The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1919-07-11
Siberian
bOlShieS
Defeated
Organization Is Broken by
Attack by Allies; Ends in
Wild Race
ARE CUT OFF FROM BASE
BY PEGGY HULL

the War on the Bolsheviks In Rus
sia, and Whose Siberian Stories
Appear Exclusively in Seattle in
The Star.
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY
IN SIBERIA. July 1.-THE last or
ganizcd stand OF the Boishcviks In
Siberia has been made unless the al
lies withdraw.
Henceforth their only success win
be thru the terror they. as armed
bands. can create in villages and
farming communities.
Their organization Is broken and
the material aid which they might
expect from the red army in Russia
is cut off by allied control OF the
railroads.
The story OF that last stand harks
back TO the days before the Germans
stripped war OF its adventure and
romance. II was told me by an
American officer who was present
at the finish. and for that reason
feels somewhat compensated for the
service he missed In France.
Biagovcstchensk. about 500 miles
north and west Of vladivostok, was
the stronghold OF the Bolsheviks. and
the japanese sent an expedition in
, that direction. Blagovestchensk Is
in the heart OF the gold mining dis
tricts. and a branch OF the trans
Siberian railway connects II with the
thru line 10 Omsk and Pctrograd.
II was a strategic point. and must
be occupied by the army on the Of
fensive.
SO the japanese went north with
that objective In view, and a small
number of American troops accom-
panied them.
The Boishcviks anticipated the
move. and the bridges were demol-
ished along the line as they retreated
northward to their strongholds.
But in the manner of well regu-
lated armies. dynamited bridges
meant delay of only few hours.
while the Bolsheviks believed they
had effectually checked the north
ward movement. Consequently they
retreated leisureIy toward Blagovest-
chensk. with the result that the Jap
anese and Americans entered the
town OF Bureya just as the BoIshe-
viks steamed out OF the railroad
yards.
They had taken all the good cars,
and the Japanese Communicated
wood transports. horse gondolas and
anything else they could travel in.
flat car with three machine guns
was placed in front OF the engine
AND THE CHASE WAS ON.
Mile after mile the two troop
trains raced. Thru villages and
way stations. ignoring the fran
tic signals of hewildered station
masters.
Two japanese soldiers stood in the
engineers cab with fixed bayonets.
Wood was piled on wood in the
firebox. Every ounce OF steam and
pulling power in the old engine was
wrested from It by tho frightened
engineer and fireman
Down grades and IN grades the
chugging trains sped. On straight.
level stretch OF track the landscape
whirIed past. Tho Japanese grad
ually gained on the Bolshcviks. They
had two guns on the rear cars. one
was a five-point seven. which could
not be lowered for lateral firing. The
other. two-point seven. was turned
on the advancing japanese.
The two trains were nearing the
foothills. and the track became n Sc
ries OF sharp curves. II was neces-
sary for them TO slacken their speed.
There were but 500 yards between
the fleeing armies when they struck
deep curve. Instantly the gun was
pointed down. and the discharge blew
UP a rail.
The japanese train crumpled
up like toy tin cars, and the
Bolsheviks raced on toward the
hills and the quick night, which
had already changed their purple
outlines to a blue-black horizon.
Altogether the Bolsheviks had fired
100 shells. and later It was discovered
that It was their very last one which
had blown up the track-all the
other shots had gone wide of the
train.
The machine gunners were the
only casualties. which was nothing
short Of a miracle because of the
flimsy and worn-out wagons the
troops we're travelling in. But even
broken rail and four funerals can
not detsin pursuing army long.
They were up and after the Bolshe-
viks with their second wind.
In the meantime warning OF the
advance from the south had reached
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