrefs" realized that we were still "it," even though the war would end in France. By this time "John Bolo" had a real army opposite us. He had grown stronger and stronger. Winter, with its Arctic bitterness, its long nights of darkness, its snow and biting cold, swooped down upon us. We did not have enough 101 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA troops to campaign further. Our only recourse was to "sit tight" and wait. The Bolsheviki had promised us that as soon as winter came they would drive us into the White Sea-and they might have carried out their boast had they taken advantage of their opportunities. RUSSIANS ARE SLOW For the Russians back of us were dilatory, slow in mobilizing and lacked spirit. Bolsheviki were numerous in their ranks. And-of course -no reinforcements arrived. On December 30, 1918, a general Allied offensive was planned. A few days in advance, however, a number of Russians on the railroad front deserted and gave to the Bolsheviki all the plans. Bright and early on the day scheduled for our attack, and before our zero hour, "John Bolo" was banging away at us on all fronts. The attack was called off but word did not reach the Kadish and Onega fronts until after the first day of fighting. The enemy now began his attempt to show us the quickest way into the White Sea. He concentrated on the Vaga front and launched a heavy attack at Ust Padenga. Heavily armed and wearing white suits that blended with the snow, he came in waves. Assault after assault was staged, b)ut the Yanks beat him back. Wave after wave was piled up on the barbed wire. 102 CHRISTMAS DAY His efforts were useless, although a platoon of Company A under Lieutenant Harry Mead was practically wiped out. Outnumbered as they were 20 to 1, an Allied retreat to Shenkhurst was undertaken. From Shenkhurst another retreat took place. For more than 80 miles 350 Americans held off between 6,000 and 7,000 Bolsheviki. The suffering was intense and the losses were heavy, but the whole column was saved from capture or annihilation. HEAVY ATTACKS LAUNCHED Heavy attacks were also launched at Tulgas on the Dvina front, but the defenders were successful. In March and April the enemy concentrated on the railroad front for his master stroke. He planned to capture Obozerskaia and cut off the entire force. The latter part of March found him occupying Bolsheo Ozera, 19 versts west of Obozerskaia and cutting the line of communication to Onega. The French garrison which defended the town were either all killed or captured. W7hy the Bolsheviki did not continue and capture Obozerskaia will always remain a mystery. There were no troops between Bolsheo Ozero and our base at that time and the troops on the railroad front breathed easily when they heard Americans had been sent west to stop the Russian reds. 103 WiHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA The Bolsheviki hurried artillery over the snow on sleds to the Bolsheo Ozero side and brought up between 4,000 and 5,000 troops. For four successive days an attack on Obozerskaia took place. Companies M. E. I and part of G and the machine gun company did wonderful work during those trying days. YANKS SEEMED FORGOTTEN After the armistice the men asked, "What are we fighting for now?" It seemed apparent that our country had forgotten us. Everything we received was from a foreign country. Our own war department didn't seem to know where we were. It was common knowledge in the expedition that reports of our condition in north Russia were being sent to the war department at home. We all knew these reports were undoubtely reaching their destination for all of us were sending cables home at this time, and receiving answers. If the United States were receiving these reports from the nilitary mission and American headquarters, why wasn't something done? Why didn't they declare themselves and tell these men who were daily fighting what was keeping them in Russia? Why didn't they send reinforcements when they knew that the situation was alarming? Put yourself in the place of the A. N. R. E. F. on March 1, 1919, when your commanding offi 104 CHRISTMAS DAY cer tells you that you are fighting for your lives. Five thousand American soldiers, many poorly clad, inadequately equipped, insufficiently rationed, placed under the guidance of foreign military leaders and millions of soldiers at the disposal of your own country only a few days away, and you were left to fight an enemy outnumbering you 20 and 30 to 1, an enemy better equipped than you. What would you think? KILLING AND BEING KILLED And at the very time we were killing Bolsheviki and Bolsheviki were killing Americans in north Russia, the bolo was maintaining representatives in the United States and the United States were maintaining representatives in Bolshevik Russia. An American commission was sent to Moscow to ascertain the condition of affairs there, but nothing was done about the Americans in north Russia who were only giving their lives for their country. As stated before, the signing of the armistice meant nothing in our lives. Since the war on the western front was over it seemed that badly needed reinforcements would arrive. And, since we now had no mission in north Russia we figured to be withdrawn at once, but neither of these things happened. No word came from either France or the United States defining the position of the American forces in Russia. There 105 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA was no armistice celebration except in the clubs at Archangel and those were really not armistice celebrations, but rather the daily parties before tomorrow's gathering. Having found their efforts against Obozerskaia futile, and after suffering repulses on all fronts, the flolsheviki finally evacuated Bolsheo Ozere and took it easy on the other fronts. Thus it happened that the Americans were in no engagement after May 1, although they were under artillery fire as late as the middle of May. By May 15, 1919, a brigade of English troops had arrived to relieve us and some 30 or more companies of Russians had been mobilized into fighting units. Thus ended for the Americans nine months of guerrilla warfare, of suffering and hardships, of constant fighting. The respite so long looked and hoped for had at last arrived and we were soon on our way home. HUMOROUS SIDE OF WAR Many humorous incidents occurred during the campaign. I remember on one occasion during the attack on Verst 445 just south of Obozerskaia, Lieutenant George Stoner, of Monroe, Mich., was leading his platoon in the attack and during the advance, which was through a heavily wooded section, placed a man alongside the railroad in order to check up on the verst poles. These verst poles are markers and Stoner wanted 106 CHRISTMAS DAY to know his exact position during the advance. After more than an hour of advancing Lieutenant Stoner returned, hinself, to the railroad and asked the soldier: "Seen any verst poles yet?" The soldier turned to the lieutenant and saluted. "No, but if I do, lieutenant, I'll shoot 'em," he said. Many of the soldiers are practical jokers. I am forced to admit this, for I was a victim to the cleverness of one doughboy. On October 14 my outfit was with Company I doing frontal work in an attack. At zero hour everything was in readiness and we let 'er go with a crash. Every now and then a Bolsheviki shell would come tearing across at us. I stepped outside a dugout occupied by Captain Winslow and myself to warn some soldiers to seek better shelter. As I stood yelling at the men to "get out of there and into a shelter," a Bolo shell burst high in the air. MOTH BALLS FALL The next thing I knew a hail of moth balls fell all around me. I stooped and picked up a number of them, for I could hardly believe my eyes. I returned to the dugout and said to Captain Winslow: "The Bolo shells must have been made in the same factory as our rifles. Look 107 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA Moth balls! Just came out of that shrapnel which burst!" The captain, too, was fooled and it was several days before I got wise that one of the doughboys had a pocketful of moth balls and had grasped a good opportunity to "put one over" on a "ILouey." Needless to say, in this particular case the "Louey grabbed it hook, line and sinker. On the Kadish front one afternoon two tired sergeants, Smith, of the machine gun company, and Perry, of Company L, decided to sit down and rest. They searched around and finally espied what they thought was a log covered with straw. Both sergeants approached the log and sat down. It made a comfortable seat, but soon it started to move. The two "non-coms" were puzzled when suddenly an arm appeared, followed by a colonel of the British army, who was demanding to know what was on him. Both "non-coms" were thunderstruck to find that it was the commanding officer of the Kadish front. However, both were relieved when they found that the C. O. was full of "influenza cure" and would forget by the next day their having "sat all over him." 108 CHAPTER IX WHY DID WE GO TO RUSSIA? 0 closely have the economic and military Sbeen linked in the participation of America in the affairs of Russia, that the doughboys who returned from the Arctic have been able to reveal to those who have been out of touch with Russia many phases of conditions of which the American public has been remarkable uninformed. Inasmuch as our relations with Russia and the near east promise to be one of the most important tasks to come before the League of Nations, if it be organized, it is only fair to say that the task of America in seeking commercial advantages in the former land of the Czar must be resumed at the bottom. That we have practically destroyed our potential market in Russia seems a foregone conclusion in the minds of returned soldiers. All the men seem to realize that in Consul General Dewitt C. Poole, America has a representative in Russia who does not know the meaning of the word "quit," a man who is tremendously popular with all nationals in Russia and a man who handles difficult problems with great. tact and diplomacy. 1oo WHY DID VE Go TO RUSSIA ADMIRE AMBASSADOR FRANCIS More than one victory for Consul General Poole has been witnessed by Americans in North Russia. The exact position of Ambassador Francis always seemed a mystery to those of us who were in Russia. The "guv-nor," as he was called, was in ill health throughout our stay and was finally forced to proceed to England to undergo an operation. However, the doughboys will not soon forget the ambassador's prompt action in rescuing a number of our wounded and sick men who had been literally "shoved" off a British boat at Murmansk in order that returning British officers and men might have preference. The action of Ambassador Francis in having the vessel which took him to England stop at Kola and pick up these ill-treated Americans has endeared him not only to those sick and wounded, but also to their comrades in arms. Consul General Poole, it is known by all of us, suffered many hardships and indignities at the hands of the bolsheviki. It was generally agreed that Colonel Ruggles, head of the American military mission, was one of the doughboys' best friends. INTERESTED IN MEN Colonel Ruggles certainly knew the soldiers and he knew their wants. Often when I have talked with him at the military mission his first 110 WHY DID WE GO TO RUSSIA questions would be in regard to the welfare of the men. His suggestions to overcome obstacles which stood in our path were invaluable to us, and most of our line officers in North Russia knew that at least one American colonel in North Russia was thinking of the enlisted men. Our interest in Russian affairs, despite the comparative isolation which is now Russia's, must be renewed on a large scale, in the opinion of all who have had an opportunity to judge of conditions there during the campaign against the bolsheviki. This is a small world, and an incident which occurred three days after our return to the United States will show it. I had had a three-hour leave from Camp Merritt, and while dining with a friend in the downtown district of New York was startled to note, at a table nearby, a young Russian woman of the intellectual class whom I was sure I had known in Archangel. ASKS SAME QUESTION But such a coincidence seemed out of the question until she saw me, when our recognition became mutual. She had been in America several months, and with her husband, a young Russian business man, began to inquire what the outlook was for America and Russia to become Ill WHY DID VE Go TO RUSSIA friends again. And as her husband asked, so had many of us asked: "Why had we gone to Russia?" Officers and men returning to the United States from their campaign in Russia against bolsheviki have been forced to the conclusion, since contact with their kinsmen has been restored, that they did not receive a square deal. At times units holding the front line were outnumbered as much as 30 and 40 to 1. Bolsheviki attacks, when the enemy was vastly superior to us in numbers, were numerous. We had inferior fighting equipment. We fought an enemy who always had a vast superiority of machine guns and artillery. He had observation balloons, one pounders, "pom-poms," hand and rifle grenades, howitzers and "archies." He had all the appurtenances as well. MADE IN U. S. A. Ninety per cent of the ammunition the Russian red army hurled at us was "Made in the U. S. A." We found, after one fight, two Browning gun barrels and it seems plausible to believe that the Reds possessed Browning machine guns. On many occasions the Bolo fought hard and well and courageously, while at other times his actions were of the passive type. Prisoners, whom we took, told of the starvation, disease and turmoil in the interior of Russia; that 112 WVHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA many of them were taken away from their families, forced into the army and then forced to fight. Stories of how the wife and the children could secure food only if the bread winner served the red army were often related. Our enemy was a peculiar one. His Black sea sailors were cruel, merciless fighters who asked for no quarter and gave none. They plundered, murdered and mutilated even amongst one another. The Letts were also hard fighters and worthy of recognition as such. There is a possibility that German leaders were in the ranks of the "Bolo," but we saw none in north Russia. MUTILATED PRISONERS On the Dvina and Vaga there were international regiments composed of Chinese and ex-Siberian political prisoners and bolsheviki from other countries. On these fronts prisoners and wounded were mutilated and tortured by the "Bolo." The big city regiments of the Bolos, those recruited in Moscow and Petrograd, had many boys in them and were less disciplined than other "Bolo" units. Many of these deserted to the Allies. American prisoners were treated as well as possible. They usually were taken to Moscow and given the freedom of the city. They were invited to lectures and given passes to the theaters. The "Bolo" even allowed'them 30 cents a 113 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA day spending money. And, some American prisoners and Y. M. C. A. workers, captives, were just simply given their unconditional release and permitted to leave the country. On several of the fronts conferences were held out in "No Man's Land" relative to the exchange of prisoners and the "Bolo" was always courteous. Each time he came to these conferences armed with bushels of propaganda, which he asked to have distributed to the Americans. On one occasion he brought an American prisoner along so that the American might tell his comrades how well the "Bolo" treated him. SLAV'S PROPAGANDA Of course this was strictly propaganda, as was the releasing of American prisoners. There was little doubt in our minds but that down Moscow way some one in authority had an eye to the future good relations of America and these were efforts which had for their object the attention of America. The Americans on their hikes through the dense forests in the fall and spring were forced to tramp through mud which was ankle, knee and often hip deep. During the winter for days and days the men never saw the sun and it was light only between 10 a. m. and 8 p. m. At times it was intensely cold, the thermometer on more than one occasion reaching 50 degrees below zero. 114 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA Small detachments were sent from their units and isolated posts in the wilderness 30 and 40 miles from the main body. There existed continually not only to these isolated posts but to the larger forces as well, a probability of being entirely cut off. This was due to the fact that we had insufficient troops to protect our lines of communication. YANKS FIGHT WELL Despite all these things the Yanks fought valiantly, fought even when it seemed apparent that the war department had forgotten all about them. On many occasions these Americans have shown courage and bravery far above the call of duty. If I were here to recite the instances of unselfish devotion to duty I would utilize many pages. Whole companies were cited in ordersnot by the American command. It must not be taken for granted that the British officers were the only offenders in North Russia. There were American officers whose actions were anything but American. In particular there was one major who enjoyed amongst the troops the nickname of "Court-Martial Fiend." This officer seemed intent upon "trying" every soldier in the 339th infantry. Many of the officers of the regiment today wonder how it was that this major escaped court-martial himself, for he had been relieved of his command, and 115 WHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA it was known that he had not been averse to trying the "influenza cure" on many occasions. The American supply company also came in for bitter criticism from the American soldiers. Whether this criticism was deserved or not it is difficult to say. However, it is a fact that the American soldier in North Russia received none of the quartermaster stores while Americans served at the front. SUPPLY COMPANY FAILED For some unknown reason the American supply company did not carry on the service of supply although that duty, as near as we can figure, was the specific task of the supply company. Perhaps many of my readers have gained the impression that my criticism has been directed against all British officers serving in North Russia. But that is a mistaken attitude, for the officers and men who came to North Russia with General Ironside were all very able. But the officers whom General Poole brought to the Arctic zone were a disgrace to England. They were incompetents. The "Tommies" that entered North Russia prior to our arrival there did the best they knew how. They were all category men, men physically unfit to return to France, so, just as the black Russian night was setting in the English war office sent these men, who 116 WVHY DID WE Go TO RUSSIA had done their bit in France, to North Russia, where the "Tommies" were shipped off to isolated fighting tasks. DID DUTY WELL These men did their duty in a manner which is a credit to them. The Royal Scots, despite the fact that they, too, really were unfit for strenuous campaign duty, did wonderful work on the Dvina front and were still in the front line when we departed from North Russia. The American soldier seemed to get along admirably with the French troops, although it must be admitted that his friendliness with the "Tommies" at no time assumed the proportion of brotherly love. I need not state that there were scores of misunderstandings. But these were generally the result of differences in ideals, environment and mode of thinking. The individual experience of each man in Russia is something he would not exchange for a million dollars and which he would not like to go through again for ten millions. 117 I ROLL OF HONOR OF "DETROIT'S OWN" Killed in Action Agnew, John, Sgt. Co. K, Sept. 27, 1918, Belfast, Ireland. Anderson, Jake C., Pvt. 1st class Co. B, Nov. 11, 1918, Cave City, Ky. Angove, John P., Pvt. Co. B, Nov. 18, 1918, Painesdale, Mich. Auslander, Floyd R., Pvt. Co. H, April 2, 1919, Decker, Mich. Austin, Floyd E., Pvt. 1st class Co. E, Dec. 30, 1918, Scottsburg, Ind. Avery, Harley, Pvt. Co. H, Oct. 1, 1918, Lexington, Mich. Ballard, Clifford B., Second Lt. M. G. Co., Feb. 7, 1919, Cambridge, Mass. Berger, Carl H., Second Lt. Co. E, Dec. 81, 1918, Mayville, Wis. Boreson, John, Pvt. Co. H, Oct. 1, 1918, Stephenson, Mich. Bosel, John J. Corp. Co. C, Nov. 29, 1918, Detroit. Chappel, Charles F., First Lt. Co. K, Sept. 27, 1918, Toledo, O. Cheeney, Roy D., Corp. Co. C, Nov. 29, 1918, Pueblo, Colo. Christian, Arthur, Pvt. Co. L, Oct. 14, 1918, Atlanta, Mich. Clark, Joshua A., Pvt. Co. C, Feb. 4, 1919, Woodville, Mich. Clemens, Raymond C., Pvt. Co. C, Nov. 29,1918, St. Joseph, Mich. Cole, Elmer B., Pvt. Co. A, Jan. 23, 1919, Hamersluya, Pa. Conrad, Rex H., Corp. Co. F, March 26, 1919, Ponca, Mich. Crook, Alva, Pvt. Co. M, April 1, 1919, Lakeview, Mich. Cronin, Louis, Pvt. Co. K, Oct. 13,1918, Flushing, Mich. - Crowe, Bernard C., Sgt. Co. K, Dec. 30, 1918, Detroit. Cuff, Francis W., First Lt. Co. C, Nov. 29, 1918, Rio, Wis. DeAmicis, Guiseppe, Corp. Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Detroit. Diel, Charles O., Pvt. Co. M, March 31, 1919, Carlisle, Ind. Berger, Carl G., Wag. Sup. Co., Jan. 19, 1919, Detroit. Dyment, Schlioma, Pvt. Co. M, Sept. 80, 1918, Detroit. Ellis, Leo R., Pvt. Co. I, Nov. 4, 1918, Chicago, Ill. Foley, Morris J., Corp. Co. B, Sept. 20, 1918, Detroit. Fuller, Alfred W., Pvt. 1st class Co. K, Dec. 80, 1918, Trenton, Mich. 119 ROLL OF HONOR OF "DETROIT'S OWN" Gasper, Leo, Pvt. Co. B, Nov. 11, 1918, Chesaning, Mich. Gauch, Charles D., Pvt. Hq. Co., Oct. 1, 1918, Kearney, N. J. Gottschalk, Milton E., Corp. Co. A, Jan. 22, 1919, Detroit. Graham, Claus, Pvt. Co. H, Oct. 1, 1918, Toledo, O. Hester, Harley H., Corp. M. G. Co., Sept. 27, 1918, Cave City, Ky. Kenney, Michael J., Sgt. Co. K, Dec. 30, 1918, Detroit. Kenny, Bernard F., Corp. Co. A, March 9, 1919, Hemlock, Mich. Kissick, Thurman L., Pvt. Co. C, Nov. 29, 1918, Ringos Mill, Ky. Kreizinger, Edward, Corp. Co. L, Sept. 27, 1918, Detroit. Kudzba, Peter, Pvt. Co. B, Sept. 20, 1918, Chicago, Ill. Kwasniewski, Ignacy H., Mec. Co. I, Sept. 16, 1918, Detroit. Ladovich, Nikodem, Pvt. Co. C, Feb. 4, 1919, Pittsburgh, Pa. Maim, Clarence A., Pvt. 1st class Co. C, Dec. 4, 1918, Battle Creek, Mich. Marriott, Fred R. Sgt. Co. B, Nov. 12, 1918, Port Huron, Mich. McConvill, Edward, Pvt. Co. H, March 23, 1919, Shawmut, Mass. McLaughlin, Frank S., Pvt. Co. I, Oct. 16, 1918, Elks Rapids, Mich. Merrick, Walte A., Pvt. Co. M, Oct. 14, 1918, Sandusky, Mich. Mertens, Edward L., Corp. Co. L, Sept. 27, 1918, Detroit. Moore, Albert E., Corp. Co. A, March 7, 1919, Detroit. Mueller, Frank J., Pvt. Co. E, Dec. 30, 1918, Marshfield, Wis. Ozdarski, Joseph S., Pvt. Co. L, Oct. 14, 1918, Detroit. Patrick, Ralph M., Pvt. Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Long Lake, Mich. Pawlak, Joseph, Pvt. Co. B, March 1, 1919, Detroit. Pilarski, Alek, Pvt. Co. B, Nov. 11, 1918, Detroit. Pitts, Jay B., Pvt. Co. G, Dec. 4, 1918, Kalamazoo, Mich. Ramotowske, Josef, Pvt. 1st class Co. H, March 22, 1919, Detroit. Redmond, Nathan L., Corp. Co. H, March 19, 1919, Detroit. Richardson, Eugene E., Pvt. Co. H, Oct. 1, 1918, Detroit. Richey, August K., Corp Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Dowagiac, Mich. Ritcher, Edward, Pvt. Co. H., Oct. 1, 1918, Mishawaka, Ind. Robbins, Daniel, Pvt. Co. B, March 1, 1919,.Blaine, Mich. Rogers, Yates K., Sgt. Co. A, Jan. 22, 1919, Memphis, Tenn. Ruth, Frank J., Pvt. Co. B, March 1, 1919, Detroit. Sapp, Frank E., Corp. Co. M, April 1, 1919, Rodney, Mich. Savada, John, Corp. Co. B, Nov. 13, 1918, Hamtramck, Mich. Schmann, Adolph, Pvt. Co. C, Nov. 13, 1918, Milwaukee, Wis. Scruggs, Frank W., Pvt. Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Bettelle, Ala. 120 ROLL OF HONOR OF "DETROIT'S OWN" Silkaitis, Frank, Pvt. Co. H, Oct. 1, 1918, Chicago, Ill. Smith, Wilbur B., Sgt. Co. C, Jan. 20, 1919, Fort Williams, Canada. Soczkoski, Anthony, Pvt. Co. I, Sept. 16, 1918, Detroit. Sokol, Philip, Pvt. Co. L, Sept. 16, 1913, Pittsburgh, Pa. Spelcher, Elmer E., Cook Co. C, Feb. 4, 1919, Akron, O. Staley, Glenn P., Pvt. Co. K, Sept. 17, 1918, Whitemore, Mich. Sweet, Earl D., Pvt. Co. A, March 9, 1919, McGregor, Mich. Syska, Frank, Pvt. Co. D, Jan. 23, 1919, Detroit. Taylor, Otto V., Pvt. Co. K, Oct. 16, 1918, Alexandria, Ind. Trammell, Dausie W., Pvt. Co. A, March 9, 1919, Clio, Ky. VanDerMeer, John, Pvt. Co. B, Sept. 20, 1918, Kalamazoo, Mich. VanHerwynen, John, Pvt. Co. D, Sept. 20, 1918, Vriesland, Mich. Vojta, Charles J., Pvt. Co. K, Sept. 27, 1918, Chicago, Ill. Wagner, Harold H., Pvt. 1st class Co. E, Dec. 30, 1918, Harlan, Mich. Welstead, Walter J., Pvt. Co. A, March 9, 1919, Chicago, Ill. Wenger, Irvin, Pvt. Co. C, Nov. 29, Grand Rapids, Mich. Zajaczkowski, John, Pvt. Co. B, Nov. 12, 1918, Detroit. Death from Other Causes Lovell, Albert W., Pvt. Hq. Co., Aug. 10, 1918 (drowned), England. Marchlewski, Joseph D., Pvt. Co. G, Oct. 28, 1918 (accident), Alpena, Mich. Martin J. Campbell, Corp. Co. E, Oct. 21, 1918 (accidentally shot), Portland, Mich. Russell, William H., Corp. Co. M, April 19, 1919, Detroit. Sawickis, Frank K., Pvt. Co. I, April 29, 1919, Racine, Wis. Sickles, Floyd A., Pvt. Co. M, Sept. 6, 1918, Deckerville, Mich. Szymanski, Louis A., Pvt. Co. C, Nov. 27, 1918 (accidentally shot), Detroit. Wilson, Dale, Pvt. 1st class Co. B, April 3, 1919, Alexander, Mich. Young, Edward L., Sgt. Co. G, March 14, 1919 (suicide), Moosie, Pa. Died of Wounds Received in Action Ball, Elbert, Pvt. 1st class Co. B, Nov. 14, 1918, Henderson, Ky. Bowman, William H., Sgt. Co. B, March 1, 1919, Penn Laird, Va. 121 ROLL OF HONOR OF "DETROIT'S OWN" Clish, Frank, Pvt. Co. B, March 1, 1919, Baraga, Mich. Collins, Edmund R., First Lt. Co. H, March 24, 1919, Racine, Wis. Cook, Clarence, Pvt. Co. A, Feb. 20, 1919, Stilton, Kan. Detzler, Allick F., Pvt. Co. B, Nov. 15, 1918, Prescott, Mich. Dunaetz, Isiador, Pvt, Co. C, Jan. 81, 1919, Sodus, Mich. Etter, Frank M., Sgt. Co. C, Feb. 6,1919, Marion, Ind. Franklin, Walter E., Pvt. Co. E, Dec. 81, 1918, Bellevue, Mich. Gray Alson W., Corp. Co. K, Nov. 8, 1918, South Boston, Va. Koslousky, Mattios, Pvt. Co. H, April 2, 1919, Chicago, Ill. Lehmann, William J.; Corp. Co. A, Jan. 23,1919, Danville, Ill. Lencioni, Sebastiano, Pvt. Co. A, Jan. 22, 1919, Whitewater, Wis. Meister, Emanuel A., Sgt. Co. G, Sept. 27, 1918, Detroit. Mylon, James J., Corp. Co. E, Dec. 81, 1918, Detroit. Niemi, Mattie I., Pvt. Co. M, Sept. 30, 1918, Verona, Mich. Peterson, August B., Pvt. Co. H, March 22, 1919, Whitehall, Mich. Phillips, Clifford F., First Lt. Co. H, May 10, 1919, Neola, Ia. Rose, Benjamin, Pvt. Co. A, March 11, 1919, Packard, Ky. Skoselas, Andrew, Pvt. Co. C, Feb. 4, 1919, Eastlake, Mich. Smith, George J., Pvt. Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Yale, Mich. Stier, Victor, Pvt. Co. A2, Jan. 19, 1919, Cincinnati, O. Tamas, Stanley P., Pvt. Co. D, Oct. 29, 1918, Manistee, Mich. Missing in Action Babinger, William R., Corp. Hq. Co., Oct. 2, 1918, Detroit. Carter, James, Pvt. Hd. Co., Oct. 2, 1918, Cornwall, England. Carter, William J., Pvt. 1st class Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Detroit. Collins, Earl W., Corp. Co. H, March 22, 1919, Detroit. Cwenk, Joseph, Pvt. 1st class Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Milan, Mich. Frank, Arthur, Pvt. M. G. Co., Sept. 29, 1918, Detroit. Gutowski, Boleslaw, Pvt. Co. C, Nov. 29, 1918, Wyandotte, Mich. Hodge, Elmer W., Pvt. Co. C, Nov. 29, 1918, Shelby, Mich. Hutchinson, Alfred G., Pvt. Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Plainwell, Mich. Jenks, Stillman V., Pvt. 1st class Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Shelby, Mich. Jonker, Nicholas, Pvt. Co. C, Nov. 29, 1918, Grand Rapids, Mich. Keefe, Thomas H., Pvt. Co. C, Feb. 4, 1919, Chicago, Ill. Kieffer, Simon P., Pvt. M. G. Co., Sept. 29, 1918, Detroit. Kowalski, Stanley, Pvt. Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Lodz, Poland. Kussrath, Charles Aug., Jr., Pvt. Co. A, Jan. 19,1919, Chicago, Ill. 122 ROLL OF HONOR OF "DETROIT'S OWN" Kurowski, Max J., Pvt. Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Grand Rapids, Mich. Mannor, John T., Pvt. 1st class Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Menominee, Martin, William J., Pvt. Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Detroit. McTavish, Stewart M., Pvt. 1st class Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Stratford, Canada. Peyton, Edward W., Corp. Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Richmond, Ky. Poth, Russell A., Pvt. Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Brown City, Mich. Prince, Arthur, Corp. Co. B, March 1, 1919, Onaway, Mich. Frucce, John, Pvt. Co. H, March 22, 1919, Muskegon, Mich. Rauschenberger, Albert, Corp. Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Grand Rapids, Mich. Retherford, Lindsay, Pvt. 1st class Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Hustonville, Ky. Russell, Archie E., Pvt. 1st class Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Hesperia, Mich. Sajnaj, Leo, Pvt. 1st class Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Chicago, 11l. Schroeder, Herbert A., Corp. Co. B, Sept. 20, 1918, Detroit. Scott, Perry C., Corp. Hq. Co., Oct. 2, 1918, Detroit. Triplett, Johnnie, Pvt. Co. C. Nov. 29, 1918, Lackay, Ky. Mich. Weitzel, Henry R., Pvt. Co. C, Nov. 29, 1918, Bay City, Mich. Williams, Edson A., Pvt. Co. A, Jan. 19, 1919, Minneapolis, Minn. Prisoners of War Albers, George, Pvt. 1st class Co. I, Nov. 3, 1918, Muskegon, Mich. Fulcher, Earl W., Pvt. Co. H, April 22, 1919, Tyre, Mlcn. Haurilik, Mike M., Pvt. Co. C, Nov. 29, 1918, Detroit. Hogan, Freeman, Pvt. Co. M, March 81, 1919, Detroit. Huston, Walter L., Pvt. Co. C, Nov. 29, 1918, Muskegon, Mich. Laursen, Jens C., Mec. Co. M, May 1, 1919, Marlette, Mich. Leitzell, Glenn W., Sgt. Co. M, March 31, 1919, Mifflinburg, Pa. Scheulke, William R., Pvt. Co. H, March 22, 1919, Stronach, Mich. Vanis, Anton J., Pvt. Co. D, Jan. 23, 1919, Chicago, Ill. Died of Disease Bayer, Arthur, Pvt. Co. G, Sept. 12, 1918, Kalamazoo, Mich. Bayer, Charles, Pvt. Co. F, Sept. 12, 1918, Detroit. Berryhill, Chester W., Pvt. Co. F., Sept. 11, 1918, Midland, Mich. Rickert, Albert F., Pvt. Co. C, Sept. 5, 1918, Mt. Clemens, Mich. 123 ROLL, OF HONOR OF "DETROIT'S OWN" Bigelow, John W., Pvt. Co. E, Sept. 10, 1918, Copefish, Mich. Brieve, Joseph, Pvt. Co. E, Sept. 7, 1918, Holland, Mich. Burdick, Andrew, Pvt. Co. B, Sept. 19, 1918, Manitou Island, Mich. Byles, James B., Wag. Sup. Co., Feb. 21, 1919, Valdosta, Ga. Cannizzaro, Rayfield, Pvt. Co. K, Sept. 13, 1918, Edmore, Mich. Casey, Marcus T., Second Lt. Co. C, Sept. 16, 1918, New Richmond, Wis. Charles B. Nicholls, Pvt. Co. B, Sept. 12, 1918, Rose City, Mich. Ciesielski, Walter, Pvt. 1st class Co. E, Feb. 27, 1919, Detroit. Clark, Clyde, Pvt. Co. L, Sept. 18, 1918, Lansing, Mich. Dusablom, William H., Pvt. Co. I, Sept. 18, 1918, Trenton, Mich. Easley, Albert H., Pvt. Co. L, Sept. 13, 1918, Kewadin, Mich. Farrand, Ray, Pvt. Co. I, Sept. 13, 1918, Armada, Mich. Fields, Clarence, Pvt. Co. F, Sept. 19, 1918, Bay City, Mich. Finnegan, Leo, Pvt. Co. B, Sept. 17, 1918, Grand Rapids, Mich. Gariepy, Henry, Sergt. Co. B, Sept. 10, 1918, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Gresser, Joseph A., Pvt. Co. C, Sept. 8, 1918, Wyandotte, Mich. Hendy, Alfred H., Pvt. Co. C, Sept. 23, 1918, Grosse Ile, Mich. Henley, John T., Pvt. Co. I, Sept. 11, 1918, Chicago, Ill. Hodgson, Fred L., Pvt. Co. M, Sept. 14, 1918, Cassopolis, Mich. Hunt, Bert, Pvt. Co. D, Sept. 16, 1918, Hudsonville, Mich. Jackson, Jesse C., Pvt. 1st class Hq. Co., Sept. 15, 1918, Detroit. Jordan, Carl B., Pvt. Co. B, Sept. 10, 1918, Ferry, Mich. Kalaska, Joseph, Pvt. Co. I, Sept. 18, 1918, Trenton, Mich. Keicz, Andrzei, Pvt. Co. C, Sept. 13, 1918, Detroit. Kistler, Herbert B., Pvt. Co. I, Sept. 11, 1918, Lancaster, Pa. Kroll, John, Jr., Pvt. Co. D, Sept. 10, 1918, Holland, Mich. Kukla, Valentine, Pvt. Co. K, Sept. 12, 1918, Kawkawlin, Mich. Kulwicki, Andrew J., Pvt. Co. K, Jan. 28, 1918, Milwaukee, Wis. Lanter, Marion F., Pvt. Co. I, April 26, 1919, Savoy, Ky. Lauzon, Henry, Pvt. Co. L, Sept. 28, 1918, Pinconning, Mich. Link, Stephen J., First Lt. Hq. Co., Sept. 20, 1918, Taylorville, Ill. Malusky, Joseph, Pvt. Co. C, Sept. 10, 1919, Fountain, Mich. Maybaum, Harold, Pvt. Co. E, Sept. 9, 1918, Ainsworth, Ind. McDonald, Angus, Pvt. Co. E, Sept. 12, 1918, Marilla, Mich. Mead, William C., Pvt. Co. B, Sept. 14, 1918, Mayville, Mich. Michel, Lewis M., Pvt. Co. C, Sept. 10, 1918, Parnassus, Pa. 124 ROLL OF HONOR OF "DETROIT'S OWN" Neri, Vincent, Bug. Co. C, Sept. 11, 1918, Detroit. Nunn, Arthur, Pvt. Co. M, Sept. 13, 1918, Croswell, Mich. O'Brien, Raymond, Pvt. Hq. Co., Sept. 12, 1918, Saginaw, Mich. O'Connor, Lawrence S., Corp. Co. C, Sept. 8, 1918, Lancaster, O. Parrott, Jesse F., Pvt. Co. K, Sept. 25, 1918, Mt. Clemens, Mich. Passow, Ferdinand, Pvt. Co. D, Sept. 11, 1918, Mosinee, Wis. Petraska, Oscar H., Pvt. Co. K, Sept. 10, 1918, Wyandotte, Mich. Petulski, John, Pvt. Co. K, Sept. 15, 1918, Detroit. Rose, Floyd, Pvt. Co. I, Sept. 10, 1918, Vicksburg, Mich. Rowe, Ezra T., Pvt. M. G. Co., Sept. 16, 1918, Hart, Mich. Rynbrandt, Raymond R., Pvt. Co. D, Sept. 11, 1918, Byron Center, Mich. Schepel, Tiemon, Pvt. Co. D, Sept. 11, 1918, Holland, Mich. Shaughnessy, John, Pvt. Hq. Co., Sept. 15, 1918, Missoula, Mont. Shingledecker, Dwight, Pvt. Co. A, Sept. 11, 1918, Dowaglac, Mich. Stocken, Orville I., Pvt. Co. A, Sept. 13, 1918, Battle Creek, Mich. Surran, Harry H., Pvt. Co. A, Sept. 14, 1918, Culver, Ind. Teggus, William G., Corp. Hq. Co., Sept. 11, 1918, Pontiac, Mich. Thompson, Henry, Pvt. Co. A, Sept. 16, 1918, Elkhart, Ind. VanDeventer, George E., Pvt. Co. C, Sept. 11, 1918, Rupert, Idaho. Wadsworth, Laurence L., Pvt. Co. I, Sept. 20, 1918, Aurora, Ind. Waldeyer, Norbert C., Pvt. Co. D, Sept. 16, 1918, Detroit. Weaver, Lewis T., Pvt. Co. A, Sept. 15, 1918, Marlette, Mich. Weesner, Clifford E, Pvt. Co. F, Sept. 11, 1918, Jackson, Mich. Wetershof, John T., Pvt. Co. B. Sept. 11, 1918, Grand Rapids, Mich. Whitford, Jason, Pvt. Co. C, Sept. 19, 1918, Whitemore, Mich. Witt, Louis C., Pvt. Hq. Co., Sept. 13, 1918, Detroit. Wood, Stewart W., Corp. Co. C, Sept. 7, 1918, Atlanta, Ga. Zlotcha, Mike. Pvt. Co. E, Sept. 23, 1918, Hamtramck, Mich. 125 ROGERS & HALL CO., PRINTERS, CHICAGO -- 7~ — — ~ — i I