Title: The Polar Bear Expedition: US/Allied Forces ordered into Russian Revolution/Civil War at close of WWI Source:
YouTube and criticalpast.com URL Source:http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL04666C08BF8CC024 Published:Dec 1, 2011 Author:Various Post Date:2011-12-01 07:37:10 by GreyLmist Keywords:WWI, Russian Revolution, Civil War Interventionism, Wilson Views:4339 Comments:25
12 videos. 27 minutes total. Click the white box on the toolbar to scroll through the list of titles or view selections individually.
Poster Comment:
Two videos from right sidebar list of historical footage at criticalpast.com:
Location: Arkhangelsk Russia Date: 1918, September Duration: 1 min 50 sec Sound: NO SOUND
Footage from the arrival of United States Army 85th Division, 339th Infantry, American Expeditionary Force North Russia, participating as part of the Triple Entente forces, in the so-called "Polar Bear Expedition." Two thirds of the soldiers were from Michigan. City officials greet the arriving forces. Officials from all of the Entente forces are seen (British, French, Russia) along with Colonel George E. Stewart, the commander of all US Forces. The procession of civilian and military officials emerge from a doorway and are greeted by local officials. Children and townspeople look on.
This historic stock footage available in SD and HD video.
Location: Arkhangelsk Russia Date: 1918, September Duration: 1 min 50 sec Sound: NO SOUND
Footage from the United States Army 85th Division, 339th Infantry, American Expeditionary Force North Russia, participating as part of the Triple Entente forces, in the so-called "Polar Bear Expedition." Two thirds of the soldiers were from Michigan. Arrival of US Army troops aboard the Gorfe Castle steamship docked at Arkhangelsk (also known as Archangel) in northern Russia. Military band disembarking with their instruments in hand. Soldiers disembarking down plank with their equipment. Soldiers and civilians on the dock beside the ship. Troops also included the 1st Battalion of 310th Engineers, the 337th Field Hospital, and the 337th Ambulance Company.
This historic stock footage available in SD and HD video.
Forgot to check the links and info for the two criticalpast.com videos before posting to make sure they were both working properly with the accurate details for each. Apologies for the path glitches and data duplication error. For clarification, am just going to repost them as they should have been listed above:
Location: Arkhangelsk Russia Date: 1918, September Duration: 1 min 50 sec Sound: NO SOUND
Footage from the arrival of United States Army 85th Division, 339th Infantry, American Expeditionary Force North Russia, participating as part of the Triple Entente forces, in the so-called "Polar Bear Expedition." Two thirds of the soldiers were from Michigan. City officials greet the arriving forces. Officials from all of the Entente forces are seen (British, French, Russia) along with Colonel George E. Stewart, the commander of all US Forces. The procession of civilian and military officials emerge from a doorway and are greeted by local officials. Children and townspeople look on. This historic stock footage available in SD and HD video.
Location: Arkhangelsk Russia Date: 1918, September 4 Duration: 1 min 39 sec Sound: NO SOUND
Footage from the United States Army 85th Division, 339th Infantry, American Expeditionary Force North Russia, participating as part of the Triple Entente forces, in the so-called "Polar Bear Expedition." Two thirds of the soldiers were from Michigan. Arrival of US Army troops aboard the Gorfe Castle steamship docked at Arkhangelsk (also known as Archangel) in northern Russia. Military band disembarking with their instruments in hand. Soldiers disembarking down plank with their equipment. Soldiers and civilians on the dock beside the ship. Troops also included the 1st Battalion of 310th Engineers, the 337th Field Hospital, and the 337th Ambulance Company. This historic stock footage available in SD and HD video.
Can click the "More" button at Related Clips on the site's right sidebar to see the full list of vintage films there on the subject of our troops in Russia.
Keywords: WWI, Russian Revolution, Civil War Interventionism, Wilson
iirc, the entry for Wilson was supposed to read: Wilson's Undeclared War in Russia and Globalization of Our Troops under Foreign Command.
Guess there wasn't enough room in that boxed-section for all of that.
There was a PBS documentary on TV in the last few days about the Polar Bear Expedition in Russia's Civil War. Some of the place names involved are spookish. Was the first time I saw it, and didn't see all of it, but it was reportedly scheduled to be televised at least once before, on July 4th, 2010 -- probably to commemorate the date that the surviving Polar Bears came home, who were on the verge of mutiny in Russia because their mission was a mystery to them, other than to be heldover there to be attacked. The U.S. Ambassador to Russia said something to them to the effect that they were there to help the emerging government, which shortly emerged from the Red Bolshevik forces that were were attacking them.
Carl Levin (Dem-Senator, Michigan) appeared as a speaker in the documentary a number of times and so I figured that it could be somewhat insightful as to his current manuevers against the Constitution to make America into a Battlefield legislatively. Found a review of the documentary to post next that notes his political views of Wilson's Foreign Civil War Intervention then as comparative politically with the movement of our troops into Iraq and that political landscape. I suppose he thought at the time he was being interviewed for the show that all battlefields are alike for the purpose of outsourcing our troops and allies around the world for furthering the interests of empire designers. I dunno but maybe he's expecting the outsourcing of some Allied forces here to assist ours in turning America into a battlefield for global-empire expansion.
For now, am posting this very lengthy source that has intrigues galore going on in that Russian era, 250 footnotes, 45 Bibliography references, but only one short, obscure sentence that I noticed by scanning through it on our Polar Bears and the allied expeditionary forces deployed there by underhanded, ignoble, dictatorial-empire types:
Throughout April, the question of intervention loomed large in the considerations of all parties, a debate that went on after Robins left in May, and was acted on from the summer of 1918 to the summer of 1920. (241) That debate resulted in a limited intervention later on [My note: a few weeks later on, in September of that year - 1918] by US and other Allied forces.
A documentary about the American Russian Civil War Intervention: 1918-1919 has been made.
'Voices of a Never Ending Dawn':
Quote:
In the summer of 1918 President Woodrow Wilson, at the urging of our allies in Britain and France, sent an infantry regiment to north Russia to fight the Bolsheviks (the first Communists) in hopes of persuading Russia to rejoin the war against Germany. The 339th Infantry with the first battalion of the 310th Engineers and the 337th Ambulance and Hospital Companies were chosen from the Detroit and Michigan areas.
Additional units and soldiers were chosen from all 50 states, and from the battlefronts of France.
These men were called to brave the cold arctic snows and fight long battles in temperatures of sixty-degrees below zero, under the midnight sun of arctic Russia.
Those that survived called themselves The Polar Bears. When WWI ended, these men expected to be immediately called home, like all other regiments around the world. That call, for these men, never came. They were left to fight a savage enemy in Northern Russia eight long months after WWI had ended.
There has never been a regiment more tested. They became one of the most highly decorated regiments in all of WWI.
This documentary will be shown are various PBS stations throughout the United States through July 4th, 2010:
PBS TV stations, dates, and times (seems to be mainly on at odd hours of the day and night):
I was only able to catch the last hour on TV when it was shown a few months back.
It wasn't that good IMO; it has (IMO) low budget / second rate production standards but it is the only documentary film on the American Intervention in the Russian Civil War that I know about.
There are a lot of scenes with reenactors.
The woman who made the documentary (a relative of hers fought on the American side in the conflict) interviews Senator Carl Levin (D-Michigan) who makes frequent appearances to comment on the political aspects of the American Intervention and makes connections between the Russian Civil War Intervention and Iraq, so it is that type of documentary. [My note: extra emphasis mine]
However, I would recommend watching it on TV and if you miss seeing it on TV, I would say ordering a copy of the documentary for $29.00 would be worth your time and money.
It is not a great documentary, but if you're interested in the Russian Civil War, or WWI, or if you've never heard of the Polar Bears and would like to learn more through a video format, it would be worth the price.
The "Detroit's Own" Polar Bear Memorial Association is dedicated to honoring and maintaining the memory of the 339th Infantry Regiment, the 1st Battalion of the 310th Engineers, the 337th Ambulance Co. and the 337th Field Hospital of the U.S. Army's 85th Division. These men, officially designated the American North Russia Expeditionary Force and also known as "Detroit's Own" and "Polar Bears", were sent by President Wilson to North Russia where they fought the Bolshevik Red Army from September 1918 through June 1919.
[sic]
"The American Expedition to North Russia in 1918-1919 has been oddly neglected by professional historians, with the result that most US citizens, including even the best educated and well-read, have been unaware of its existence. Partly, this has been because it got underway in the closing weeks of the Great War (now officially called World War I), and like a side show at a circus where they are already striking the tent, it drew little attention.
"Besides that, there was the confusion and obscurity surrounding it with regard to its purpose, especially in Washington and among the American troops who were involved: they literally had no idea what they were being sent to do. Even President Woodrow Wilson, as will be seen, was in a spin of uncertainty as to whether he should or should not authorize the expedition, and the British leadership (for it was to be an Allied operation, including British and French soldiers, but with the British officers in all the top command positions) offered little clarification.
"Without further enlightenment, five thousand American doughboys found themselves, early in September of 1918, after a long, slow trip from England through the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean, disembarking at the Russian port of Archangel - and more than half of them no sooner ashore than they were, with astonishment, packed off to "the front" to fight "the Bolos" - which was to say units of the Soviet Red Army. The operation thus turned out to be, willy-nilly and right from the start, an invasion of Soviet territory."
My note: Haven't researched either of those links much but there they are. Technically, the full title of the first one -- in all caps at amazon.com -- is "The Secrect War Between the U.S. and Russia at the Top of the World!: When Hell Froze Over". The second site is styled like a Military history textbook, with maps, links, a search engine, and is short-titled: "Polar Bear Expedition Digital Collections". It says:
A winter of fighting Bolsheviks and wondering why they were still in combat when the war with Germany had ended led to severe morale problems among the American troops, including an alleged mutiny in March 1919 by members of one company in Archangel, and the presentation of an antiwar petition by members of another company in the same month. The troops were ready for the new American commander who arrived at Archangel in April 1919 with orders to withdraw. As soon as navigation opened in June, the American forces left northern Russia. British troops withdrew a few months later,
The Polar Bear Expedition (also known as the Northern Russian Expedition, the American North Russia Expeditionary Force - ANREF or the American Expeditionary Force North Russia - AEFNR) was a contingent of about 5,000 U.S. troops[1] that landed in Arkhangelsk, Russia as part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War and fought the Red Army in the surrounding region during the period of September 1918 through July 1919.
[sic]
when the American troops arrived one month later [My note: than the British commanders of the Allied Intervention], they were immediately used in offensive operations to aid in the rescue of the Czech Legion.
[sic]
During their time in North Russia, the American forces suffered more than 110 deaths from battle, plus about 30 missing and 70 deaths from disease, 90% of which were caused by the Spanish Flu.
[sic]
aware of not only the change in their mission, but also of the Armistice on the Western Front and the fact that the port of Arkhangelsk was now frozen and closed to shipping, the morale of the American soldiers soon plummeted. They would ask their officers for the reason they were fighting Bolshevik soldiers in Russia and would not receive a specific answer other than they must fight to survive and avoid being pushed into the Arctic Ocean [My note: something about that sounds like it has a Zionist accent] by the Bolshevik army.
Early in 1919, instances of rumored and actual mutinies in the Allied ranks became frequent. President Wilson directed his War Department on February 16, 1919 to begin planning the ANREF's withdrawal from North Russia. In March 1919, four American soldiers in Company B of the 339th Infantry drew up a petition protesting their continued presence in Russia and were threatened with court- martial proceedings. U.S. Army Brigadier General Wilds P. Richardson arrived in Arkhangelsk aboard the icebreaker Canada on April 17, 1919, with orders from then-General Pershing to organize a coordinated withdrawal of the American troops "at the earliest possible moment". On May 26, 1919, the first half of 8,000 volunteer members of the British North Russian Relief Force arrived in Arkhangelsk to relieve the American troops. [sic] During the withdrawal, the men of the ANREF decided to call themselves "Polar Bears" and were authorized to wear the Polar Bear insignia on their left sleeve. The ANREF was officially disbanded on August 5, 1919. [sic]
Repatriation of the dead
After they returned home, the Polar Bear veterans lobbied their state and Federal governments to obtain funds and the necessary approvals to retrieve the bodies of more than 125 U.S. soldiers who were known to have been left behind in North Russia. Hampered by the lack of diplomatic recognition between the United States and the Soviet Union, it took many years before they finally received permission. An expedition under the auspices of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) was successful in organizing and conducting a recovery mission in the autumn of 1929 that found, identified and brought out the remains of 86 U.S. soldiers. Another dozen remains of ANREF soldiers were shipped by the Soviet Union to the U.S. in 1934, which reduced the number of U.S soldiers still buried in North Russia to about 30. The remains of 56 ANREF soldiers were eventually re-buried [My note: around this Michigan] Polar Bear Monument [sic]
There is a monument to the men of the 339th Infantry Regiment, the 310th Engineers, and the 337th Field Hospital also known in the U.S. as "The Polar Bears" or the American North Russia Expeditionary Force A.N.R.E.F. These men were drawn from the 85th "Custer" Division and were sent to Archangel Russia to combat the Bolsheviks and to urge the Russians to re-join the war against Germany. Most were from Michigan and Wisconsin and they trained at Ft. Custer near Battle Creek Michigan. They remain the only American force to directly engage Russians in war.
U.S. Intervention in the Russian Civil War [Transcript of the History Project video below from 0:05 to 1:50, which demonstrates the methodical collapse of Russia by a Total War formula comparable to the bankrupting of America by wars abroad and the impact of wars on the degradation of our economic conditions, leading to citizen protests and the deceitful Communist designs of command and control here as if they are intervening to "rescue" America from the trap they've laid to destroy our nation; all the while advancing their ruinous War, Economic Destabalization, and Debt Agenda against other nations, as well as ours.]
To understand what the United States was fighting for, one must look at the events preceding the war. In 1917, Russia was fighting a total war against Germany. This put all their resources onto the frontlines of the World War, as casualties were great on the Eastern Front. This led to poor working condition in factories and many people were outraged, causing rioting to start and the start of food strikes in Petrograd, which is now called St. Petersburg.. This ultimately led to the Russian Revolution. These riots led to utter chaos for the next couple of months and from the ashes of this chaos rose the Bolsheviks, a political party led by Stalin [Lenin] as he took the citizens' side and that Russia should focus its power on the people instead of the War. This rise would end Tsar Alexander's reign and his brother's short reign thereafter, and the Revolution would come to an end. This rise also concerned the Allies, as the Bolsheviks would pull Russia out of the War eventually and Germany would then direct their attention on the Western Front, something the Allies couldn't afford. This ended up happening when the Bolsheviks and the Central Powers created the Treaty of Brest-Letovsk and many major concessions of land by Russia would happen. This gave up 25% of Russia's population and 75% of its natural resources. This angered the non-Communist White Parties that were opposing the Bolsheviks and led to rioting. The Bolsheviks tried to stop this by creating The Wedge, or splitting-up the Parties, and ended up leading to the Russian Civil War. This prompts the U.S. and the rest of the Allies to intervene, to not only keep the Eastern Front alive but to keep the spread of Communism minimal.
Throughout April, the question of intervention loomed large in the considerations of all parties, a debate that went on after Robins left in May, and was acted on from the summer of 1918 to the summer of 1920. (241) That debate resulted in a limited intervention later on [My note: a few weeks later on, in September of that year - 1918] by US and other Allied forces.
Continued: The Root Commission Formula of "No Fight, No Loans". Attention Americans and others being baited into globalist wars. Repeat, "No Fight, No Loans": The Root Commission Formula phase to financially coerce perpetual war for the perpetual profits of war-profiteers.
On 23 February (O.S.), now styled 8 March (N.S.), the February revolution began. Two weeks later, on 22 March, "The government of the United States, through its Ambassador in Petrograd, David R. Francis, conveyed to the Council of Ministers its official recognition of the new Russian Government [sic]
The Root Commission went to Russia at about this time with the avowed reason of ascertaining the most immediate needs of Russia for conducting the war and working out better alliance communications. The mission was in Russia from 3 June to 21 July. (63) They met with the former Lvov ministry, and the so-called Second Provisional Government ministry that had taken over 18 May, 1917.
The Commission's recomendations were thus:
[sic]
(3) To promote a realization of the fact that the effective continuation of the war was the only course by which the opportunity for Russia to work out the conditions of her own freedom could be preserved from destruction by German domination." (65)
[sic]
[Lansing,] The [U.S.] Secretary of State drafted a memorandum 2 December to the President. In it, he said that many people were advising a course on Russia, in his mind the best information received had been to do nothing. He said, "With this latter policy I'm in total accord." He pointed out that the Root Mission "recommendations had been predicated on the success of the Provisional Government" and that government had failed. He suggested that the "Bolsheviki are anarchists rather than socialists" and could not see how such a hostile bunch could claim to be a government. He stated that recognizing the Bolsheviks would encourage similar elements in other countries. Lansing went on, "The correct policy for a government which believes in political institutions as they now existand based on nationality and private property is to leave these dangerous idealists alone and have no direct dealings with them. To recognize them would give them an exalted idea of their own power, ... and win their contempt, not their friendship."
Lansing stated that while the Teutonic governments were recognizing the Bolshevik regime, it was a short-sighted policy. He predicted the downfall of the Bolsheviks. He stated his sureness "trhat it would be unwise to give recognition to Lenin, Trotsky and their crew of radicals."
[sic]
the pressure of the Allies to keep Russia in the war [against Germany] proved in the end the very thing the American government wanted least, for such provided a force for destabilization, bringing about that which Washington and [Ambassdor] Francis feared most, the accession of the Bolsheviks. Thus the demand of the Allies, including the United States, that Russia should renew and reinvigorate her war effort (bluntly expressed by Root in the formula "no fight, no loans") was actually in conflict with the other major aim of American policy toward the Provisional Government - namely, that the experiment in constitutional government should proceed sucessfully. Having once taken this attitude toward the Provisional Government, the United States government pursued it to the bitter end." (91) As had often been the case up to this time, and many times afterward, the U.S. pursued a policy bound to fail at one side or another because it was irreconcilable.
.. the Russian Revolution ... riots led to utter chaos for the next couple of months and from the ashes of this chaos rose the Bolsheviks, a political party led by Stalin [Lenin] ... This rise would end Tsar Alexander's reign and his brother's short reign thereafter, and the Revolution would come to an end. This rise also concerned the Allies, as the Bolsheviks would pull Russia out of the War eventually and Germany would then direct their attention on the Western Front, something the Allies couldn't afford. This ended up happening when the Bolsheviks and the Central Powers created the Treaty of Brest-Letovsk and many major concessions of land by Russia would happen. This gave up 25% of Russia's population and 75% of its natural resources.
Cross-referencing Post #13 at 4um Title: Putin on WW II Hardships
4 Wikipedia links there for more info on the Treaty of Brest-Letovsk, still relevant to the Ukraine conflicts
Thanks for the links. Good point at #17, FL. If Cynicom is amenable to traveling over to Post #110 at a Civil War topic which is also about other War issues, that would be most convenient for me because (aside from this being an archive of WWI era Polar Bears), I've been meaning to get back there to a discussion that was already ongoing about Lincoln's War. Have some references linked on the subject at that location, too, which would be easier to access as needed. : )
