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quarters in settlements in the rear. Many soldiers suffered from exhaustion and severe frostbite. A heavy Soviet artillery and mortar barrage east of
Bolshie Ozerki was met by an Allied counter-barrage on April 2. By noon, even weak infantry attacks had effectively ended. No more attacks followed, and by April 5 the Soviets withdrew from the area as further delay would have risked the loss or immobilization of guns and sleighs in spring mud. The Allies began evacuation from Arkhangelsk immediately after the thaw of ice.
485:, log barricades, and troop shelters at a site about 4 miles east of the village on the road to Obozerskaya, which was 12 miles further east. By the end of March, the Allies had brought up all of their available artillery from their railroad, mostly consisting of 75 mm guns manned by White Russians. They also concentrated all available troops from Arkhangelsk and other sectors, including Companies E, I, and M of the 339th Infantry Regiment, three White Russian companies (three infantry, one machine gun), two Yorkshire
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approaches along the road, also foundering in the face of effective enemy withering fire. Company E, 339th
Infantry attempted to flank the enemy defenses by skirting through the forest north of the road. However, the movement required the unit to cover three miles of snow-covered forest in four hours time. Exhausted from already marching ten miles and hampered by awkward Shackleton boots (canvas and leather footwear with smooth soles and low heels designed by the Antarctic explorer
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444:, ordered his men to cease all offensive operations on the same day, citing shortages of warm gear and other necessities, the tenuous hold Commander Solodukhin (who had not captured every building) had on the village, and reports of troops in other sectors being frozen to death or frostbitten by bitter -30 °C (-22 °F) temperatures. Samoilo issued orders for the 6th Army to resume offensive operations on March 25, but the Red Army
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Lt. Phillips received a chest wound, which nicked an artery in his lung. According to his
Company commander, who was watching him when he was hit, "it knocked him down as if a ton of brick had fallen on him. He said to me, 'My God, I got it. Captain, don't bother with me, I am done for, just look after the boys'." Lt. Phillips was eventually removed to the field hospital in Onega, where he died on 10 May 1919.
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410:("Green Howards") was dispatched to the front, the Red Army decided to seize the village in order to prevent the British column from reaching Obozerskaya. After destroying the British column and taking control of the railroad, the Red Army would then proceed by clearing the way to Arkhangelsk, which would then be taken.
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far from its objective, at 5:10 AM. The Poles had suffered heavy casualties by this time, forcing them to withdraw temporarily. A Company was partially surrounded at 6:10 AM and forced to yield ground. Lieutenant
Goodloss assumed command when Captain Bailey was killed and subsequently ordered a retreat. Lieutenant
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before receiving proper winter clothing, such as felt boots and sheepskin coats. The deployment of thousands of Soviet troops in the open for days on end condemned many to frostbite or death by freezing. In light of these facts, the Allied estimates of 2,000 Bolshevik casualties from all causes may
556:
During the attack on
Bolshie Ozerki from the west by Company H, Lt. Phillips, "through the superb control of his men, kept them all in line and his Lewis guns going with great effectiveness and gave ground slowly and grudgingly, in spite of casualties and great severity of cold." During the fighting,
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The attack was, however, no more successful than the concurrent Red Army offensive. Lieutenant Marsh reported at 2:00 AM that his company was lost, his horses were belly-deep in the snow, and that he could not proceed, thus neutralizing a main element in the attack until it returned to the main road,
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team under
Corporal Pratt, Company M, 339th Infantry, halted the Muscovites with heavy losses. Fighting then shifted to frontal positions as the Red Army launched repeated attacks from Bolshie Ozerki throughout the day. Combined with the added toll inflicted by Allied artillery, devastating fire from
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were employed when Soviet troops came within their 200-yard range. Several Soviet deserters revealed demoralization within Red units, reporting that an entire company of the 97th
Saratov Regiment had refused to advance. Despite this, Allied launched a diversionary attack against on the village from
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The fierce engagements at the turn of the month were the last major battles of the campaign in northern Russia. The Allies temporarily checked Soviet forces, defending their road positions, but did not succeed in budging them from their defenses at
Bolshie Ozerki. Both sides suffered heavily from
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Artillery and mortar exchanges ensued throughout the remainder of the day until a successful Allied counterattack occurred at 5:30 PM in response to Soviet pressure on both flanks. The
Bolsheviks disengaged at 7:00 PM and roughly an hour later, the Allies withdrew under cover of darkness to nearby
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The Allies had planned the diversionary attack for 3:00 AM on April 2, 1919. Lieutenant Marsh, leading C Company of the
Yorkshires, accompanied by White Russian guides would move along a forest trail that had been recently reconnoitered by a White Russian officer. A Company, Yorkshires, under
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At about 8:30 AM on the morning of March 31, 1919, the elements of the Red Army cut the telephone lines between Obozerskaya and the Allied positions along the road. Three battalions of the 2nd Moscow Regiment then flanked the Allies from the north and attempted to capture two 75 mm guns.
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launched coordinated attacks on Bolshie Ozerki from positions west of the village. Waist-deep snow, which prevented the Allies from charging, and heavy enemy machine gun fire repulsed the attack. Simultaneously, 300 White Russians and between 40 and 80 British soldiers assaulted the eastern
549:, leading a platoon from Company H, 339th Infantry, rushed up from the reserves to cover the British retreat. Lt. Phillips was also mortally wounded in this subsequent delaying action, repelling enemy counterattacks for an hour with a few men and 2 Lewis guns until reinforcements arrived.
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467:, they were extremely slippery on ice or packed snow and generally considered inferior to the natives' felt boots by the Allies), the Americans failed to traverse the forest in time and were ordered to return. The Allies lost about 75 men as result of the two attacks.
367:. Although the initial Allied attacks were repelled, the outnumbered Allies managed to repel the Soviet flanking attempts that followed and the Red Army was later ordered to withdraw. Allied forces began to withdraw rapidly from northern Russia shortly thereafter.
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Captain Bailey would advance along another trail blazed about a week earlier, protected on its right flank by a detachment moving along the main road leading into the village from the northwest. Along with part of a White Russian machine gun company, an American
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The main Red Army assault began at about 3:30 AM on April 1, shortly after daybreak, with determined frontal attacks and a weaker demonstration at the Allies' rear. Again, all Soviet attacks were driven back by machine gun, rifle, and artillery fire. At times,
489:, and one invaluable section from the US 310th Engineers. The Allied force, totaling less than 2,000 soldiers, faced an estimated 7,000 Red Army troops drawn from the 2nd Moscow Regiment, the 9th Saratov Regiment, and a Kamyshin brigade, possibly from Commander
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detachment and machine gun team from Company H, 339th Infantry would also assist Captain Bailey, providing two infantry platoons for a reserve. A Polish company would advance along the main road and deploy south of the road upon contact with the enemy.
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than even the coldest days of winter and conditions below -40 °C (-40 °F). A Soviet source acknowledged 500 frostbite casualties in the Kamyshin brigade alone, which was recklessly committed from the milder climate of the southern
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exposure despite sunny days and nighttime temperatures that did not fall below -20 °C (-4 °F). Sunshine melted snow which soaked through the canvas tops of Allied Shackleton boots, causing more cases of
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detachment led by Osip Palkin reconnoitered the village's defenses. Stealthily, the Reds captured two sentries and learned the precise locations of the Allied positions. Armed with this information,
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The battle was the last engagement of British forces in the intervention. It was also one of the last significant engagements to involve American forces. Two months later, American forces of the
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Kukovsky, the White Russian responsible for these guns, reversed them in time to fire four shrapnel rounds into the Reds at point-blank range. The effective fire from the
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A Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army soldier that was killed during an attempted flank attack on Allied positions along the Obozerskaya road at Verst 16. April 8, 1919
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railroad. Because the port of the main Allied base at Arkhangelsk froze every winter, reinforcements had to be brought overland to the front line from the port of
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Several skirmishes occurred at Bolshie Ozerki immediately before the main battle, which began on March 31. The first occurred on March 17, when a Red Army
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to take charge of the evacuation of U.S. forces from North Russia. As the phased withdrawal from fighting fronts to bases in and around
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On March 23, about 320 British soldiers from the 6th Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment and 70 American troops from Company H,
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bombardment of Bolshie Ozerki. With the village mostly destroyed by March 25, General Ironside returned to Arkhangelsk.
783:"Field diary, Company "H", 339th Infantry, U.S.A. from the Edward Flaherty papers, 1918-1919 [Folder 1, Item 1]"
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the village, capturing the outpost intact. On the following day the Allies launched an abortive counterattack. The
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Despite the weather, both sides continued to bring up reinforcements. The Allies constructed a series of wooden
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by forces that greatly outnumbered them. The following month, they inflicted hundreds of casualties during the
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The citation for his posthumous receipt of the Distinguished Service Cross for bravery reads as follows:
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of 4.2-inch guns had been hauled into position over 37 miles at the cost of uncounted dead horses.
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the forward blockhouse and front line positions drove back every Soviet attack until nightfall.
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continued through the following months, operational control of the theater shifted to the
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the west in order to relieve the pressure on heavily engaged Allied units to the east.
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At least 10 members of the Yorkshire Regiment died during the April 1919 fighting.
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804:""Detroit's Own" Polar Bear Memorial Association - Military Decorations"
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Bolshie Ozerki was a small village situated between the port city of
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The War of 1898, and U.S. Interventions, 1898-1934: An Encyclopedia
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and an important Allied position at Obozerskaya Station, along the
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Men of the American 339th Infantry Regiment in northern Russia.
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of 600 to 800 men attacked and overwhelmed between 80 and 160
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Battles of the Russian Civil War involving the United Kingdom
474:, who had personally taken command in the sector, ordered an
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Battles of the Russian Civil War involving the United States
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Battles of the Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War
734:"Welcome to the Polar Bear Expedition Digital Collections"
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The United States in the First World War: An Encyclopedia
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The Battle of Bolshie Ozerki (March 31 - April 2, 1919).
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arrived in Arkhangelsk after a personal briefing from
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Fighting the Russians in Winter: Three Case Studies
374:successfully defended their camp from a Red attack
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455:, countermanded it "because of the severe frost."
896:Battles of the Russian Civil War involving Poland
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339:. Beginning on March 31, 1919, a force of
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328:was a major engagement fought during the
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617:under the command of Governor-General
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16:Battle during the Russian Civil War
493:'s Kamyshinsk Division. A Soviet
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886:Battles of the Russian Civil War
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619:Yevgeny-Ludvug Karlovich Miller
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753:Beede, Benjamin R. (1994).
589:have conservatively erred.
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891:North Russia intervention
824:"CWGC Archangel Cemetery"
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429:and White Russian troops
333:North Russia Intervention
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264:North Russia intervention
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31:North Russia Intervention
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841:. Taylor & Francis.
761:. Taylor & Francis.
326:Battle of Bolshie Ozerki
87:White and allies victory
24:Battle of Bolshie Ozerki
460:339th Infantry Regiment
355:troops engaged several
59:31 March – 2 April 1919
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380:Suchan Valley Campaign
162:Commanders and leaders
651:Siberian Intervention
636:Polar Bear Expedition
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465:Sir Ernest Shackleton
421:Petr A. Solodukhin's
372:Siberian Intervention
225:~2,000 (Allied claim)
217:Casualties and losses
712:. DIANE Publishing.
708:Chew, A. F. (1981).
547:Clifford F. Phillips
186:George Evans Stewart
600:Wilds P. Richardson
29:Part of the Allied
787:quod.lib.umich.edu
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453:Ioakim I. Vatsetis
446:commander-in-chief
408:Yorkshire Regiment
363:at the village of
222:At least 75 killed
73:Arkhangelsk Oblast
911:April 1919 events
906:March 1919 events
881:Conflicts in 1919
848:978-0-8153-3353-1
768:978-0-8240-5624-7
719:978-1-4289-1598-5
646:Polish-Soviet War
597:Brigadier General
595:In mid-April 17,
495:artillery battery
442:Aleksandr Samoilo
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96:Belligerents
656:Banana Wars
611:Arkhangelsk
483:blockhouses
437:commander,
431:garrisoning
396:Arkhangelsk
294:Ust-Padenga
33:during the
865:Categories
809:2013-01-30
739:2013-01-30
662:References
615:White Army
516:Lieutenant
386:Background
289:Vaga River
278:Polar Bear
604:President
581:frostbite
566:Aftermath
520:Lewis gun
476:artillery
419:Commander
361:regiments
359:partisan
299:Shenkursk
625:See also
487:platoons
404:Murmansk
357:Red Army
345:American
304:Vystavka
204:Strength
64:Location
469:General
450:Colonel
423:brigade
400:Vologda
341:British
335:in the
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501:Battle
427:French
351:, and
349:Polish
330:Allied
284:Tulgas
212:~7,000
209:~2,000
144:Poland
119:
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84:Result
77:Russia
392:Onega
843:ISBN
763:ISBN
714:ISBN
324:The
56:Date
415:ski
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
