Content deleted Content added
Oalexander (talk | contribs) |
No edit summary |
||
(23 intermediate revisions by 16 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{Short description|Foreign interventions in Russia between 1918 and
{{use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox military conflict
Line 11:
| casus = [[October Revolution]], [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]]
| result = [[Bolsheviks|Bolshevik]] victory
* Allied
* Defeat and collapse of the Russian [[White movement]]
*
| combatant1 = '''[[Allies of World War I|Allied Powers]]''':{{Ubl
| {{flagdeco|Russian Empire}} [[White movement]]
Line 32:
| {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Serbia}}
| {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy}}
|{{flag|Latvia}}
|{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Romania}}
}}
| combatant2 = '''[[Bolsheviks]]''':{{Ubl
| {{flag|Soviet Russia}}
Line 49 ⟶ 51:
| {{flagdeco|Czechoslovakia}} [[Radola Gajda]]
| {{flagdeco|Czechoslovakia}} [[Stanislav Čeček]]
| {{nowrap| {{flagdeco|Czechoslovakia|1918}} [[
| {{flagdeco| Czechoslovakia|1918}} [[Jan Syrový]]
| {{flagdeco|Empire of Japan}} [[Kikuzo Otani]]
Line 103 ⟶ 105:
| {{flagdeco|Canada|1907}} 4,700+ troops
| {{flagdeco|Kingdom of Italy}} 2,500 troops
| {{flagdeco|Republic of China (1912–1949)|1912}} 2,300 troops <ref name="China">Joana Breidenbach (2005). Pál Nyíri, Joana Breidenbach, ed. China inside out: contemporary Chinese nationalism and transnationalism (illustrated ed.). Central European University Press. p. 90. {{ISBN|9637326146}}. Retrieved 18 March 2012. "At the end of the year 1918, after the Russian Revolution, the Chinese merchants in the Russian Far East demanded the Chinese government to send troops for their protection, and Chinese troops were sent to Vladivostok to protect the Chinese community: about 1600 soldiers and 700 support personnel."</ref>▼
| {{flagdeco |Kingdom of Serbia}} 2,000 troops
| {{flagdeco |Australia}} 150 troops
Line 126 ⟶ 127:
==Background==
===Revolution===
{{Main|Russian Revolution}}
In early 1917 the [[Russian Empire]] found itself wracked by political strife – public support for World War I and [[Nicholas II of Russia|Tsar Nicholas II]] had started to dwindle, leaving the country on the brink of revolution. The [[February Revolution]] of March 1917 affected the course of the war; under intense political and personal pressure, the [[Abdication of Nicholas II|Tsar abdicated]] ({{OldStyleDate | 16 March | 1917 | 3 March}}) and a [[Russian Provisional Government]] formed, led initially by [[Georgy Lvov]] (March to July 1917) and later by [[Alexander Kerensky]] (July to November 1917). The Provisional Government pledged to continue fighting the [[German Empire|Germans]] on the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]].<ref name="beyer"/>
The Allied
The war became increasingly unpopular with the Russian populace. Political and social unrest grew, with the [[Marxist]] anti-war [[Bolsheviks|Bolshevik Party]], under [[Vladimir Lenin]], increasing its support. Large numbers of common soldiers either mutinied or deserted from the [[Imperial Russian Army]]. The [[Kerensky offensive]] started on {{OldStyleDate | 1 July | 1917 | 18 June}}, but a [[Germany|German]] and [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]] counterattack defeated the Russian forces. This led to the collapse of the Eastern Front. The demoralised Russian Army stood on the verge of mutiny and most soldiers had deserted the front lines. Kerensky replaced [[Aleksei Brusilov]] with [[Lavr Kornilov]] as [[Commander-in-Chief]] of the Army (19 July 1917).
Kornilov attempted to set up a military dictatorship by staging [[Kornilov affair|a coup]] ({{OldStyleDate | 10 September | 1917 | 27 August}}). He had the support of the British [[military attaché]] in Petrograd, Brigadier-General [[Alfred Knox]], and Kerensky accused Knox of producing pro-Kornilov [[propaganda]]. Kerensky also claimed that Lord [[Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner|Milner]], a member of the British War Cabinet, wrote him a letter expressing support for Kornilov. A British armoured-car squadron commanded by [[Oliver Locker-Lampson]], and dressed in Russian uniforms participated in the failed coup.<ref>''Intervention and the War'' by Richard Ullman, [[Princeton University Press]], 1961, pp. 11–13</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wbxwAwAAQBAJ&dq=general+buchanan%2C+moscow%2C+kornilov&pg=PA285|title=Strategy and Supply (RLE The First World War): The Anglo-Russian Alliance 1914-1917|first=Keith|last=Neilson|date=24 April 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317703457 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_4SGDAAAQBAJ&dq=barter%2C+moscow%2C+kornilov&pg=PA113|title=INSIDE THE ENIGMA: British Officials in Russia, 1900-39|first=Michael|last=Hughes|date=1 July 1997|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9781441127907 |via=Google Books}}</ref> The [[October Revolution]] of {{OldStyleDate |7 November| 1917 |25 October}} led to the overthrow of Kerensky's provisional government and to the Bolsheviks assuming power.
According to [[William Henry Chamberlin]], "A few weeks after the Bolshevik Revolution, on December 23, 1917, an Anglo-French convention had been concluded in Paris, regulating the future operations of British and French forces on Russian territory. This convention defined as a British 'zone of influence' the Cossack regions, the territory of the Caucasus, Armenia, Georgia and Kurdistan, while the French zone was to consist of Bessarabia, Ukraine and Crimea. There was a certain economic background for this convention; British investment predominated in the Caucasian oil-fields, while the French were more interested in the coal and iron mines of Ukraina."<ref name="wc2">{{cite book |last1=Chamberlin |first1=William |title=The Russian Revolution, 1917-1921, Volume Two |date=1935 |publisher=The Macmillan Company |location=New York |pages=153–154}}</ref>
Line 141 ⟶ 144:
{{Main|Treaty of Brest-Litovsk}}
In early 1918, forces of the Central Powers invaded Russia, occupying extensive territory,<ref>
{{ill|Intervention of the Central Powers in Russia|ru|Интервенция Центральных держав в России}}
</ref> and threatening to capture Moscow and to impose pliant regimes. Lenin wanted to negotiate with Germany, but failed to get approval from his council until late February. In a desperate attempt to end the war, as promised in their slogan ‘Peace, Bread, Land’, the [[Russian SFSR|Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]] signed the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]] (3 March 1918), ending the bloodshed. The Allied Powers felt betrayed and turned against the new regime, aiding its "[[White movement|White]]" enemies and landing troops to prevent Russian supplies from reaching Germany.<ref>{{cite book|author=Robert Service|title=Lenin: A Biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N9mbl_xbWpkC&pg=PT412|year=2000|page=342|publisher=Pan Macmillan |isbn=978-0330476331}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=August 2019}} According to historian Spencer Tucker, the Allies believed the Bolsheviks wouldn't provide an orderly enough regime to stand up to German domination. "With Brest-Litovsk, the spectre of German domination in Eastern Europe threatened to become reality, and the Allies now began to think seriously about military intervention."<ref>{{cite book|author=Spencer C. Tucker|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mkFdAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA608|title=The European Powers in the First World War: An Encyclopedia|year=2013|page=608| publisher=Routledge |isbn = 978-1135506940}}</ref>▼
▲and threatening to capture Moscow and to impose pliant regimes. Lenin wanted to negotiate with Germany, but failed to get approval from his council until late February. In a desperate attempt to end the war, as promised in their slogan ‘Peace, Bread, Land’, the [[Russian SFSR|Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]] signed the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]] (3 March 1918), ending the bloodshed. The Allied Powers felt betrayed and turned against the new regime, aiding its "[[White movement|White]]" enemies and landing troops to prevent Russian supplies from reaching Germany.<ref>{{cite book|author=Robert Service|title=Lenin: A Biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N9mbl_xbWpkC&pg=PT412|year=2000|page=342|publisher=Pan Macmillan |isbn=978-0330476331}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=August 2019}} According to historian Spencer Tucker, the Allies believed the Bolsheviks wouldn't provide an orderly enough regime to stand up to German domination. "With Brest-Litovsk, the spectre of German domination in Eastern Europe threatened to become reality, and the Allies now began to think seriously about military intervention."<ref>{{cite book|author=Spencer C. Tucker|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mkFdAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA608|title=The European Powers in the First World War: An Encyclopedia|year=2013|page=608| publisher=Routledge |isbn = 978-1135506940}}</ref>
The perception of betrayal removed whatever reservations the Allied Powers had about overthrowing the Bolsheviks. According to [[William Henry Chamberlin]], even before Brest-Litovsk, "[[Downing Street]] contemplated a protectorate over the [[Caucasus]] and the [[Quai d'Orsay]] over [[Crimea]], [[Bessarabia]] and [[Ukraine]]" and began negotiating deals for funding White generals to bring them into being. [[R. H. Bruce Lockhart]] and another British agent and a French official in Moscow tried to organize a coup that would overthrow the Bolshevik regime. They were dealing with double agents and were exposed and arrested.<ref>John W. Long, "Plot and counter‐plot in revolutionary Russia: Chronicling the Bruce Lockhart conspiracy, 1918." ''Intelligence and National Security'' 10#1 (1995): 122–143.</ref> French and British support for the Whites was also motivated by a desire to protect the assets they had acquired through extensive investment in Tsarist Russia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kalypso Nicolaïdis |last2=Berny Sebe |last3=Gabrielle Maas |title=Echoes of Empire: Memory, Identity and Colonial Legacies |date=2014 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0857726292 |page=131}}</ref>
Line 179 ⟶ 181:
==Foreign forces throughout Russia==
[[File:ApproxPositionsWWI-1919.png|thumb|300px|The positions of the Allied expeditionary forces and of the [[White Armies]] in [[European Russia]], 1919]]
Numbers of foreign soldiers who were present in the indicated regions of Russia:
* 1,500 French and British troops originally landed in Arkhangelsk{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|p=35}}
Line 195 ⟶ 198:
* 70,000+ Japanese soldiers in the Eastern region
* 4,192 Canadians in Siberia, 600 Canadians in Arkhangelsk<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vo8/no3/moffat-eng.asp|title=Forgotten Battlefields – Canadians in Siberia 1918–1919|work=Canadian Military Journal|last=Moffat|first=Ian C. D|access-date=8 April 2017|publisher=Department of National Defence}}</ref>
▲
==Campaigns==
Line 213 ⟶ 216:
Within four months the Allied Powers' gains had shrunk by {{convert|30|–|50|km|mi}} along the [[Northern Dvina]] and [[Lake Onega]] area as Bolshevik attacks became more sustained. The Bolsheviks launched their largest offensive yet on [[Armistice Day]] 1918 along the Northern Divina front,{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|p=123}} and there was heavy fighting at the [[Battle of Tulgas]] (Toulgas). When the news came through of the Armistice with Germany, many of the British troops in Archangel eagerly anticipated a quick withdrawal from North Russia, but their hopes were soon dashed.{{sfn|Wright|2017|p=149}}
[[File:Памятник Жертвам интервенции 2.jpg|thumb|[[Monument to the Victims of the Intervention]] in [[Murmansk]]]]
On 27 January 1919, word was received at Archangel that the Bolsheviks had fired [[Chemical weapons|poison gas]] shells at British positions on the Archangel-Vologda railway. The use of poison gas by the Bolsheviks was soon announced in the British press. The Bolsheviks would use poison gas shells against the British on at least two occasions in North Russia, although its effectiveness was limited.{{sfn|Wright|2017|p=213}}
Line 227 ⟶ 231:
In April, public recruiting began at home in Britain for the newly created 'North Russian Relief Force', a voluntary force which had the claimed sole purpose of defending the existing British positions in Russia.{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|pp=180–181}} By the end of April 3,500 men had enlisted, and they were then sent to North Russia.{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|pp=180–181}} Public opinion regarding the formation of the force was mixed, with some newspapers being more supportive than others.{{sfn|Wright|2017|p=218}} The relief force eventually arrived in North Russia in late May–June.{{sfn|Wright|2017|pp=223–225}}
[[File:The North Russian Expeditionary Force, 1919. Q69417.jpg|thumb|left|Polish, British and French officers inspecting a detachment of Polish troops of so-called [[Murmańczycy|Murmansk Battalion]] before their departure for the front, [[Archangelsk]] 1919.]]
On 25 April a White Russian battalion mutinied, and, after 300 men went over to the Bolsheviks, they turned and attacked the Allied troops at Tulgas.{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|p=185}} In May and June, the units of the original British force which had arrived in Archangel in August and September 1918 finally received orders for home.{{sfn|Wright|2017|p=217}} In early June the French troops were withdrawn and the Royal Marines detachment was also sent home, followed by all Canadian troops after it was requested that they be repatriated. All remaining American troops also left for home.{{sfn|Wright|2017|p=229}} The Serbian troops (perhaps Maynard's best infantry fighters) became unreliable as others withdrew around them.{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|p=178}} By 3 July, the Italian company was on the verge of mutiny as its men were seriously disaffected with their continued presence in Russia so long after the Armistice. In mid July, the two companies of American railway troops were also withdrawn. The French and American troops stationed in the north were similarly reluctant to fight, and French troops in Archangel refused to take part in any action that was not merely defensive.{{sfn|Wright|2017|p=129}} Despite being told when volunteering that they were only to be used for defensive purposes, plans were made in June to use the men of the North Russian Relief Force in a new offensive aimed at capturing the key city of [[Kotlas]] and linking up with Kolchak's White forces in Siberia.{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|pp=191–192}} The villages of Topsa and Troitsa were attacked in anticipation of this action, with 150 Bolsheviks being killed and 450 being captured.{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|p=193}} However, with Kolchak's forces being pushed back rapidly, the Kotlas offensive was cancelled.{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|p=198}}
In early July 1919, another White unit under British command mutinied and killed its British officers, with 100 men then deserting to the Bolsheviks.{{sfn|Balbirnie|2016|p=136}} Another White mutiny was foiled later in the month by Australian troops.{{sfn|Wright|2017|p=174}} On 20 July, 3,000 White troops in the key city of [[Onega, Russia|Onega]] mutinied and handed over the city to the Bolsheviks. The loss of the city was a significant blow to the Allied forces as it was the only overland route available for the transfer of supplies and men between the Murmansk and Arkhangel theatres.{{sfn|Balbirnie|2016|p=142}} This event led to the British losing all remaining trust for the Whites and contributed to the desire to withdraw.{{sfn|Balbirnie|2016|p=142}} Attempts were soon made to retake the city, but in a failed attack in late July the British had to force detachments of White forces to land at gunpoint in the city, since they were adamant that they would not take part in any fighting.{{sfn|Wright|2017|p=170}} On one Allied ship, 5 Bolshevik prisoners captured in battle even managed to temporarily subdue the 200 White Russians on board and take control of the ship with little resistance.{{sfn|Wright|2017|p=171}} Despite the Allied setbacks, a battalion of marines, the 6th Royal Marine Light Infantry, was sent to assist the British at the end of July.{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|p=255}}
The final two months on the Dvina front, August and September 1919, would see some of the fiercest fighting between British and Red Army troops of the Civil War.{{sfn|Wright|2017|p=253}} In August, a major offensive was launched along the Dvina to try and strike a blow at Bolshevik morale and to increase the morale of the White forces before a withdrawal.{{sfn|Wright|2017|p=253}} As part of this, an attack was made on the village of Gorodok. During the attack, 750 Bolshevik prisoners were taken, and one battery was found to have been manned by German troops.{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|pp=241–
Line 256 ⟶ 261:
===Baltics and Northwestern Russia===
{{Further|Estonian War of Independence|British campaign in the Baltic (1918–1919)}}
[[File:Russian civil war west.svg|thumb|[[Russian Civil War]] in the west in
Although the [[Estonian Army]] had attained control over its country, the opposing 7th and [[Estonian Red Riflemen|Estonian]] Red Armies were still active. The Estonian High Command decided to invade across the border into Russia in support of the White Russian Northern Corps. They went on offensive at [[Narva]], catching the Soviets by surprise and destroying their 6th Division.<ref name="Traksmaa, August page 141">Traksmaa, August: ''Lühike vabadussõja ajalugu'', p. 141. Olion, 1992, {{ISBN|5450013256}}</ref> Estonian and White attacks were supported along the [[Gulf of Finland]]'s coast by the [[British campaign in the Baltic (1918–19)|Royal Navy]] and the [[Estonian Navy]] and marines. On the night of 4 December, the cruiser {{HMS|Cassandra|1916|6}} struck a German-laid mine while on patrol duties north of [[Liepāja]], and sank with the loss of 11 of her crew. At this time, the new Estonian government was weak and desperate. The Estonian Prime Minister asked Britain to send military forces to defend his capital, and even requested that his state be declared a [[British protectorate]]. The British would not meet these pleas.{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|p=138}}
Line 277 ⟶ 283:
===Southern Russia and Ukraine===
{{Main|Southern Russia intervention}}
On 18 December 1918, a month after the armistice, the French landed in [[Odessa]] and [[Sevastopol]]. In Odessa, a 7-hour battle ensued between the French and the forces of the [[Ukrainian People's Republic]] before they gained full control of the city.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Kenez|first=Peter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sdVoAAAAMAAJ|title=Civil War in South Russia, 1919–1920: The Defeat of the Whites|date=1977|publisher=Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace|page=182|isbn=978-0520033467|language=en}}</ref> The landings began the intervention in southern Russia (later Ukraine) which was to aid and supply General [[Denikin]]'s White Army forces, the [[Volunteer Army]], fighting the Bolsheviks there. The campaign involved mainly French, Greek and Polish troops. The morale of the French troops and the sailors of their fleet in the Black Sea was always low, and most wanted to be demobilised and sent home. The morale of the Greek and Polish interventionist forces was no better.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Shmelev|first=Anatol|date=2003-06-01|title=The allies in Russia, 1917–20: Intervention as seen by the whites|journal=Revolutionary Russia|volume=16|issue=1|pages=93–94|doi=10.1080/09546540308575766|s2cid=145442425|issn=0954-6545}}</ref> A local warlord, [[Ataman|Otaman]] [[Nykyfor Hryhoriv]], aligned himself with the Bolsheviks on 18 February 1919 and advanced his army against the foreign invaders. With his army of 10–12,000 men, he first attacked allied-held [[Kherson]] on 2 March which was occupied by just 150 French, 700 Greek and a few hundred
The local French commander was allowed to negotiate a truce with Hryhoriv, and on 14–16 March all allied and German troops were evacuated by sea without any fighting, leaving considerable quantities of war material behind.
Line 286 ⟶ 293:
===Bessarabia===
{{main|Romanian military intervention in Bessarabia}}
After the Bolshevik forces of the [[Rumcherod]] attacked the region of Bessarabia, the Romanian government of [[Ion I. C. Brătianu]] decided to intervene, and on {{OldStyleDate|January 26|1918|January 13}}, the 11th Infantry Division under General [[Ernest Broșteanu]] entered Chișinău. The Bolshevik troops retreated to [[Bender, Moldova|Tighina]], and after a battle retreated further beyond the [[Dniester]].<ref name="Nistor, p.284">[[Ion Nistor]], ''Istoria Basarabiei'', page 284. [[Humanitas publishing house|Humanitas]], 1991. {{ISBN|9732802839}}</ref> The battle of Tighina was one of the two significant engagements of the 1918 Bessarabian Campaign. It lasted for five days, between 20 and 25 January, and ended in a Romanian victory, albeit with significant Romanian casualties (141 dead). Romanian troops captured 800 guns.<ref>Stanescu Marin, ''Armata română şi unirea Basarabiei şi Bucovinei cu România: 1917–1918'', pp. 105–107 (in Romanian)</ref>
Line 294 ⟶ 302:
{{Main|Siberian intervention}}
[[File:The Illustration of The Siberian War, No. 16. The Japanese Army Occupied Vragaeschensk (Blagoveshchensk).jpg|thumb|250px|A Japanese lithograph showing troops occupying [[Blagoveschensk]]]]
The joint Allied intervention began in August 1918.<ref name=Humphreys25/> Britain sent a 1,800-strong unit to Siberia commanded by [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] [[Member of Parliament|MP]] and [[trade union]] leader [[John Ward (trade unionist)|Lieutenant Colonel John Ward]], which was the first Allied force to land in Vladivostok on 3 August.{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|p=56}} The Japanese entered through Vladivostok and points along the [[China–Russia border]] with more than 70,000 troops eventually being deployed. The Japanese were joined by [[American Expeditionary Force Siberia|American]], [[Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force|Canadian]], [[French Army|French]], and [[Italian Legione Redenta|Italian]] troops. Elements of the [[Czechoslovak Legion]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.paperheritage.co.uk/articles/czecharmy.html|title=Paper Heritage - 1919 Stamps of the Czech Army in Siberia : Article|website=www.paperheritage.co.uk}}</ref> which had reached Vladivostok greeted the Allied forces. The Americans deployed the [[27th Infantry Regiment (United States)|27th Infantry]] and [[31st Infantry Regiment (United States)|31st Infantry]] regiments out of the [[Insular Government of the Philippine Islands|Philippines]], plus elements of the [[12th Infantry Regiment (United States)|12th]], [[13th Infantry Regiment (United States)|13th]] and [[62nd Infantry Regiment (United States)|62nd Infantry]] Regiments out of [[Camp Fremont]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Robert L.|last=Willett|title=Russian Sideshow|location=Washington|publisher=Brassey's|pages=166–167|year=2003|isbn=1574884298}}</ref> Chinese troops were also sent to Vladivostok by the [[Beiyang government]] partly to protect Chinese merchants there.<ref name="China"/>
Line 312 ⟶ 321:
[[File:Indian troops in Batumi 1920.png|thumb|Indian troops at a parade in [[Batumi|Batum]] to mark the Allied evacuation, 1920.]]
The British landed in Baku on 17 August 1918.{{sfn|Moffat|2015|p=93}} The British force was at this time 1,200 men strong.{{sfn|Winegard|2016|p=202}} Dunsterforce was initially delayed by 3,000 Russian Bolshevik troops at [[Bandar-e Anzali|Enzeli]] but then proceeded by ship to Baku on the [[Caspian Sea]]. This was the primary target for the advancing [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] forces and Dunsterforce endured a [[Battle of Baku|short, brutal siege in September 1918]]. The British held out for the first two weeks of September, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. A final Turkish attack on 14 September lasted until sunset, and, facing an overwhelmingly larger force, the British were forced to withdraw. The troops escaped from the port on three waiting ships on the same day.{{sfn|Moffat|2015|pp=93–94}} In total, the battle for Baku had resulted in around 200 British casualties, including 95 dead.<ref>{{Cite book | last = Missen | first =Leslie | title = Dunsterforce. Marshall Cavendish Illustrated Encyclopedia of World War I | publisher = Marshall Cavendish Corporation | year =1984 | pages= 2766–2772| isbn =0863071813 }}</ref>{{sfn|Winegard|2016|p=208}}
However, having been defeated in World War I, the Ottoman Empire had to withdraw its forces from the borders of Azerbaijan in the middle of November 1918. Headed by General [[William Montgomery Thomson|William Thomson]], a British force of 1,600 troops{{sfn|Winegard|2016|p=210}} arrived in Baku on 17 November, and martial law was implemented on the capital of [[Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]] until "the civil power would be strong enough to release the forces from the responsibility to maintain the public order". There were also British occupations of the Georgian cities of [[Tiflis]] and [[Batumi|Batum]] in Georgia, along with the full length of the Baku-Batum railway, since the British wanted to protect this strategic line which connected the [[Black Sea]] and the [[Caspian Sea]].{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|pp=78–79}} By January 1919, the British presence was 40,000 strong, the largest of all British intervention contingents in Russia.{{sfn|Winegard|2016|p=229}} Again, these British occupations of territory in the Caucasus were in part motivated by a desire to 'protect India's flank' and secure the local oilfields, but they were also motivated by a desire to support the three new independent states and supervise the German and Ottoman withdrawal.{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|p=79}} The British forces served only a defensive purpose and were withdrawn in the summer of 1919, as regular troops were needed elsewhere and others were long overdue for demobilisation after the Armistice that ended the First World War.{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|p=230}} The last British forces left Baku on 24 August.{{sfn|Winegard|2016|p=239}}
===
{{main|Malleson mission}}
With the British fearing that German and Ottoman forces may penetrate into Russian central Asia, possibly via a crossing of the Caspian sea to the key port of [[Krasnovodsk]], the Trans-Caspian area became an area of interest.{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|pp=15–16}} Allied military action began on 11 August 1918, when General [[Wilfrid Malleson|Malleson]] intervened in support of the [[Transcaspian Government|Ashkhabad Executive Committee]], who had ousted the [[Tashkent Soviet]] Bolsheviks from the western end of the [[Trans-Caspian Railway]] in July 1918 and had taken control of Krasnovodsk.{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|p=16}} Malleson had been authorised to intervene with Empire and British troops, in what would be referred to as the [[Malleson mission]]. He sent the Machine Gun Section of the [[19th Punjabi Rifles]] to [[Baýramaly]] located on the [[Trans-Caspian railway]]. On 28 August, the Bolsheviks attacked [[Serhetabat|Kushkh]] on the Afgan border but were repulsed, with 3 officers and 24 rank and file being killed or wounded. 2 British liaison officers were shot from behind as they advanced, presumably treacherously.{{sfn|Sargent|2004|p=19}} There was further action at [[Kaka, Turkmenistan|Kaka]] on 28 August as well as 11 and 18 September. The British forces were reinforced on 25 September by two squadrons of the [[28th Light Cavalry]]. At this point, Malleson, against the wishes of the Indian Government, decided to push further into Transcaspia and attack the Bolsheviks. Fighting alongside Trans-Caspian troops, they subsequently fought at [[Arman Sagad]] (between 9 and 11 October) and [[Dushak]] (14 October). At Dushak, the British force suffered 54+ killed and 150+ wounded while inflicting 1,000 casualties on the Bolsheviks.{{sfn|Sargent|2004|p=21}} British attacks continued to inflict heavy losses on Bolshevik forces.{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|p=16}}▼
▲With the British fearing that German and Ottoman forces may penetrate into Russian
By 1 November, the British force had re-occupied Merv and on instructions of the British government, halted their advance and took up defensive positions at Bairam Ali. The Trans-Caspian forces continued to attack the Bolsheviks to the north. After the Trans-Caspian forces were routed at [[Uch Aji]], their commander Colonel Knollys sent the 28th Cavalry to their support at [[Annenkovo]]. In January 1919, one company of the 19th Punjabi Rifles was sent to reinforce the position at Annenkovo, where a second battle took place on 16 January that resulted in 48 casualties.<ref>[[Ellis, C. H]], "The British Intervention in Transcaspia 1918–1919", University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1963 [https://archive.org/stream/britishintervent002569mbp/britishintervent002569mbp_djvu.txt], p. 132</ref> During February, the British continued to inflict heavy losses on Bolshevik forces.{{sfn|Kinvig|2006|p=114}} The British Government had decided on 21 January to withdraw the force, and the last troops left for [[Persia]] on 5 April.<ref>[http://members.fortunecity.com/behindthelines/transcas.htm Operations in Trans-Caspia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402050131/http://members.fortunecity.com/behindthelines/transcas.htm |date=2 April 2009 }}, Behind the Lines. Retrieved 23 September 2009</ref>▼
▲By 1 November, the British force had re-occupied Merv and on instructions of the British government, halted their advance and took up defensive positions at Bairam Ali. The
==Aftermath==
Line 332 ⟶ 341:
In 1957, former [[Communist Party USA]] member, [[Frederick L. Schuman]], wrote that the consequences of the expedition "were to poison East-West relations forever after, to contribute significantly to the [[origins of World War II]] and the later '[[Cold War]],' and to fix patterns of suspicion and hatred on both sides which even today threaten worse catastrophes in time to come."<ref name="two foes">Frederick L. Schuman, ''Russia Since 1917: Four Decades of Soviet Politics'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1957), 109.</ref> For Soviet leaders, the operation was proof that Western powers were keen to destroy the Soviet government if they had the opportunity to do so.<ref>Robert J. Maddox, "The Unknown War with Russia," (San Rafael, CA: Presidio Press., 1977) p. 137</ref> Modern historian Robert Maddox summarised, "The immediate effect of the intervention was to prolong a bloody civil war, thereby costing thousands of additional lives and wreaking enormous destruction on an already battered society."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5m23RrMeLt4C&dq=robert+maddox%2C+russian+civil+war&pg=PA16|title=Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong|first=James|last=Loewen|date=8 April 2008|publisher=The New Press|isbn=9781595586537 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
Historian John M. Thompson
<blockquote>However, it did succeed in so thoroughly engaging the forces of revolutionary expansionism that the countries of war-torn eastern and central Europe, potentially most susceptible to the Bolshevik contagion, were able to recover enough social and economic balance to withstand Bolshevism. The interventionist attempt left an ugly legacy of fear and suspicion to future relations between Russia and the other great powers, and it strengthened the hand of those among the Bolshevik leadership who were striving to impose monolithic unity and unquestioning obedience on the Russian people.</blockquote>
===Legacy===
According to Sheldon M. Stern, [[
Winston Churchill, who had been the most prominent supporter of a campaign to remove the Bolsheviks from power, long lamented the Allies' failure to crush the Soviet state in its infancy. This was especially the case during the breakdown of western-Soviet relations in the aftermath of [[World War II]] and the start of the [[Cold War]]. In 1949, Churchill stated to the British
{{blockquote|I think the day will come when it will be recognized without doubt, not only on one side of the House, but throughout the civilized world, that the strangling of Bolshevism at its birth would have been an untold blessing to the human race.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://winstonchurchill.hillsdale.edu/bolshevism/|title = Bolshevism: "Foul baboonery...Strangle at Birth"|date = 11 March 2016}}</ref>}}
In a further speech at the [[National Press Club (United States)|National Press Club]], [[Washington D.C.]], in June 1954, Churchill lamented:
{{blockquote|If I had been properly supported in 1919, I think we might have strangled Bolshevism in its cradle, but everybody turned up their hands and said,
==See also==
Line 350 ⟶ 359:
* [[Australian contribution to the Allied Intervention in Russia 1918–1919]]
* [[British campaign in the Baltic (1918–1919)]]
* [[Central Powers intervention in the Russian Civil War]]
* [[Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force]]
* [[Italian Legione Redenta]]
Line 360 ⟶ 370:
==Bibliography==
* {{
* {{cite book |last=Kinvig |first=Clifford |year=2006 |title=Churchill's Crusade: The British Invasion of Russia 1918–1920 |publisher=Hambledon Continuum |location= London |isbn=1852854774}}
* {{cite book|last=Mawdsley|first=Evan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QnwRMQAACAAJ |title=The Russian Civil War |date=2007 |publisher=Pegasus Books |isbn=978-1933648156 |language=en}}
* {{
* {{cite book |first=Michael |last=Sargent |title=British Military Involvement in Transcaspia: 1918–1919 |url=https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/87659/04_apr.pdf |publisher= Conflict Studies Research Centre, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom |location= Camberley|date= April 2004}}
* {{cite book|last=Winegard |first=Timothy C.|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3138/j.ctv1005dpz|title=The First World Oil War|date=2016|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1487522582 |jstor=10.3138/j.ctv1005dpz}}
* {{cite book |last=Wright |first=Damien |date=2017 |title=Churchill's Secret War with Lenin: British and Commonwealth Military Intervention in the Russian Civil War, 1918–20 |url=https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/churchills-secret-war-with-lenin-british-and-commonwealth-military-intervention-in-the-russian-civil-war-1918-20.php |location=Solihull |publisher=Helion |isbn=978-1911512103}}
==Further reading==
Line 376 ⟶ 386:
* Fuller, Howard. "Great Britain and Russia's Civil War: 'The Necessity for a Definite and Coherent Policy'." ''Journal of Slavic Military Studies'' 32.4 (2019): 553–559.
* {{cite journal|last=Guard|first=John|year=2001|title=Question 38/99: British Operations in the Caspian Sea 1918–1919|journal=Warship International|publisher=International Naval Research Organization|volume=XXXVIII|issue=1|pages=87–88|issn=0043-0374}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Head |first1=Michael
* {{cite book|last=Humphreys|first=Leonard A.|year=1996|title=The Way of the Heavenly Sword: The Japanese Army in the 1920s|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=0804723753}}
* {{cite book|last=Isitt |first=Benjamin |title=From Victoria to Vladivostok: Canada's Siberian Expedition, 1917–19 |url=http://www.isitt.ca/research/books/from-victoria-to-vladivostok |publisher=University of British Columbia Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0774818025 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706184019/http://www.isitt.ca/research/books/from-victoria-to-vladivostok/ |archive-date=6 July 2011 }}
Line 410 ⟶ 420:
[[Category:Naval battles involving Romania]]
[[Category:Invasions of Russia]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Allies of World War I]]
|