Norwich bulletin., 1919-05-20
STORIES OF TIE WAR
Adventures of Americans in Northern
Russia.

Russia.
Throughout the campaign in North
ern Russia where American soldiers
have fought the bolsheviki as COM
AIDES in a ployglot little army of Brit
ish, French, Russians, Poles and ele-
ments of six other nationalities a cor
respondent of The Associated Press,
with headquarters at Archangel, has
forwarded frequent dispatches report
ing the progress of the fighting. The
correspondent now has sent by mail
several interesting articles narrating
some of the remarkable phases of the
campaign and giving illuminating
sideligiits on the adventures of the
Americans and their allies in the far
north. Subjoined is one of his letters:
The tabloid warfare that the Ameri
can doughboys and miscellaneous
collection of allies have been waging
against the boshevikf up in Aurora
! RorealiS land since the landing of an
Allied corporaTs guard at Archangel,
on Rusust 3. has had most of the
thrills OF the big war in France, with
a few pet perils all of its own.
! In the summer, it was a game of
| bushwha cking, boy scouting. hide and
| seek and Indian fighting in the swamps
with the added attractions of airplanes,
| shrapnei, high explosives, trench NOR
tars gunboats and armored trains In
winter when the thermometer registes
around so degrees. below zero it is
! something like an Eskimo tribal feud,
the Eskimos being equipped with all
modern devices for putting their OPP
ponents out of the combat.
The Allied North Russia Expedition
! arr Force whose backbone is the
tYank douehboy, has been fighting dur
| ing the winter against double. or triple
or quadruple odds These Yanks and
| Tommies and PoiIus and half a dozen
varieties of Russians and Poles have
been scattered odt in thin columns
| operating over a territory about as
large as Germany and colder than
Medicine Hat or Moose Jaw. There
We're seven or eight of these columns
as they branched out like a palm leaf
from its handle, which is Archangel
stretching far and wide from the wat
ers of the Pechora river on the shores
Of the Actic ocean not very far from
the Sibeian boundary TO the scarcely
5. less frozen country of Omega bay
| west of Archangel, where they connect
with the Murmansk force, or kola
force. j
Each of these columns has penetrat-
ed inland. along railroad, high road
river or forest trail. into the territory
of the bolshevilli and, on most Of them
Yanks have been at the far front
where the trouble is thickest. And, as
most of the Americans who have met
John Bolsheviki face to face will tel
you, as a troublemaker. John is active
especially when he has one outnum-
bered ard outgunned.
Back in the early days of summer
L 111- rnl
about it, the powers that-were who
poor opinion of the bolsheviki's fight
ing qualities. When the original Arch
angel expeGitionary force which Sc
sail from Murmansll, on Kola Bay, thi.
=. corporars guard that was to sue
cessfully invade the largest country il
the world cnosisted of !, 400 men. FIT,
American bluejackets from the Z. S.
| Olympia who were among these
Russian "Old Contemptibles'' were thu
: first to set their feet upon the docl
at Archansel. When the Allies land
: ed the bolsheviki had gone.
This original expedition of I 400 in
: cluted British sailors and marines
{ French soldiers and sailors, American
1 sailors, Russians. Poles and scatter
, ing representation of six other ma
tionalities eleven in all. 1t was al
cluttered up with officers. Their
r were two British generals, colonies AM
lieutenant colonies galore, horde @
, majors and great flecks of captains
the idea being that one would nee'
+ plenty of officers to direct the Russial
& forces which we're eagerly awaiting t.
a spring to arms. Most of these offic
, ers are quiet busy at other jobs Will
!, they are still waiting for the Russian
to spring And the Russians do no
4 seem at al ager to do So
q This force split itself up into tw
, or three columns set out to take Vo
Ilogda, on the railroad, and Ketlass, Of
: the Dvina The bolsheviki, it seems
c were expecting much larger force
, and they scurried very fast at first. Il
o. the past six months Of hard fghtin
in the swamps and snow the entir
North Russian eXpeditionary Fore
hasn't gone much farther than thi
little expedition Of odd Contempt
J bles went in two weeks, and at time
g it has been a hard fight to hold wha
: the originals took in a walk away.
v When the Bolsheviki started retreat
/. ing, they expected to make stand a
/ Vologla Instead when they found tn
e Allies were only handful, and made
o quately equipped, they just turne
L around and fought us. They've bee
t fighting US ever since, and probabl
f will keep on fighting us until we get
/. force of somewhere nearly equalsnum
S bers.
Il The shadow of strouhle is usualI