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diff --git a/46191-8.txt b/46191-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0774fb6..0000000 --- a/46191-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2750 +0,0 @@ - FIGHTING WITHOUT A WAR - - - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost -no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - - -Title: Fighting Without a War - An Account of Military Intervention in North Russia -Author: Ralph Albertson -Release Date: July 04, 2014 [EBook #46191] -Language: English -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FIGHTING WITHOUT A WAR *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - - - -[Illustration: The Area of the Archangel Campaign.] - - - - - FIGHTING WITHOUT - A WAR - - _An Account of Military Intervention - in North Russia_ - - - BY - - RALPH ALBERTSON - - - - ILLUSTRATED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS - - - - NEW YORK - HARCOURT, BRACE AND HOWE - 1920 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY - HARCOURT, BRACE AND HOWE, INC. - - - - THE QUINN & BODEN COMPANY - RAHWAY, N. J. - - - - - TO THE AMERICAN, BRITISH AND - CANADIAN MEN WHO LAID DOWN - THEIR LIVES IN NORTH RUSSIA THIS - BOOK IS REVERENTLY DEDICATED - - - - - *PREFACE* - - -The writer of this book went to North Russia as a Y.M.C.A. secretary -assigned to work with the army, landing at Murmansk just before -Thanksgiving, 1918. I reached Archangel December first and was sent at -once to Shenkursk and Ustpadenga, the southernmost points of the -expedition. I was in charge of the Y.M.C.A. work for the Vaga column -until June first when I went to Yemetskoye and later to Archangel with -the departing American troops. As the British Y.M.C.A. was not prepared -to take over all the work at that time several Americans remained with -the British and Russian armies. As one of these I returned south to -Berezniki July first. On August first I was made responsible for the -evacuation of the entire Allied Y.M.C.A. personnel, supplies, and -equipment from the forward Dvina and Vaga areas. This enabled me to be -the last American to leave. I returned to Archangel August thirtieth -and sailed with the last of the embassies, consulates, military -missions, etc., on September second. - -This book does not assume to tell the whole story of that expedition. I -did not see all of it. No man did. In addition to what I saw, however, -I had the advantage of meeting constantly men who had seen and been in -the various other fights and locations. Under the overstimulating -circumstances of army life the very air seems full of wild rumors. This -was particularly true in the isolations of the Russian fighting. I have -felt the necessity therefore of exercising great care not to accept as -true uncorroborated army rumors. The matters of chief interest in this -book, moreover, are matters of my own personal observation and -knowledge. - -The various censorships imposed by the American and British governments -have prevented the publication of so much important and significant news -of this expedition that no number of books that may be published now -could cover the whole story. Most of it, moreover, has ceased to be -news. However, those censorships accompanied by the official propaganda -have left the country in a state of gross misinformation regarding the -expedition. Mistakes were made, abuses suffered, heroisms performed, and -tragedies enacted which it is the right of the American and British -people to know about. In respect of the mistakes and abuses the -publication of this account has devolved upon me as a not altogether -pleasant duty. - -While I have been compelled to criticize the attitude and actions of -British officers as a class in order to tell the truth of what happened -in North Russia I should regret to have my words taken as applying -equally to all of them. I wish also to say that some who fall most -squarely under the criticisms of this book were among my warmest friends -and I cherish for them a genuine personal regard. To certain British -and Canadian officers I undoubtedly owe my life and they gave me -(especially the Canadians) the utmost coöperation and courtesy -throughout the entire campaign. - -As to the Yanks, God bless them, it wasn't their show. - -E.A. - - - - - *CONTENTS* - - -CHAPTER - - I. THE EXPEDITION - II. THE ARCHANGEL GOVERNMENT - III. MANAGEMENT - IV. THE FALL CAMPAIGN - V. THE WINTER CAMPAIGN - VI. KITSA - VII. FIGHTING WITHOUT A FLAG - VIII. "AMERICA DOBRA" - IX. AMERICA EXIT - X. THE NEW BRITISH ARMY - XI. THE NEW RUSSIAN ARMY - XII. MAKING BOLSHEVIKI - XIII. THE WHITE MAN'S BURDEN - XIV. ATROCITIES - XV. THE MUTINIES - XVI. THE DÉBÂCLE - XVII. MILITARY INTERVENTION FINANCE - XVIII. PROPAGANDA - XIX. CONCERNING MILITARY INTERVENTION - XX. CONCERNING RUSSIAN PEASANTS - - - - - *ILLUSTRATIONS* - - -Map showing area of the Archangel Campaign . . . _Frontispiece_ - -Archangel has many excellent and substantial buildings - -The Archangel water-front has miles of good docking facilities - -The American engineers built scores of block houses like this - -This was our only possible communication with Archangel, 300 miles to -the north - -The "Y" was always on the job - -These Canadians fought in France before they went to Russia - -The Canadian artillery got there every time - -This Russian gun crew on the railroad front enjoys warmer weather - -The church at Yemetskoye is visible for many miles up the Dvina - -Shenkursk is a quiet and romantic spot on the Vaga River - -The new British army entered Archangel in June with great pomp and -ceremony - -The Duma building at Archangel was decorated in honor of the new army -that came to finish the Bolsheviki - -Canadian soldiers with two captives, having changed caps - -Bringing Bolsheviki prisoners into Malobereznik - -The women work in the fields with the men - -Russians love their homes and their villages devotedly - - - - - *FIGHTING WITHOUT A WAR* - - - - *I* - - *THE EXPEDITION* - - -The North Russian Expeditionary Force consisted of men from America, -England, Canada, France, Italy, and Serbia. England sent the largest -number of men, America the second largest, the other countries being -represented by only a few companies each. - -The expedition was under the command of the British War Office, which -sent out a large number of unattached British officers to take charge of -the Russian armies that were to be formed and to supervise all American -and other officers that had been attached to the expedition. - -The first landing of troops of the North Russian Expeditionary Force was -in August, 1918. The German armistice was signed November 11. Fighting -continued all winter. The American troops were withdrawn in June, 1919. -A much larger British army landed in June. Our Russian conscripts -mutinied against the English in July, making it impossible for the -English to remain. The last man of the North Russian Expeditionary -Force was withdrawn in September, 1919. The "washout" was complete. -England had spent five hundred million dollars and lost thousands of -men. The cost to America and the other countries had been less in men -and money, but considerable in other ways. The cost to Russia in every -way had been incalculable. - -When this expedition was sent to Russia the Allies were at war with -Germany. Russia was not. She had signed the Brest-Litovsk treaty. We -did not declare war on Russia, nor on any section of Russians. We went, -it was reasonable to suppose, to guard the military stores we had -shipped to Archangel and save them from falling into German hands, and -to prevent the Germans from establishing a submarine base at Murmansk. -When we got there, however, the Bolshevik Russians, viewing the -expedition as one of enmity to them, had removed practically all of the -millions of dollars' worth of stores to points far south of Archangel -and had themselves left for points of from one to two hundred miles -south. We pursued them and war began,--war with the de facto government -of Russia, whom indeed we had not recognized and against whom we had -made no declaration. - -There was no war technically speaking in North Russia. There surely was -no legal basis of war. But there was plenty of fighting. News of this -fighting does not seem to have reached America very freely. The double -English and American censorship was very effective. - -First we had declared we would not engage in a military intervention in -Russia, then having gotten into it we declared we were not doing it, -then we depended on the censorship. - -No mention was made of this expedition in the armistice of November. -Hence it had in some subtle way ceased to be a part of our war against -Germany. It had become a new war, a war against Bolshevik Russia, an -unlegalized war, and this it continued to be as long as the expedition -lasted. Yet no declaration was forthcoming, either of war or of peace. -Particularly wanting was a declaration of purpose. Weary months of -stubborn fighting for our men were unrelieved by any single word of -definition of the fight from their government. - -There consequently was antagonism to the campaign on the part of the -soldiers. I do not say loss of morale, because the term would be -misunderstood. Our men fought. Our infantry never lost a foot of -ground. But they hated the fight, they resented fighting without a -cause. - -I made a trip in December, speaking to the men in their billets and the -Y.M.C.A. huts over a stretch of five hundred versts. Everywhere, on -every occasion, I was asked persistently and importunately, "What are we -here for?" - -"The armistice is signed. Why are we fighting?" - -"Did they forget about us in Paris?" - -"We don't want Russia. What have we against the Bolsheviki?" - -Of course I tried to answer these questions, but I found it easier to -convince myself than I did to convince these men. They were not -convinced that I knew. The American and Canadian troops were -particularly outspoken in their resentment at being at war in a futile -fight against nobody and for nothing in particular when the rest of the -world had stopped fighting. - -A real cause of this grand débâcle therefore was the silence of our -governments. I could not answer their questions. Nobody who came to -them could answer their questions. Their governments would not. - - - - - *II* - - *THE ARCHANGEL GOVERNMENT* - - -When our governments sent out this expedition the government of -Archangel as of all Russia was Bolshevik. It was not a strong -government, that is, it did not have a strong and dependable army and -navy. It had not been regularly instituted by the people, nor had it -been recognized by other governments than those with whom we were at -war. We had no dealings with it, except the undeclared war of this -expedition. We negotiated with certain individual Russians in London, -took them to Archangel with us, and there set up a government to our own -taste. - -[Illustration: Archangel has many excellent and substantial buildings. -The Archangel water-front has miles of good docking facilities.] - -This was a military job. Even the military, however, find it necessary -to consider popular opinion to some extent. So this new government was -composed of democratic men. Tschaikowsky was made President. The people -knew him and trusted him. His government failed to realize at first -that it was only the creature of foreign military authority and began to -function sincerely. It was kidnaped for discipline and put on an island -for a few days of meditation. The allied military did not come to -Archangel to set up a pure democracy nor to encourage socialism nor to -listen to theories. They came to fight the plans of Germany, to fight -the Bolsheviki, to guard stores, to teach Russia to fight. Beyond this -the military mind goeth not. So the venerable Tschaikowsky was -gradually put aside and ignored and before long sent to London on an -important mission, never to return, but still a valuable figurehead, -while a Russian military government grew up under the aegis of the -British army, composed of monarchists and military men of the old -school. The head of this government was General Miller (Mueller) a -militarist and monarchist who is without popular Russian support and -whose position is entirely due to his standing with the British military -establishment. - - - - - *III* - - *MANAGEMENT* - - -It was a British show. The British were in absolute command. Whole -shiploads of British officers were sent there to perform all possible -functions of management and to cover all possible needs. The Americans, -Russians, French, Italians, and Serbians all obeyed the British -officers, and found British officers duplicating their own at every -juncture. Even at that there was a surplus, and I have had several of -them, from a colonel down, tell me that they were hanging around -Archangel waiting for something to do. - -It was British responsibility to decide where we should stand, when we -should move, and who should do what. They never neglected this -responsibility in any detail. If they could avoid it, they never -delegated any detail of authority to any officer of any other -nationality. If they took counsel with their associates of other -nationalities it was never heard of in the ranks. I have heard an -American officer of high rank speak very bitterly of the fact that the -British never consulted him except to give him orders, and made him feel -quite useless. - - - - - *IV* - - *THE FALL CAMPAIGN* - - -As our ships rode into the mouth of the Dvina River with the first -troops of the expedition, and the last train pulled out of Archangel -Preestyn bearing the last of the Bolsheviki away to the south, the -people of Archangel came out to the river bank and the docks to see the -incoming fleet and to welcome their deliverers from Bolshevist -proletariat tyranny and prolonged political and industrial unrest. The -Russians were tired of war, and as they lined up on the river banks in -front of the hundreds of peasant villages bordering a thousand versts of -rivers to express their welcome it was Peace and Prosperity that they -thought they were welcoming. - -In fact, however, it was war, war such as that part of Russia had never -known before, and most expensive war. - -The expedition had been sent "to guard stores at Archangel." Since -these stores had been taken by those whom we assumed to be friends of -Germany we must pursue them. We did. We took guns along. We found -them, with guns also, at several points about a hundred miles from the -city. Their forces were weak. So were ours. But we drove them, or -they led us, down the Murmansk railroad past Kem, down the Vologda -railroad beyond Obozerskaya, up the Onega River to Chekuevo, up the -Pinega River, up the Emtza River, up the Dvina River past Toulgas, and -up the Vaga River to Ustpadenga. - -We did not capture our enemy nor the stores we had come to guard. The -early Russian winter came and found us thrown out to seven points in a -form that was like a seven-fingered hand with one finger three hundred -miles long and with no lateral communication between the fingers. In -driving these lines out there was some fighting, mostly of a guerrilla -type. We lost a number of men, but our casualties were comparatively -small. We had been on the offensive and had followed lines of not very -great resistance. The positions in which winter found us may not have -been planned by the Bolsheviki, but I doubt if any English record exists -of such a plan or if any officer will confess to having made such a -plan. We just happened to be there. We were scattered as far as -possible. Each position was practically isolated from all the others. -Our lines of communication were weak and inefficient. The only -protection to our flanks and our rears was the hoped-for snow which came -early and abundantly. - - - - - *V* - - *THE WINTER CAMPAIGN* - - -The winter was spent on the defensive. The Bolsheviki at first -attempted to cut us off at Yemetskoye by using his excellent -communication on the Vologda railroad and attacked Kodish and Shredn -Makrenga. He was held here by the Americans and Canadians, who did not -know when they were defeated and who now fully realized the desperate -character of the fight that they were launched upon. He also attacked -on the Murmansk railroad, where he was met by seasoned Serbians against -whom he shattered himself in vain. He attacked at Pinega and at -Chekuevo also without success. We were fighting at Toulgas on Armistice -Day, and with Kotlas as his base the Bolshevik managed to keep up his -attack here practically all winter while Co. B, 339th Infantry, U.S.A., -took the brunt of the work of holding him off. - -[Illustration: The American Engineers built scores of block houses like -this. -This was our only possible communication with Archangel, 300 miles to -the north.] - -The most serious fighting of the winter, however, was on the Vaga River. -Our forward position at Ustpadenga was held by one company of American -infantry, one platoon of American engineers, three eighteen-pounder guns -manned by Canadians, and occasional units of Russian conscripts. The -position had no peculiar advantages, and all the disadvantages of -isolation and exposure that could make it a bad choice. It is doubtful -whether it had been chosen. We got there and we stayed there. We were -there because we were there. So we entrenched and built block houses -and strung wire and chopped away a clearing a few hundred feet from our -billets and laid in such stores and ammunition as a few ponies could -pull down, and waited. This was twenty-seven versts south of Shenkursk, -and Shenkursk was one hundred versts south of Bereznik, and Bereznik was -three hundred versts south of Archangel. - -Shenkursk was our advanced base. Here we had one company of American -infantry, one platoon of American engineers, one section of Canadian -artillery, American headquarters for 1st battalion, 339th, British -headquarters for the Vaga column with all the attendant service units, -an American hospital, and miscellaneous units of Russians numbering -about a thousand, poorly organized, badly officered, and of doubtful -morale. Shenkursk is the second largest city in the Archangel -government, having a normal population of about three thousand people, a -cathedral, a monastery with two churches, and three other churches. It -was something of an educational center and summer resort. We found a -number of Petrograd and Moscow people here whose summer vacations had -been prolonged by the exigencies of Russian politics. There were many -excellent houses here, some mansions, some interesting people, a most -comfortable place to spend the winter. - -Here we fortified, quite thoroughly, better perhaps than anywhere else -in North Russia. To be sure we were outflanked by Kodema, a Bolshevik -village on our left and Tarniya, a Bolshevik village on our right, a -little to the rear. But otherwise we were quite comfortable. We made -several attacks on these villages, but always found it necessary to -retire. - -On January 19, 1919, the big fight began. The Bolsheviki five thousand -strong attacked Ustpadenga. They had three or four times as many guns -as we had, including some long-range artillery that was far beyond the -reach of our guns. They had perfect observation on our positions and -telephone wires clear around to our rear. They picked off every billet, -up one side of the street and down the other. We had no secrets. And -their infantry came up in excellent form and spirit, covered with -perfect white camouflage and supported with machine-guns and pompoms. -Our men drove them back and held them off for days until the British -command ordered them to fall back to Shenkursk. One platoon of forty -men had thirty-two casualties, and every man in that small force had to -do the work of ten men throughout that terrible week. Fighting all the -way back, Company A, 339th American Infantry, and the Center Section -38th Battery, Canadian Field Artillery, dragged themselves minus two -guns into Shenkursk on the night of the 25th. During that day Shenkursk -had been bombarded from four sides and we knew that we were completely -surrounded, although no Bolshevik infantry had attacked here. There -were no reinforcements to be had. Some of our Russian conscripts had -gone over to the enemy. There was no hope of relief from the north in -case we should be besieged. There was nothing to prevent his big guns -reducing Shenkursk to ruins. We had Company C here as well as Company A -and felt confident of our ability to hold off the Bolshevik infantry in -any numbers, but his artillery had us beaten, because outranged, from -the start. - -So it was decided to evacuate that night by an unused road that we hoped -the Bolsheviki had overlooked. By very clever and efficient work on the -part of the British command the evacuation of Shenkursk was successfully -carried out without the loss of a man, and we were followed by hundreds -of civilians, who discovered our movement in the night. The next -morning when we were well to the north we heard his guns open up on -Shenkursk. He did not know we had escaped him. He had yet to learn -that we had left behind for him one hundred days' rations for two -thousand men, great stores of ammunition and ordinance, all our personal -kits, and several spiked guns. - -By night of the 26th we reached Shagavari, having made forty versts on a -single track sled road, walking two abreast and stretched out for miles. -Here nearly every one snatched a little sleep, as we found two platoons -of Company D who held off the vanguard of the pursuit which had begun to -catch up to us. The civilian column, swelled now to thousands, poured -out into the road ahead of us, a long winding snake-like trail of black -in a white world, making for somewhere north. We evacuated Shagavari on -the afternoon of the 27th and stood for our new front at Vistafka, -sixteen versts north, with Kitsa seven versts to the rear as -headquarters. - -During this retreat the temperature had been from thirty-six to ten -below zero. We had brought out ninety-seven wounded and sick and these -were sent on to Bereznik and Archangel--three hundred miles on pony -sleds traveling day and night. The civilian refugees were partly -Russians who had conspicuously identified themselves with us and so were -afraid of the Bolsheviki, partly those who felt that they would be surer -of food behind our lines, there were some personal friends of soldiers, -and yet they were mostly peasants whom we had been compelled to put out -of their houses for military reasons. - -Our new front consisted in all of eight villages. At first a barricade -of pine branches and snow, then some logs, then some block houses, then -some wire, after a while a dug-out or two. The fighting here at Vistafka -was the hardest and most continuous of the winter. Every day there was -some shelling, and five major attacks were made before March first when -we were forced to make Kitsa our forward position. The fighting at -Vistafka was done by companies A, C, D, and F, by Royal Scots and Kings -Liverpools, by Russians, and by the splendid Canadian artillery units -who were fortunately reinforced by a 4.5 howitzer E.F.A. The old -artillery supremacy of the Bolsheviki remained unchanged, however, and -while seven thousand infantry, having surrounded Vistafka could not take -it, the guns did finally reduce it to untenability. - -From March 1 to April 20, Kitsa was the front line, with Maximofskaya -for support on our right, and our guns at Ignatofskaya. These villages -lay only one and two versts apart. We were preparing Malobereznik, -seven versts in the rear, for defense, and fell back here on Easter -Sunday. This stubborn resistance on our part was important because it -was absolutely necessary to hold the enemy here or he would cut off the -whole Dvina column and take Bereznik where we had accumulated great -stores of supplies and munitions. Bereznik was his goal and the Vaga -River was his road. He hammered away daily at Toulgas, our Dvina River -front, but that was to keep Company B and our other forces there. He -could not hope to take it. - -[Illustration: The "Y" was always on the job. -These Canadians fought in France before they went to Russia.] - -On May first, the international labor holiday, he opened up on every -front, making the supreme effort of the year. His heaviest blow fell on -Malobereznik. The ice had begun to run out of the Vaga and the upper -Dvina enabling him to mount guns on barges while our gunboats were still -frozen in at Archangel. When he had put five thousand shells into -Malobereznik and burned down every house, his infantry came on only to -be fearfully cut up and sent back, again and again. He was deeply -disappointed. The thing was inexplicable. So on May fifth he came -again. This time with eight thousand shells as a prelude. And when the -last futile wave of his infantry had gone to pieces under our fire and -we had taken prisoner hundreds of his men who had been sent to surround -us, we knew that he had done his worst, and the winter campaign was -practically at an end. - - - - - *VI* - - *KITSA* - - -Kitsa is a church village of about fifty long, low Russian timber houses -situated in a great bend of the Vaga River with only the outer curve of -the river bank for a landscape and with a dense wall of pine woods in -the rear. This level country is so painfully level that you always have -a desire to look over the edge of the nearby horizon to see -something--but you never can. When you first pass through Kitsa, which -you never would have done in a million years had it not been for this -war, you think it is the sorriest of all the sorry places on the river. -It might at least have been located on the high bank and so gained the -only thirty feet of vantage that nature had provided. Yet Kitsa has one -striking distinction. The road makes a right angle in the midst of the -houses, and the churches are in the angle and in the west. The West! -Russia does not need landscapes because she has skies. Kitsa to me is -that wonderful western sky cloven in the midst by the Byzantine spires -in pea green and gold, and based flat on the black ridge of pine, and -fixed forever in permanent and infinite pastels in my memory. - -Kitsa was not a Bolshevist town nor Royalist. It was Constitutionalist -Socialist Democratic. It was founded by refugees from Novgorod who had -rebelled against certain imperial church decrees. There was still a -little mound where these glorious ancestors had erected a hill of -freedom. And the freedom itself had been retained intact, so the oldest -inhabitant told me, it having been a matter of the text and type of the -holy book read in the church. - -I rode through Kitsa once when there was one platoon of American -soldiers quartered there and the civilian population was about normally -occupied with its own life. And then I came in with the refugees from -Shenkursk on the night of January twenty-seventh. First it was Brackett -Lewis and Ivan Taroslaftseff serving hot coffee and biscuits to the -exhausted soldiers in the building that the people had built and used -for a public school but the Allied military had commandeered, not to -store whisky in, as at Bereznik, but to run a canteen in. Then it was -caring for the ninety-seven wounded, then back to the men and civilian -refugees, until the full daylight, and the column was all in. We took -the three best houses in town for the hospital that night. Then the -British officers took the next best. Then the American officers. And -that following day we billeted troops in every house, and the Russian -people made room for us, welcomed us, waited on us, made nothing of -themselves, moved into their bath houses, then out again if we wanted -them; gave us all the room there was, gladly, believed in us. I shall -always remember a poor woman who came into an officer's room and opened -a table drawer to look for two hundred silver roubles she had left -there. The lock had been forced. The roubles were gone. Silver -roubles were very precious. The woman's tearful face did not express so -much grief as surprise. She had discovered something most unwelcome -about our soldiers--perhaps officers. Other Russians were learning to -hate the military for other reasons. In three days they were utterly -bewildered. They do not take disillusionment in our offhand, familiar -way. They are a serious people. Their illusions are genuine. No -literature and no sophistication, but great sincerity. So completely -did these Kitsaites give way to us that when the order for their -evacuation went forth we gained no room for we already had it all. - -One pretty girl came to us in despair one morning, because one of us -could talk Russian, and told us that the Cossacks had broken into her -stores in the night and stolen everything. We found they had left much. -It is remarkable how effectively and cleverly these people can secrete -their goods. But she knew that they would get the rest in time so she -begged us to take it from her as a gift. We learned she was the -daughter of the merchant who was presumably the richest man in the town. -Her parents had gone to Archangel. She had refused to go. Her brothers -were in Bolshevist territory. She had attended school in Moscow. She -was now something of a socialist and utterly out of sympathy with her -family. We bought all her goods. Some hand-woven skirt material. Some -food stuff. Some oats and flour. She went to work at British -headquarters as a scullery maid and was glad of the chance. And I do -think she was irritated considerably by the attentions paid her because -she was a pretty girl. They were of course most unartful and blatant as -well as general. - -A week after the peasants were evacuated the engineers who were cutting -machine-gun holes in the bath houses found the frozen body of an old -woman who had hidden herself in a bath house and died there rather than -go away from the village where she had spent all her life. The body lay -untouched for a week. Bodies froze like ice or iron when the -temperature was below zero. - -[Illustration: The Canadian artillery got there every time. -This Russian gun crew on the railroad front enjoys warmer weather.] - -One awful night when we had been horribly shelled and the evacuation of -the town was hourly imminent there were nine frozen bodies laid side by -side in the wood-shed behind the hospital. We should have to leave them -there just as we had left others at Shenkursk and Shagavari. I had -known all these boys--five Americans, two Englishmen and two -Russians--and as I stood out there in the cold, dark, snowy night, I -knew war. But there were other nights as bad. Nights when we sat by -them as they were dying and waiting for the operating table. God! what -nights! And we had to pack them off in the cold at once to a safer town -to the north. Then there came a night that nearly made me forget all -the others. Our forward position and only protection was demolished -utterly. We were forced to abandon it, and our men and guns all crawled -into Kitsa and across the river back of Kitsa to Ignatofskaya. We were -done. We had put up such a fight however that the enemy was done too, -but we did not know this. And the wounded came in that awful night, and -the dead. We did not sleep a wink. When the sun rose on Kitsa, Kitsa -too was dead. The order was for everybody to "stand to," and the -streetful stood to all day long, waiting, and nothing happened. After -the continuous thunder of the days before not a gun was fired. But -Kitsa was dead. And the engineers were going about setting every house -and building with kerosene inside and out for burning. Every kit was -packed. Not a thing but cinders was to be left. Kitsa was a thing of -the past. And although nothing did happen--and weary men could not -stand to forever--and everybody crawled inside and slept--Kitsa was -dead. - -For weeks afterward we lived and worked most of the time in Kitsa. The -Bolsheviki had come back, at first feebly, then with real guns. He had -put up a show at fighting. His shells had burned some of our buildings. -He had killed and wounded some of our men. But we had new men now. And -they had the new point of view. But the piles of straw in the corners -of buildings were kept soaked with kerosene. We were now holding Kitsa -to keep the enemy on the east side of the river until after the ice -should break up. And as I stood on the bluff and looked down on the -snow-covered roofs of the town I imagined what the fire would look -like--and wanted to see it. - -One day I went to the cemetery where our men had been buried in unmarked -graves, and for the most part identified the places; and then visited -the little chapel which had been looted, and the churches. The Bibles -were printed from hand-cut plates. The silver ornaments on the Bibles -and the elaborate candelabra, were all hand made in every detail of -construction and decoration. The soldiers had left them because of -their size. All little things had been taken. All Kitsa was just like -the cemetery and the churches. But the tragedy had passed over for the -moment. It was peaceful death. Not even the paltry dozen shells sent -over by the Bolsheviki to remind us that the war was still on made any -difference to this peace. - -During the very last days of our tenure of Kitsa the friction between -the British command and the Americans at the front became quite serious. -The command wanted certain risks taken and sacrifices made that in the -judgment of the Americans were without sufficient purpose and -justification. The American officers were unwilling to make what they -deemed useless sacrifice of their men. So bitter did this feeling -become that at one time the British commanding officer gave certain -orders to the Canadian Field Artillery which the Canadians undoubtedly -would not have obeyed. The British command had its troubles with them -also. In spite of all this, however, Kitsa was held against the enemy -until the river ice actually broke under the men as they came out, -leaving more desolation and ruin to the slowly conquering Bolsheviki. - - - - - *VII* - - *FIGHTING WITHOUT A FLAG* - - -The American soldier who was sent to Northern Russia for his part in the -great war had an experience which in several respects was novel in the -vast field of experience which the war imposed on Americans. One of -these was that he had to fight without his flag. Not only was the flag -absent from the front lines in accord with the best practices of modern -warfare, but the flag as a symbol and the consciousness of what it -symbolizes were equally absent for the most part from his billet, his -conversation, his mess kit, and the whole campaign. - -He was fed with foreign food, clothed in part with foreign clothes, -invading a foreign country, given orders by foreign officers, and -fighting a war that was foreign to all he had ever thought of America. -He had gone into the army to fight Germany, and here he found himself -after the armistice fighting an unknown foe with whom the United States -was not at war, and quite as much out of sympathy with the officers of -another nationality whom he had to obey, as with the men whom he was -trying to kill. - -His government had not told him why he was here, what grievances it had -against his enemies, what arrangements it had with its allies in this -expedition, nor what it hoped to accomplish if successful in the -enterprise for which he daily must offer his life. His officers could -not tell him. They had never been told. They wanted to know. What -they did know was that at every turn, in every position, on every piece -of work, in every detail of responsibility, an English officer stood -over them telling them what to do. Sometimes he was a very young English -officer. Sometimes a strain was necessary to get adequate rank to him. -Sometimes he was utterly inexperienced. - -The method of the British control of the Allied expedition to North -Russia is a subject for study and an example for warning that the League -of Nations may well heed. If thousands of Americans have gone home -thoroughly detesting the name and memory of everything English and if -other thousands of Englishmen are telling each other and being told that -Americans are cowards and in the same breath that they are insolent and -unmanageable, it is chiefly to be blamed on the British method of -managing an allied campaign. - -It might be supposed that the British, being appropriately and properly -in supreme command, would have given their orders, as far as they -applied solely to the operations of purely American units, to the -responsible American officers, leaving these officers without petty -interference to get the work accomplished. But it was not so. British -colonels did not give their orders to American colonels to be passed -down the line. In fact, they had very little use for American colonels. -They went to the captains, the lieutenants, and even the sergeants and -corporals and the men themselves. They ignored American officers most -noticeably. They set their own petty officers upon the Americans in a -manner that was most irritating to American national self-esteem and -bitterly resented. And since all necessary things are reasonable to the -military mind it was the greatest tact to explain that "the Americans -know nothing about military matters, you know." - -I do not feel that the Americans had a grievance necessarily because Old -Glory did not wave above them in North Russia. I can imagine that they -could have fought with excellent morale in France if they had not had -their colors with them. The case consists of the aggravating -circumstances. The men were made to feel most unnecessarily and quite -contrary to the facts that they had been handed to England and -forgotten, that their government was wholly unmindful of them, and that -for the time at least they were deprived of the protection and divorced -from the ideals of which the Stars and Stripes had always stood as a -symbol in their minds. - -I did see the flag once in American headquarters at Shenkursk, but it -was inside and inconspicuous, and few soldiers go in at headquarters. I -saw one flying on a Y.M.C.A. building, but it was of course ordered down -for perfectly good and adequate reasons. I read in a soldier's letter -to his sweetheart once: "For God's sake send me a little flag in your -next letter. I haven't seen one since I came to this awful country." -One soldier had a barishna make him a little flag from old bunting with -embroidered stars. And I have seen more than one lonely American pull a -little flag out of his pocket and kiss it. - -At Shenkursk we were invited to hold our Christmas exercises in the -monastery church. This was probably the greatest innovation ever -ventured by the ecclesiastical establishment of that town. Seats were -provided, the icons covered, the Abbess and nuns safely ensconced in the -gallery to appease their curiosity, and the forces marched in--American -soldiers and officers, a few Canadian artillerists, and British -headquarters staff. Americans greatly predominated in numbers. A -British chaplain read the service, concluding naturally with "God save -the King." As we filed out an American private was heard to remark: -"Who ever heard of the Star Spangled Banner anyhow?" - -I shall not hope that academicians, business men, politicians, and -sensible people generally will see anything in this but a thin -sentimentalism. I should not have appreciated it had I not lived with -men who were daily facing death for a cause unknown, without patriotic -background or personal interest, and under the insistent domination of -officers of another nation who looked down upon them, and talked about -them discreditably. - -"If we had British soldiers here we should drive the Bolos out in short -order. But what can be done with these miserable Americans and -Russians!" - -The antipathy that British officers felt toward Yankees was acquired -early in the campaign and increased in intensity toward the end. In some -measure it was the Yankees' fault and to some extent the product of -facts and forces that are beyond the control of individuals. There was -disapproval and jealousy of the over-prominence America had too easily -acquired in the great war. There was resentment of the favoritism of -the Russians for the Americans. There was the inheritance of pride in -the military achievements of the Empire. There was utter ignorance of -the motives and purposes of the present English government. But there -was also the independence and "insolence" of the Yankees, their free and -easy attitude toward British official dignity, their insistence upon -reasons why, and their assumption of knowledge and ability quite beyond -anything their experience in military matters justified. - -And these little irritations grew and were magnified in little minds -until the manner of the Yankee salute itself became a mote in the -British eye. - -I have heard the most caustic and untrue criticism of American soldiers -from the lips of English officers whose rank should in itself have been -guaranty that they would not descend to this. I have heard it hinted at -a score of times by petty officers who out of consideration for my -presence did not pursue the subject to its commonplace ends. And -repeatedly members of the new British army that had never seen the Yanks -at all said to me in all friendliness: "What a pity that your men out -here were not real Americans, that they were foreigners, and that they -gave America such a black eye by their conduct." - -This was a direct echo of the campaign of vilification of the American -soldier which was carried on within their own circles by certain British -officers of the North Russian Expeditionary Force. - -I overheard some English soldiers singing a parody of "Over There," of -which I can only remember "The Yanks are running, the Yanks are running -everywhere," and the last line "And they didn't do a damn thing about it -over there." This was in Archangel. There were no Yankee soldiers -about. They were at the front. The singing which had been in a subdued -tone was stopped immediately when my presence was observed and when we -had finished a little conversation the Tommies sang "Over There," and -they sang it straight. There was no anti-Yank feeling in these men. They -had genuine admiration for the Yankee soldiers. They had picked up the -little seeds of antipathy from some of their officers. - -As a matter of fact the American soldier in North Russia fought well. -He drove the Bolsheviki 427 versts south of Archangel before winter set -in, and then took up winter quarters and prepared for defense. Constant -patrolling had to be done, and expeditions had to be made against the -Bolshevik villages that flanked us on both sides and constantly -threatened our rear. All this was for the most part true of seven -fronts between which there was no connection or communication except by -going back to the base. - -Captain Odyard of Company A was decorated by the British government, and -the company was praised for its gallant work at Ustpadenga and Vistafka, -and yet the British Tommies of the new army asked me in July: "Why was -it that the Yanks turned tail at Ustpadenga?" - -The charges made by the British that the American soldiers were -unreliable and mutinous were founded correctly on the mental attitude of -the American soldier and upon the things he said. He hated the -expedition and its management. But those charges were not fairly -founded upon anything that the American soldier did. There was an -instance of one company refusing at one time to go to the front. It was -but a temporary refusal. They went. There were several parallel -instances when British and Canadian and French soldiers resorted to -similar semi-mutiny. It was always momentary. They always eventually -went forward with the unequal fight despite the inhuman conditions. The -dissatisfied and unhappy soldier was not yellow. He may have had some -sympathy for the Bolsheviki whose country he was unwillingly invading. -He certainly felt that the invasion was a crime. But he was not -yellow.[#] He obeyed orders. He fought splendidly. He went to his -death. He held his post. He cursed the British and did his duty. He -killed Bolsheviki, plenty of them, not knowing why. - - -[#] The report of the Judge Advocate General gives a number of cases of -American soldiers who were convicted by court-martial of having been -guilty of self-inflicted wounds. The number accused of this was -lamentably large. Even if larger in proportion, however, than in any -other army in the world war, the reflective mind is forced to ask the -question: Why? - - - - - *VIII* - - *"AMERICA DOBRA"* - - -There was one thing in North Russia that touched every American where -every normal man is sentimental. There was a passion for America. In -every log house there was love for America. In the hearts of the people -in every village there was moving what Benjamin Kidd calls "the emotion -of the ideal." - -We could not understand it at first. Every peasant greeted us with -"America dobra," which is not good Russian, but a sort of slang phrase -meaning that America is all right. And now and then one would step up a -little nearer and in a more subdued tone say that some other country was -not all right. - -We suspected at first that he was playing a double game. We remembered -the man who walks like a bear. We smiled cynically and handed him a -cigarette. But we did him an injustice. - -[Illustration: The church at Yemetskoye is visible for many miles up the -Dvina. -Shenkursk is a quiet and romantic spot on the Vaga River.] - -One heavily whiskered old peasant of Kitsa made me see this injustice. -We had crawled into Kitsa on the second night after the evacuation of -Shenkursk, with the weather about twenty below zero and bringing with us -ninety-seven wounded on sleds. The senior medical officer had selected -the best houses in Kitsa for hospital purposes, and one could never -forget how cheerfully on ten minutes' notice those peasant people got -themselves and their things out of the way and helped to get the -patients in and warm and fed. Two of these houses belonged to my -bewhiskered friend. He was something of a magnate in Kitsa. And it -turned out that we were to use his houses for hospital purposes for -months after that night, sending him and his on their northward way, for -safety in the company of refugees from seven other villages. His -property interests in Kitsa, however, were too important in his old life -to be ignored and in a few days he was back with a sled convoy as a -common driver, a labor which he persisted in as long as the fortunes of -war permitted for the sake of the opportunity it gave him to look things -over. Knowing that the hospital was an American affair the old man was -quite delighted that his houses had been chosen for this purpose. - -"America dobra," he said to me exultantly. - -One day I happened to discover that in both houses the private rooms in -which the precious family possessions had been stored and secured by -heavy padlocks had been broken open and the contents looted and -despoiled. Most of the fabrics and silverware and family gods pulled -out of trunks and bureaus were of no use or interest to soldiers and had -been thrown on the floor and trampled underfoot. It was wanton and -heartless, and believing that our boys had at least had a hand in it I -was ashamed and chagrined. It was painful to remember the gleam of -faith in the old Mongolian eyes when he said "America dobra." - -When he came again and I saw him the gloom on his face was terrible. He -had seen the wreck. Apologetically I offered my condolences: "America -ne dobra." "No," he said slowly in Russian, "no, war is at fault. War -is not good. America dobra." - -So I had to think again. I hadn't seen far enough into the soul behind -this bushy face. And I didn't smile cynically as I handed him the -cigarette. - -After a while we learned to discriminate between "Amerikanski" and -"Amerika." The peasants often handed us personal compliments, but we -learned that when they praised America they were not talking about us -but about an idea, an ideal, a dream--would I could say a fact! - -These Russian peasants have not read American history. They do not know -American politics. Most of them probably have not read five hundred -words about America in all their lives. But they have heard and talked -about America some, and thought about America more. Perhaps there are -many well-read Americans who could profitably think about America more, -even at a loss of time to read. And now the moujik of North Russia and -his wife and children have all of them seen Americans--real live -ones--and liked them. - -How much the Russian peasant liked the American soldier it is a little -difficult for me to convey without seeming to exaggerate. I was -skeptical about it for months. It might be bear love. He was always -begging for cigarettes, and one could easily see through his cupidity -and simple craft. But I saw American soldiers billeted in Russian homes -and mixing with the Russians so much that I am sure that I know the true -sentiments in this case. I have been asked by English soldiers more -than once: "Why is it that the Russians like the Yankees so much better -than they do us?" - -I asked this question, without the comparison, of an intelligent looking -Russian soldier: "Why do you Russians like the Yanks so well?" "Because -they shake hands like men," he answered thoughtfully. "Because they -treat us as equals. Because they are good to the Russian people," and -the next day when we were talking about the same subject he said: "It is -because they represent America to us that we like the Yankee soldiers." - -Yet there was another side to this picture. When first I came to -Archangel there was in all people a wonderful faith in Mr. Wilson. I -marveled how all these Russians could have learned so much about him. -They knew what he had said. They knew what he stood for before the -world. I wondered if the people at home knew as well. Pictures of the -American President soon made their appearance and were given great -prominence throughout the city and in every village. I was calling on -the editor of a Russian newspaper hundreds of miles up the river one -day. He could use a few English words and I a few Russian. Mr. -Wilson's picture hung over his desk. "The friend of the Russian -people," he said, pointing to the picture, and as he looked at it tears -slowly gathered. Turning toward me he said brokenly: "He is the one man -in all the world who can lead Russia out of her troubles." And I -gathered that one reason for this faith was because the Bolsheviki -respected and feared Mr. Wilson. This man was on the Bolshevik black -list. His paper was radically socialistic, however, and the editor was -quite distrustful of the results of the Allied expedition. But he -believed in Mr. Wilson. "He will soon speak," he said, "and then all -Russia will follow him." - -That was in December. In June I met this editor in Archangel. His home -and printing plant had long been in the hands of the Bolsheviki. There -was pathetic sadness in his face as he told me of the universal -hopelessness of the people. I boomed the League of Nations. It would -cure the wrongs, it would become the guide and instrument of salvation. -But there was no response of hope. "We have lost Mr. Wilson and there -is no hope. But after we are all killed off in this mad and hopeless -struggle, Russia will rise out of the ruins and show the way of real -democracy." - - - - - *IX* - - *AMERICA EXIT* - - -When it was openly announced that the American troops were to be -withdrawn from North Russia the Bolshevik propaganda took every possible -advantage of it, claiming that President Wilson was now their friend and -America would soon recognize their government. A certain type of -Englishman also made use of the opportunity to call the attention of the -Russians to the fact that their much praised American friends were now -leaving them to the mercy of the Bolsheviki except for the greater -friendship of England for Russia. England would not desert Russia. We -felt great uncertainty at this time. Not a man of us had one authorized -word of explanation to make. Our government was silent. Our enemies -were noisy. But the Russian peasant never wavered a hair's-breadth in -his faith in the friendship of America. If the Americans were going -home then that was the best thing to do. If the English were staying -then perhaps that was not the best thing to do. - -And when the departure took place and the Yankees packed up their old -kit-bags for home they were given the warmest good-bys and -God-bless-yous in Russian, and there was no indication of resentment at -being left in a bad predicament. - -I stood on the bank of the Emtsa River when three platoons of Company K -embarked on a barge and waved their farewells to the theater of war. I -was the only American left behind. On the river bank nearly the entire -population of Yemetskoye were assembled, dressed in their best clothes -and giving every possible evidence of their regard and esteem for these -boys. As the barge swung down the river with the soldiers singing "Keep -the home fires burning," I saw many a handkerchief wiping tears away on -the river bank, and the head man of the Zemstvo Upravda, who stood -beside me all dressed up in a white shirt, had tears in his eyes too as -he grasped my hand and said again as he had said repeatedly before: -"Amerikanski dobrey." - -I saw these American boys embark at Archangel and Economy--four great -liners loaded with them--for Brest. Archangel was busy welcoming an -incoming British army. There were no demonstrations here except those -of American joy; exuberant, selfish joy. For the war at last was over -in those last days of June for these five thousand men who for a year -had done the work of twenty-five thousand on a job that called for fifty -thousand or more. And the very last to leave were those who perhaps had -done the hardest work--Companies A, B, and C of the 310th Engineers. -These men embarked on a transport at Archangel on June twenty-sixth, and -the American expedition was at an end. - -When these men were gone Archangel was a lonesome place for an American. -They were affectionately remembered by the Russians, and there certainly -were some among them to remember the love and gratitude and admiration -of old Russian eyes in wrinkled faces, and the simple, wonderful faith -of these backward and romantic peasants in the land that symbolized to -them freedom, education, and justice. - - - - - *X* - - *THE NEW BRITISH ARMY* - - -In June a splendid new British army took over the fronts in North Russia -from the Americans and the Canadians and the old British "category" men. -They came to finish the job, to clean up North Russia, to take Kotlas by -July fifteenth, Viatka and Vologda in another thirty days, and Petrograd -before snowfall. This was quite on the cards. This new army had come -to Russia with much boasting and had been received in Archangel with -great ceremonial and flourish. They were "men from France" who "knew -how to fight," and they would "show the Yankees how to lick the Bolos." - -This boastfulness was unlike that of the first Yankees to go to France -in that it was indulged in more by the officers than by the men. Many -small British officers had acquired with reason a feeling of resentment -toward the Yankee privates which during the spring found relief in big -brag about what the new army was going to do in comparison with what the -Yanks had done. - -There were ex-colonels who came as corporals, and lords who came really -to fight. It was an army to be proud of, an army of which much could be -expected, an army which certainly would put across its program. It was -very much bigger than the army that had borne the winter's campaign. -The equipment was better in every way. They had new rifles that would -not jam at every other shot as the old ones often did. They had more -and better artillery. They had a large air force with an abundance of -equipment. More than all they had the best time of the year in which to -conduct a campaign. Moreover, they had small Bolshevik forces to -contend with, as the Bolsheviki seemed to be busy just then elsewhere. - -[Illustration: The new British army entered Archangel in June with great -pomp and ceremony. -The Duma building at Archangel was decorated in honor of the new army -that came to finish the Bolsheviki.] - -In the address of welcome that was made to this new army on its arrival, -the commanding general said that no better equipped army had ever been -sent out by the British Empire. This was easy to believe. Not only was -there the newest and latest equipment, there was quantity, such -amplitude of everything as to inspire the greatest of confidence, and we -who had lived through the poverty of the previous winter felt that there -would be no such handicap upon those who should now turn the tide of -battle and march victoriously to Petrograd. - -About half of the men in this new army were volunteers. Many of them -told me that they had enlisted because they could not find work, but -that they had specifically volunteered to come and rescue besieged -British soldiers from Archangel. When they found themselves three -hundred miles up the Dvina River engaged in an expensive offensive they -groused as hard as the Americans or Canadians ever had, but this did not -interfere with their fighting. These men gave a good account of -themselves, and they would have gone right through to Kotlas and Viatka -and Vologda if something entirely beyond them had not changed the -British plans. - - - - - *XI* - - *THE NEW RUSSIAN ARMY* - - -There were broadly three classes in the Russian army: first, the -volunteer Slavo-British Legion of men who enlisted in order to draw army -rations and buy from the Y.M.C.A; second, the conscripted "mobilized" -army of men forced to join against their own choice; and, third, a large -body of ex-Bolshevist prisoners who chose the army in preference to -prison and labor, and who because of this volition on their part were -made a part of the Slavo-British Legion. In each of these classes were -many men who had been on the "Eastern" front in February, 1917, and who -then threw down their arms and went home, "having finished with war -forever." Politicians and militarists who were unable to understand -that act have been equally unable to understand any of the subsequent -acts of these strange and natural men. - -I am horrified at what these men have since done, and abhor it, but I -think I understand it, at least somewhat. - -These Russian soldiers were provided with food and rum and cigarettes. -They liked this. But they disliked everything else. They were sometimes -commanded by British officers, which they hated. They were permitted to -wear the British name on their shoulders when they went into battle, -which they could not do with patriotic enthusiasm, and when they visited -their friends, which they did with explanations and chagrin. They were -Russians, but they were not a Russian army. I have seen many a Russian -officer shrug his shoulders in quizzical dismay as he spoke about the -British uniform he was wearing. - -But there was real fighting ability in this new Russian army. It was -greatly increased in numbers and much better organized and officered -than the army of the previous winter. It was supplied with the new -equipment, and much was justly expected of it. It was thoroughly -saturated with British stories of Bolshevik atrocities, as fear is a -mighty motive with the Russian soldier and the British were determined -he should be thoroughly afraid of the Bolsheviki. - -But this army of Russian peasants did not altogether believe the -atrocity stories, did not in the least believe that England was there -for the good of Russia or for the general good of mankind, and did not -want to fight. - - - - - *XII* - - *MAKING BOLSHEVIKI* - - -In May General Miller, the Russian commander at Archangel, issued a -proclamation calling upon all people of Bolshevist sympathies to leave -Archangel within a prescribed time, offering them transport to the -Bolshevik lines and two days' rations, and threatening severe penalties -to all who failed to go. This was startling. All the Bolsheviki had -left when we came in. None had been permitted to come in since the -campaign began. Where, then, did these come from who were reported -officially as being in Archangel in "large numbers"? The obvious answer -is the correct one. They had developed Bolshevist sympathies in -Archangel. Some of them took their two days' rations and crossed the -line, the military command ordered quite a number of them shot, but -others kept springing from the ground until the British command had -ample ground for its theory that if you scratch a Russian you find a -Bolshevik. - -How are these numerous Bolsheviki to be accounted for? They were made -in Archangel. They were made by the British militarists, the Russian -monarchists and the Bolshevik propagandists. The making of Bolsheviki -in Archangel had not proceeded according to the pet American theory of -Bolshevist-making. They had not been made by hunger. Archangel had -been fed. Not by charity, but by work. Plenty of work, fair pay, and -ample supplies. - -The first great step in the process of making Bolsheviki was the -conscription of men for the army. This was not done until ample -opportunity had been given everybody to enlist voluntarily, but not -everybody volunteered. The Russian point of view and ours were quite -different in this matter. We had undertaken to fight the Bolsheviki for -him and he was glad to have us do it. Our men and officers, on the -other hand, declared it was preposterous to suppose they were going to -do this fighting while the "lazy Russians stayed at home." So -conscription went into force. At first a small class of young men, then -a larger class, and finally practically every able-bodied man from -seventeen to fifty. Here was another story. Here was war, real war, -again. The new thing called Military Intervention or Allied Assistance -or anything else had proved to be the old thing that Russia knew so -well. And the peasant of North Russia did not want it. As early as -January some of these conscripted companies at Shenkursk went over -bodily to the Bolsheviki. - -The suppression of all expressions of interest in Russia's "new-found -freedom" was a stupid blunder. There were no public meetings, no open -discussion of political questions, no real freedom of the press. The -Russian soldiers were even afraid to sing the "Marseillaise," and -confined themselves to the innocuous if beautiful folksongs, leaving all -of the many excellent freedom songs of the revolution to the exclusive -use of the Bolsheviki. The British never discovered that the Russian -loves these freedom songs, because they took counsel solely of the -reactionary monarchist element they had placed in power. - -I have known a single strain of one of these freedom songs to throw a -roomful of people into panic with fear that it meant a fresh revolt. And -I have seen a crowd of Russian soldiers respond with keen pleasure when -their officer, a friend of mine with whom I had talked the matter over, -told them to go ahead and sing the so-called Bolshevist songs. This was -toward the end of the chapter of Military Intervention. - -The suspension of all kinds of democratic and political experiment and -experience by the Military Intervention was a matter of grave -consequence. After a year of Military Intervention a member of a -Zemstvo Upravda said to me, "We have made no progress in government. We -have lost ground. It could not have been worse under the Bolsheviki." -The people under Military Intervention felt that they were robbed of the -freedom they had waited for so long and enjoyed such a little time. The -belief that the Bolsheviki would have robbed them equally or worse -comforted them for a time, but this comfort wore away as time stretched -on and Military Intervention made constantly increasing demands upon -them. - -Conscription for the army was accompanied by labor conscription. This -was followed by more labor conscription. This labor was employed -largely in building something to be blown up, loading cargoes to be -reloaded, hauling supplies backward to be hauled forward again and other -ostensibly wasteful operations which accompany all military operations, -more or less, in this case more. This conscripted and wasted labor was -taken away from farm work at times when it could not be spared without -the loss of a season's crop. But it had to be done and military -necessities do not take farm seasons into account. The Military -Intervention had been here all winter and had consumed every bit of the -country's surplus. This year there must be a big crop or starvation. -It has been a good crop but a small one because of labor conscription. -And those "ignorant" peasants can tell you what that means to them -however many useless paper roubles the Military Intervention may leave -behind it. - -The execution of suspects made Bolsheviki right and left. The -inquisitorial processes of the Russian puppets of the Military -Intervention were necessarily so much like those of the old régimé that -they went far to dispel all illusions about the Military Intervention -that might have remained in the peasant mind. - -When night after night the firing squad took out its batches of victims -it mattered not that no civilians were permitted on the streets. There -were thousands of listening ears to hear the rat-tat-tat of the machine -guns, and no morning paper could have given all the gruesome details -more complete circulation than they received in the regular process of -universal news gossip by which Archangel keeps itself in -up-to-the-minute touch with all local affairs. - -The details were well known. Some one had seen it all. Some one also -thought he knew who were to be included in the new batch tonight. These -little gossip groups discussed freely the merits of the shooting and the -charges. The Military Intervention tried to prevent this but it -couldn't. Every victim had friends. These friends and their friends -rapidly were made enemies of the Military Intervention. And this enmity -naturally spelled Bolshevism, as far as the Military Intervention was -concerned. - -I witnessed the anguish of one woman whose husband and father were both -in prison as suspects. They had both won honor in the war against -Germany. The husband had been wounded. The charges of Bolshevist -sympathy on which they were arrested were based on slight evidence. She -could not visit them. Only through the underground methods of the native -Russians could she learn anything about them. She, too, listened every -night for the rat-tat-tat until she could bear it no longer. So she was -arrested a few days before I left Archangel for having said something -for which the Military Intervention could not stand. Another Bolshevik. - -If the Russian soldiers whom we organized, equipped, and paid to fight -the Bolsheviki went over as they did in whole companies to the -Bolsheviki it was not because of any lure or reward that our enemies -held out to them. It was because we in our stupidity thought of them as -"swine" and employed such methods of administration and control in our -Military Intervention as they had been only too familiar with in the old -days of Tsarism. We failed to win their hearts or their confidence. We -destroyed all their illusions about us. And they turned "Bolshevik." - -Of course English and American soldiers did not turn Bolshevik, but it -was startling sometimes to hear their exclamations of sympathy with the -Bolsheviki and their protests against the whole fact and practice of the -Military Intervention. This was not unusual among the Americans and -Canadians of the winter army and was so common among the new army that I -felt at one time they were more likely to make trouble for the Military -Intervention than the Russians were. - -A gentleman who was very much in sympathy with the Military Intervention -was lecturing to an audience of these men one night in Archangel on "Why -are we here?" His lecture had been O.K.'d carefully by the Intelligence -Department and was considered safe, in fact, most excellent. After the -lecture the men were given an opportunity to ask questions, and some of -the questions they asked were, "Is England going to take the port of -Murmansk?" "Did a British syndicate get control of the lumber industry -of Archangel?" "Who cashed in on the new rouble deal?" "Are we trying to -set up a monarchy here in Russia?" This from British Tommies was too -much. The Intelligence Department sent around word the next morning -that this lecture had better not be given any more. What the troops -needed was entertainment and amusement. - - - - - *XIII* - - *THE WHITE MAN'S BURDEN* - - -The relations between the English and the Russians were not on the whole -pleasant or friendly. The English themselves do not know this. So long -as they were not shooting each other there was nothing missing in the -estimation of the average English soldier in his relations with the -Russians. Feeling at heart the pressure of the white man's burden he -had great scorn for the white Russians who now had added to its weight. - -I have heard English officers curse Russian soldiers so violently that I -knew they were giving themselves boldness under cover of their foreign -tongue, and I knew too that the soldiers were refraining from protest -under the pretense of not understanding. I once heard an English -captain call three Russian captains "filthy swine" in their hearing and -one of the Russians afterward told me in perfectly good English that he -had frequently been so abused by Englishmen who thought he did not -understand their words. This word "swine," in fact, was the favorite -appellation of the English for the Russians. - -Since it is necessary in this writing to generalize about the Englishmen -and British officers somewhat I must say here that there were among them -some splendid men. I had the privilege of knowing a few who are among -the finest men to be met anywhere--tactful, human, sympathetic, and -strong. But these were too small a minority. - -The expedition called for military skill and it called for leadership, -sympathy, social skill. There was a sad failure to realize that an -expedition of this sort is bound to run into social and political -problems that are quite as important, perhaps more so, than mere -military practice. The management of this campaign has ignored all -social and political considerations that might have contributed to its -success or failure and has blundered stupidly whenever these matters -have forced themselves to the front. And the military blunders have -been so obvious that they have been openly acknowledged in part and are -on record presumably in the war office today. - -The failure of the North Russian Expedition was the failure of the -British to make friends of the Russian people. There was no purpose of -conquest here. The purpose of his government was to be helpful to the -Russian people. But the British soldier does not think in these terms. -He had been a pupil in the school of imperialism too long to become a -conscious knight-errant of the League of Nations so suddenly. He took -his imperialism to Russia with him, and Russia would not stand for it. -He failed in Russia and the causes of his failure were: - -1. The Russian distrust and dislike of the British. - -2. The British inability to understand the Russian mind. - - 3. The British lack of respect for the Russian character. - -4. The British tactlessness in dealing with the Russians. - - 5. The stupid propaganda conducted by the British. - 6. The British war-weariness. - -Probably the last of these reasons is the one that will seem most -important to those who have been hearing the noise made by English -politicians, but I believe it to be the least. It did not prevent the -sending out of that fine new army with its marvelous supplies of stores -and equipment. It did not spoil those precious plans for getting to -Petrograd before winter. For it was neither British Labor nor the -Bolsheviki that drove the British army from North Russia. It was the -peasant population of North Russia that did this. - -In April, May, and June I was told dozens of times by Russians that if -the Americans left Russia, the English would be compelled to go. They -did not believe the British would withdraw voluntarily. They expected -to have to fight to drive them out. Some of them said they would ask -the Bolsheviki to help them. Constantly new causes of irritation arose -between the military and the peasants and violent expressions of -military disgust with "swine" were increasingly heard. When things went -wrong all blame was laid on the Russians. And it was laid on them in -such a way as to increase the malady. Each day bitterness, distrust, -and resentment increased on both sides. In August a British colonel -said to me that he feared nothing from our enemies the Bolsheviki but -everything from our friends the Russians, and he doubted if they would -let us get out without another great tragedy of treachery. In August -also a Russian officer told a friend of mine that the quicker the -English got away the surer they were of getting away safely. - -No Russian believed in the disinterestedness of England's motives. All -kinds of stories were invented and believed as to the concessions and -ports she was to receive, as to the debt Russia would owe her after the -war, and as to King George's interest in the restoration of the Czar to -his throne. Bolshevik propaganda was not idle and was all too easily -believed. - -The Russians knew, too, that the English liked the monarchists, took -them into their confidence, had them to dinner, danced with them, and -they came to believe that with England in North Russia the revolution -was lost. - -It was a common thing to hear an English officer say that every Russian -was a Bolo. And this appellation was intended to be most opprobrious. -A discussion of this charge involves an understanding of Bolos as well -as of other Russians, and the statement emanates from an utter lack of -such understanding. I must say that the great number of Russians that I -have come to know somewhat are not at all open to the charge of being -like the British idea of Bolos. They are, on the contrary, loyal, -generous, honest, and reliable; neither crazy radicals nor indolent -dreamers, but a plodding, persistent, patient people who also can dream -dreams and turn over new pages. - -On our way back to Archangel in the very last days of August we welcomed -almost any suggestion that seemed to afford a pleasant justification for -our retreat, and we talked much about the failure of Kolchak to meet us -at Kotlas or Viatka and the unwisdom of risking another winter with -Archangel for a base and such impossible lines of communication as we -maintained last winter. In truth we were quite willing to realize that -what we had undertaken to do there was from a military point of view -stupid and utterly impractical. We did not believe anybody would ever -again attempt to invade Russia from the north. But the political -stupidity of our mission and our methods was never suspected, and -English officers continued to talk about "swine." - - - - - *XIV* - - *ATROCITIES* - - -The men of this expedition were told many stories of Bolshevik -atrocities. No care or effort was spared in printing these stories in -both English and Russian and getting them into the hands of the -soldiers. It was important to inspire fear and hatred of the Bolsheviki -in the hearts of our men, more important than the verification of the -stories. After the evacuation of Shenkursk we were told, with complete -details, of the murder of the nuns and the Abbess, and of the members of -several families who were well known to us, also of the forced marriage -to favored Bolsheviki of some of the young ladies who in the happy days -had danced with our officers. We were told of rape and of tortures, all -in convincing circumstantial setting. This "information" we were told -had been obtained most cleverly by us through spies and prisoners--and -it did its work. In July, however, we learned the truth--at least I -did. Three Russians whom I had known all winter and in whom I have the -utmost confidence, went to Shenkursk, stayed there incognito a week, and -came back. They told me that they had seen the nuns, and talked with -the people who were supposed to have been murdered, that the Abbess was -alive, that the girls were unmarried, and that there had been no forced -marriages whatever. The one atrocity and the only one committed by the -Bolsheviki in Shenkursk was the shooting of one priest. One priest was -shot in the street by soldiers without official sanction. The only -other Bolshevik atrocity about which I had any authentic information -throughout the entire expedition was the mutilation of the bodies of -some of our men who had been killed in the early days of Ustpadenga. I -was unable to find any one who had any proof, however, that they had -ever killed our men whom they had once taken prisoner. Perhaps they did -it, but even so we were there not to imitate their worst practices but -to wipe them off the face of the earth because of those practices. - -A friend of mine was walking unarmed on a lonely road near the front one -day when a Bolshevik soldier came out of the woods and made a friendly -approach. He asked my friend if it was safe to go in and give himself -up as a prisoner and was assured that it was. They went in together, -the guard at the barricade took charge of the prisoner, taking him to -headquarters. Ten days later my friend learned that this prisoner had -been shot, and the only reason given was that he had refused to give -certain desired information as to the enemy. I have heard an officer -tell his men repeatedly to take no prisoners, to kill them even if they -came in unarmed, and I have been told by the men themselves of many -cases when this was done. - -I saw a disarmed Bolshevik prisoner, who was making no attempt to escape -and no trouble of any kind, and who was alone in charge of three armed -soldiers, shot down in cold blood. The official whitewash on this case -was that he was trying to escape. I have heard of many other cases of -the shooting of Bolshevik prisoners. At one time this had become so -common that the Officer Commanding troops issued and had posted up an -order forbidding it and calling attention to the fact that there were -many Bolshevik soldiers who wanted to come over and give themselves up -but feared to do so because they had heard about our shooting prisoners, -and warning our men that the Bolsheviki might retaliate by shooting our -men whom they held as prisoners. I have seen at various times many -prisoners brought in, but I have never yet seen one that was not robbed. -The plunder belonged to the captor or the robber. We got as high as -three thousand roubles off of some of them. Their boots and belt -buckles were especially prized trophies. I have known cases where the -captor was generous and left the prisoner some small thing, but it was -only to have some other soldier take it away from him later. - -We used gas shells on the Bolsheviki, but that I understand is no longer -an atrocity. We fixed all the devil-traps we could think of for them -when we evacuated villages. Once we shot more than thirty prisoners in -our determination to punish three murderers. And when we caught the -Commissar of Borok, a sergeant tells me we left his body in the street, -stripped, with sixteen bayonet wounds. We surprised Borok, and the -Commissar, a civilian, did not have time to arm himself. The sergeant -was quite exultant over it. He killed Bolsheviki because they were -barbarians and cruel. This was the only thing his government had ever -told him as to why they should be killed. And the only safe way to -fight barbarians is with their own methods. - -The spoliation of scores of Russian villages and thousands of little -farms, and the utter disorganization of the life and industry of a great -section of the country with the attendant wanderings and sufferings of -thousands of peasant-folk who had lost everything but life, are but the -natural and necessary results of a military operation, and especially a -weak and unsuccessful military operation such as this one was. One would -hardly say, however, that it was necessary to close the school in order -to use the schoolhouse for the storage of whisky, nor to put an entire -Russian family into the street in order to make room for one officer, -nor to loot personal property and ransack churches, nor to take so much -whisky into the country that it could hardly be consumed when there was -the greatest need for all kinds of merchandise, yet all these things -were done, and acts of this kind are now outstanding features of the -military "helpfulness" we went into so reluctantly. - -We have been told about the employment by the Bolsheviki of Chinese -mercenaries, and the dreadfulness of this was much stressed in April, -but in July, August, and September we were importing large numbers of -Chinese to Archangel, dressing them in British uniforms, and training -them for fighting the Bolsheviki. - - - - - *XV* - - *THE MUTINIES* - - -Early in the year there had been a few small defections of conscripted -Russians at Shenkursk, Murmansk, and later at Toulgas, but the thing -that broke loose in July when the Yankees had gone home and the new -British army had come and started its big campaign was quite another -matter. At Troitsa, at Onega, at Pinega, at Obozerskaya, on the Vaga -and on the Murmansk railroad our Russian soldiers mutinied, killed their -officers, and went over to the Bolsheviki. On six of our seven fronts -these mutinies occurred. They were evidently not concerted, not uniform -in method, but spontaneous, having the same nature, and springing from -the same causes. - -There were some distinctive features about the Troitsa affair of July -seventh. The Dyer's Battalion that mutinied here was composed of -ex-Bolsheviki prisoners who had been given the option of joining our -army or remaining prisoners of war, and who for obvious reasons had -chosen to join the army. This battalion had been fêted and honored in -many ways, and the privilege of wearing the British name on their -shoulders was supposed to give assurance of their loyalty to our army. -We did not conceal our stupidity about the Bolsheviki from these men. -We did not keep them from hearing the stories on which we had fed our -men. They saw the attitude of the English military toward the Russians -and had learned the true state of Russian peasant feeling toward the -military. They despised the name of the Slavo-British Legion that they -wore. On Troitsa's fateful night they murdered five English officers -and eight Russian officers and went over to the Bolsheviki. We -recaptured a considerable number of them and executed them. Those that -had not been in the mutiny we disarmed and put to labor. We had lost -heavily and by treachery. It was enough to get the wind up of anybody. -It got ours up. I heard many an Englishman say after that that he would -never again trust any Russian anywhere. He would not discriminate. -They were all treacherous, ungrateful swine. Every Russian was a Bolo. -There was no longer possible any big coöperative campaign. - -On the other fronts the mutinies were not of ex-Bolsheviki prisoners but -of the "mobilized" conscripts who had never been tainted by Bolshevist -theories or ideals and whose defection is therefore of greater -significance. These men were the peasant inhabitants of North Russia -who had welcomed our advent at Archangel. They had been in a sense our -hosts all winter. They had worked for us, driven our transport, sold us -hay and potatoes, smoked our cigarettes, and hated our enemies. But -also they had told me in the spring that if the Americans went home the -English, would have to go home too. Now they were murdering their -officers, surrendering their positions to the enemy, refusing to -advance, going over to the Bolsheviki in large numbers. - -The British fought wonderfully well under these trying circumstances. -At every point except Onega they re-took all positions that had been -lost by treachery. They caught and shot traitors. And they also shot -all other Russian soldiers who were suspected of treason. They did this -with a brutality the details of which I will spare you, but not one -item, of which escaped the Russian people. - -The British wind was up. They were soldiers, and prepared for any fight -that might be in store for them. But being shot in bed by your own men -is not fighting. It is not war. There was no question of courage -involved. The army had courage enough. But this was next to suicide, to -go to the front leading traitors. - -There was evidence one day on the railroad front that a new mutiny was -brewing. All the men of the suspected company were put on a train and -then disarmed. A guard went through the train and counted off the men, -taking every tenth man outside to be shot without trial. The men had -not mutinied, but they might, and something had to be done. - -I was told about another company of eighty Russians who were under -suspicion at the same time. The British officer in command gave them -the option of declaring who the ringleaders were or being shot _en -masse_. Under the fear of this threat fifteen out of the eighty men -were named and shot without trial. - - - - - *XVI* - - *THE DÉBÂCLE* - - -And so, there being nothing else possible, the débâcle began. But it is -a big job to get an expedition out of a country, much bigger than to get -it in. There were great quantities of munitions and supplies to be -transported or destroyed. There were fortifications to destroy, bridges -to burn, railways to tear up, all fighting facilities to cripple. There -were civilians to evacuate, and all the service branches of the army, -with all their vast and varied stores, to be disposed of. And there was -the enemy to be dealt with. The thing simply couldn't be done with any -chance of success on all of those long fingers of this expedition until -a smashing blow had been delivered to the Bolsheviki, both to reduce his -morale and to increase your own, which had been so seriously impaired by -the mutinies. - -So a smashing blow was delivered successfully at one of the -finger-points, costing us more men than any other fight in North Russia; -and instanter the latest retreat from Moscow began. Now there was -something quite peculiar about this retreat from the finger-points in -North Russia. We were not pursued. The Bolsheviki knew we were going. -In fact, they seemed to be remarkably well posted as to our plans. They -were willing to have us go. But they did not chase us out. The -Bolsheviki had little to do with causing this retreat. This retreat was -forced by the conscripted soldiers and people of North Russia, who -wanted the English to go, and who were so sincere in this that they were -willing to face all the dangers of the "dictatorship of the proletariat" -commissar, and the unrestrained spite of every personal enemy, without -English protection. A school teacher who supposed himself to be on the -Bolshevik black list, said to me in July, "Our duty is to Russia. The -Bolsheviki may rule us or may kill us, but our duty is to Russia. The -English must go." The Labor Congress, assembled at Solombola, passed -resolutions urging the hasty withdrawal of the British and were at once -disbanded by the army and charged with being Bolshevik propagandists. - -But the retreat was on. Every embassy received orders from home to -leave with all its citizens, bag and baggage, and in the early days of -September they went as from a pestilence, shipload after shipload, the -Americans, the French, Italian, Chinese, Serbian, Japanese embassies, -consulates of all sorts, Y.M.C.A., Y.W.C.A., military missions, -bourgeois Russians, and any number of enterprising citizens of -enterprising countries got out. - -The military preceded, accompanied, followed. By September twentieth, -the last British soldier was out and the washout was complete. We heard -wild rumors that the Labor Congress continued to meet in spite of the -army, that they turned upon the Russian military leaders, who are -well-known to be monarchist in sympathy, and informed them that they -must make peace with the Bolsheviki, and that there was some bad rioting -in Solombola. Two British soldiers had been beaten to death in the -streets by Russians. More Russians had been shot because they were -suspected of Bolshevist sympathies. As our ships pulled out of the -harbor great fires broke out in the vast lumber yards on both sides of -the river, the laborers were charged with Bolshevik sabotage, and an -enormous pall of black smoke hung for days over the scene of this most -unfortunate expedition, a sinister emblem of the ruin and hatred that -lay behind us, and a symbol of angry protest from the sky itself over -our stupid failure to understand the Russian people. - - - - - *XVII* - - *MILITARY INTERVENTION FINANCE* - - -The financial contrivances of this Military Intervention in North -Russia, while conceived with the best of intentions, perhaps, and being -presumably in the interests of Russian welfare, created much suspicion -and bitterness among the peasants and the soldiers. The country having -been flooded with Kerensky and Bolshevik paper money, it was impossible -to maintain any general European value, so a new rouble was issued -called the "English rouble," with a guaranteed minimum value based on -deposits of securities with the Bank of England. But the peasants were -not interested. They did not give up their old roubles for the new. So -it became necessary to force matters. A schedule of depreciation of all -old roubles was published. While the English roubles stood as -guaranteed at forty to the pound all old or "Russian" money, as the -peasants called it, stepped down a ladder of fortnightly rungs from -forty-eight to fifty-six, to sixty-five, to seventy-two, to eighty, to -ninety, after which it was to have no value whatever. It was hoped, of -course, that all people would avail themselves of the opportunity thus -offered to dispose of their worthless money and the region would have a -sound currency of some intra-national value as a result. - -Then, finding that it had a lot of old roubles on hand, the British paid -their Russian soldiers and civilian labor in these old roubles that they -had proposed to put out of circulation, at the same time making it -impossible for the holder to spend this money in availing himself of any -of the resources of the Military Intervention. - -Dozens of times I have seen Russian soldiers tear up this old money with -which they had been paid and throw it on the floor in anger, because -they could buy nothing with it. - -Yet the old money stayed in circulation. When eighty was reached no -attempt was made to press the process of depreciation any further. Old -"Nicolai" paper had gone out of circulation, and in the early days of -August the peasants generally were preferring old roubles at eighty to -new ones at forty. And there was a very general feeling among the -Russian people that the Military Intervention had taken all that value -out of their old roubles and in some mysterious way put it into its own -pocket. - - - - - *XVIII* - - *PROPAGANDA* - - -The Bolsheviki are adepts at propaganda. They try to understand the -point of view, the prejudices, the situations, of those to whom they -appeal, and their propaganda is essentially sympathetic, tries to find a -common ground, attempts to enter openings. They believe in propaganda. -I have thought sometimes that they believe much more firmly in -propaganda than in guns. They bombarded us constantly with leaflets in -Russian and leaflets in English. We found them tacked up on trees in -front of our lines every morning, and no one who went out to get them -was ever shot at. We were forbidden to read this literature. All -copies were to be taken unread to the "Information" office. As it came -floating down the river on little rafts marked humorously "H.M.S. -Thunderer," "H.M.S. Terrible," etc., we were warned that these were -likely to be mine-traps. But they never were. We got them all. We read -all the propaganda. It was interesting even when unconvincing. Having -learned the names of some of our officers they sent personal messages -across the lines. These made a great hit with our soldiers. - -Throughout the campaign we often got better news information from the -Bolshevik propaganda than from the British propaganda, which came daily -by wireless but which published almost nothing of political value. The -Bolsheviki watched the Peace Congress very closely, and while their -reports lacked fairness as much as those of the British lacked -frankness, we were very glad to get them for the facts they gave us. - -[Illustration: Canadian soldiers with two captives, having changed caps. -Bringing Bolsheviki prisoners into Malobereznik.] - -Of course they attacked Mr. Wilson bitterly, violently, unfairly, but -with enough basis of truth and fact to make their attacks effective. And -their propaganda reached its goal. A limited amount was printed in -English for the Allied troops. A greater amount was printed in Russian -for Russian troops and Russian civilians, who as well as the troops -devoured it with avidity. They were at first prejudiced against -everything Bolshevist, but there was no reliable news. They knew the -British were feeding them on watered milk, and this made them turn to -the Bolshevik newspapers. I have been surprised to find that these -newspapers were read and quoted everywhere. It was not so at first, but -in July it was literally so. - -In May I had only the preliminary publication of the Terms and the -Covenant that had appeared in the London _Times_ of February -twenty-first. I essayed to address an audience of English-speaking -soldiers on the work of the Peace Congress, full of optimistic -enthusiasm. After the meeting a Russian friend told me quietly that he -knew I was wrong, that I was doomed to disappointment, that he had later -news than I had, and finally he very secretly produced the Bolshevik -papers. Of course I did not have to believe all these papers said. It -wasn't all true. But I found the Russians were believing much of it. -President Wilson was not having his way in the Peace Congress. He had -surrendered open diplomacy and would have to surrender more, perhaps -much more. He lacked the support of the American Senate, and he was -hopelessly out-voted at Versailles. And there was Clemenceau. Russia -knows Clemenceau. And the League of Nations would be born without -teeth. - -As a matter of fact these Russians through the Bolsheviki had the latest -gossip on the peace parleys and their interest in the subject was very -keen. They hate the Germans, but their eyes were fixed not on that -hatred, but on an ideal, a hope. And now they were being disillusioned, -let down. It had remained for Bolshevist propaganda to tell them that -their dream was not coming true. - -And British propaganda! The Bolsheviki might well have paid the bill, -and it was a substantial one. The great themes about which this -propaganda was built were: - -The Size of the British Empire, - -The Strength of the British Navy, - -The Growth of the British Army since 1914, - -The British Empire at War, - -The Charitableness of British Royalty, - -and latterly the severity of terms demanded of Germany. Great piles of -sheets of old war pictures with Russian captions were scattered -broadcast upon a war-bored population, and Russian editions of a -transparently over-censored news communiqué which told who dined with -the King, who got the Order of the Garter, who was responsible for the -great war, how bad the Bolsheviki are, and how the great international -game of cricket is getting on. - -In this fashion did we undertake by our "Allied Bureau of Public -Information" to bring Russia into the family of nations! - -Not one word of the vital truth--the growing truth in these growing -days--for which Russia is hungry. Not a spark of recognition for the -intellectual heroism of these people whose fight for truth and freedom -has only been begun. No belief in the manliness of these "children" who -were to be taught. No faith in national ideals that were different from -our own. - -An educated Russian once said to me, holding a copy of "The British -Empire at War" in his hand: "I believe that every Russian family knows -more about war than whole cities of Englishmen." And I have seen a -Russian peasant look at the same publication, shake his head and say: -"English ne dobra." - -A Russian Y.M.C.A. Secretary said to me once: "The English propaganda is -making Bolos every day." - -In August a squad of Americans came to Archangel from France with -instructions to disinter the bodies of the 260 Americans buried in North -Russia and take them to the military cemeteries in France or America for -re-burial. Many of these bodies were in territory held by the Bolsheviki -and the lieutenant in charge of this work asked permission of the -British command at Archangel to enter into negotiations with the -Bolshevik command for permission to get those bodies. Nobody doubted -that this permission, would be granted by the Bolsheviki, but the -negotiations were forbidden by the British, as it would be bad policy to -let the Bolsheviki show us courtesies. They must remain outlaws. They -must not be permitted to state their case to Americans who would tell -the Russians. Americans must not see with their own eyes that the tales -of Bolshevik atrocities in Shenkursk and Shagavari were untrue. The -Bolsheviki must remain as black as they had been painted, so the -American bodies must remain in their Russian graves. - -In July two American Y.M.C.A. secretaries were captured by the -Bolsheviki on the Onega front. Two others had been captured previously -to this and had been released by way of Stockholm, and had reported good -treatment. With these taken in July the Bolsheviki had taken also a -number of British soldiers, some army supplies, and some Y.M.C.A. -supplies. One of the secretaries had considerable money on his person -belonging to the Y.M.C.A. He was given permission to go to Archangel on -parole to take this money to "Y" headquarters, and he was given by the -Bolshevik command two messages. One was to negotiate the purchase of -the "Y" supplies captured, as the Bolsheviki did not consider these -things war booty and wished to pay for them. The other was a message to -the people of Archangel assuring them that when the Bolsheviki should -take their city there would be no reprisals but full political amnesty. -When this paroled American prisoner reached our lines he was taken to -British headquarters and there told that he could not go to Archangel on -any such mission. He appealed by telephone to the American Embassy and -arrangements were made for him to go to Archangel, virtually under -arrest. At British headquarters in Archangel he was ordered not to make -known any of the Bolshevist messages and an attempt was made to induce -him to break his parole. When he told of kindly treatment by the -Bolsheviki he was angrily denounced as a Bolshevik propagandist. He -returned to the front and re-crossed the line according to the terms of -his parole. These prisoners were sent to Moscow. They were not under -arrest nor restraint, nor were the British Tommies whom the Bolsheviki -held there as prisoners of war. These two men left Moscow September -fifth for home by way of Vologda and Archangel. They saw nothing of the -atrocities we read so much about, nor of the nationalization of women, -nor the separation of children from parents by state decree, nor the -other barbarities the British-American news factories give us so much to -read about. - - - - - *XIX* - - *CONCERNING MILITARY INTERVENTION* - - -During the first half of 1918 there was considerable discussion in -America of the proposed military intervention in Russia. Mr. Roosevelt -favored it--insisted upon it. Mr. Wilson was understood to be opposed -to it, this understanding resting on the general interpretation of his -utterances. The debate, widespread, was before the fact. Now that the -fact is accomplished we may well look into the results. - -The weak fashion in which we went into the enterprise has given rise to -the theory in some quarters that it will be claimed that we did not go -into it at all. If an armistice had been declared in Russia on November -11, or if America had then notified the Bolsheviki that we had no -military motives there, the affair could well have been charged up to -the war with Germany, and we might well claim that we had had no serious -intention of interfering in the affairs of Russia. But the armistice -did not even think of Russia. We were fighting a separate war there. -We in Russia were not even notified officially that there was an -armistice. We heard about it, and wondered where we came in. It was -after November 11 that most of our fighting took place and most of our -casualties were suffered. Not until March were we promised that we -should be taken home in the spring, and then no intimation was given us -that America was to withdraw. Rumors were industriously circulated -giving the impression that other Americans were on their way to take our -places, and not until our men were actually away did our "information" -permit us to realize that America had withdrawn from the expedition. - -We intervened. We undertook to crush Bolshevism in Russia. We sent a -military and naval expedition there. We organized a civil war there. -It was unsuccessful. America lost a few men, England more, Russia many -more. How much more Russia suffered is not yet written. America -withdrew her troops. France, Serbia, Italy withdrew theirs. England -reluctantly withdraws hers. - -Let us consider what this expedition meant to our own men. They were -only a few thousand men, to be sure, and their little event was so much -smaller than the big thing in France that it was naturally even -necessarily overlooked. Because I was with them, however, I know that -it was a big thing their government made them do. The men in France had -faith in their cause. The men in Russia had none. Over and over again -our men in Russia have argued with me that while we were fighting for -freedom in France we were fighting to kill it in Russia. Some said we -were fighting for the capitalists of England and France, others declared -that the Bolsheviki were more right than wrong, and everybody felt that -our government had made a great mistake and that a life lost there was a -life worse than thrown away. In this frame of mind American boys went -through all the dangers and privations and sufferings of a difficult -all-winter campaign and some of them went to their last battles. -Statistically it is a little thing, if you must measure everything by -statistics, but I have been made to feel how terribly great a thing was -the death of one man who as I held his hand cursed the fate that made -him die in a fight for which he had no heart. - -It was a high degree of sportsmanship that enabled these men to see it -through. If Mr. Wilson told his colleagues at Paris that "if" American -troops were sent to Russia they would mutiny he might have based his -opinion on information as to what American troops in Russia had already -said on that particular subject. - -It is difficult to imagine a more unmoral situation than that of an army -fighting without a sense of unction and against its sense of right, but -this is what military intervention in Russia imposed on a small army of -Americans. - -I can testify of my personal knowledge that this was equally true of -Canadian and British soldiers. I have heard that it was true of the -French, the Italians, and the Serbians. - -These men are all home now with their grievance. Few of them are proud -of the expedition, or glad they had a part in it, or grateful to their -country for its support, or willing to go again. Military intervention -has been a tragedy in their lives and was an injustice to them such as -no government may with impunity impose on its citizens. - -We may not easily estimate the harm that military intervention has done -in the lowering of our standards of national rights and in devitalizing -our ideals of international relations. The precedent that has been -established, however, is most unfortunate and may in the future be used -to strengthen the hands of some one who may be trying to lead us into a -more serious error of the same sort. I must, moreover, say that this -enterprise has done considerable harm to the most important friendship -in the world--that of England and America--as far as so great a thing -could be affected by the few thousands of men who were directly engaged -in the expedition. Our governments do not know about this, of course, -but the men know. No thoughtful person could hear these men of either -nation talk about the other nation without seeing the awfulness of the -thing that has been done. It is not at all similar to the attitude of -the soldier who knew the British in France, nor to his disillusionment -about the French. It is very much worse. It is enmity. And it is clear -to me that it is directly due to the fact that our men had to fight in a -bad cause, with unwilling minds, beclouded consciences, and rebellious -hearts. - -Again I do not know how much our participation in this affair has -vitiated the faith of small nations in our disinterested friendship for -the weak. We may hope that the nations of South America have not taken -the Russian campaign to heart as seriously as have the small nations of -Europe. Whatever result our military intervention in Russia has had -upon this faith, however, those of us who have been in Russia know that -it has had a profound effect upon the Russian people. We have not -destroyed their faith in us. One mistake could not do that. But we -have disillusioned many of them concerning the soundness of our judgment -if not the purity of our motives, and they will hereafter, I think, look -carefully into our alliances before trusting themselves utterly to our -guidance. - -Having got into a bad job the governments found it expedient to suppress -news, to manipulate news, and even to manufacture a little. - -Whether we have actually prolonged Lenin's tenure of office and -Trotsky's reign in power we cannot of course know. But this is quite -conceivable, and they are still in office and in power two years after -the November revolution. We know that the armed barrier that we have -built around them and forced them to build in front of us has prevented -us from reaching them with any of the more convincing proofs of our -"friendly purpose" than the shrapnel and h.e. we have managed to get -over into their lines. The business men and educators and engineers and -uplifters that we were going to send have had to wait while we undertook -to settle Russian turmoil by making more turmoil. - -We organized civil war in Russia. The Russians were not fighting the -Bolsheviki--not our way. They did not want to fight them--in our way. -We made them. We conscripted them to fight for their own freedom. It -was difficult, but we had our army there and the army made the peasant -patriotic--our way. - -The Russian hates conscription; but what were we to do? If he wouldn't -fight voluntarily he was a damned Bolshevik and must be made to. And -so, as ever, one thing leads to another--especially when we are not -quite clear that the one thing is a right thing. The conscripted -Russians who rebelled against us and went over to the Bolsheviki were of -course a small proportion of the whole. All sorts of mixed motives and -confused judgments and conflicting loyalties entered into the situation, -but one thing clearly emerged. This was civil war. Every man's hand is -set against his neighbor. And now as we confess the futility of our -intervention and evacuate, the evil harvest is to be reaped. No peasant -can escape it. No woman or child can escape it. Suspicion, -recrimination, tale-bearing, jealousy, hatred of Russian for Russian is -the harvest our intervention has left behind it. - - - - - *XX* - - *CONCERNING RUSSIAN PEASANTS* - - -The peasants of North Russia are generally supposed to be the poorest -and least progressive class of Russians, living in the poorest and least -desirable part of the country. I think that if this is true the -interest which all Russia holds for Americans can hardly be exaggerated. - -The people of North Russia are peasants. The professional and trading -classes are negligible--perhaps smaller than anywhere else in the white -world. The towns are small and few and even the towns are peopled -largely by peasants. - -North Russia, humanly speaking, consists of long tortuous arteries of -life called rivers. The banks of these rivers are thickly, almost -densely, populated. Villages of from twenty to a hundred houses are -strung along so continuously and here and there clustered about a great -church so thickly that you wonder where there is land for all these -people to cultivate. Never, however, do you find an isolated settler. If -it is a forest nobody lives there. You find a village or nobody. - -There can be no more hospitable people anywhere in the world than these -Russian people are. Their doors are never closed against strangers, and -with unfailing courtesy they offer the best they have. I have traveled -nearly a thousand versts by sled over this northern country and stopped -every six hours at a private house for a samovar and perhaps a bed. To -have the best the house afforded given me once or twice and pay refused -would not have impressed me so much, but to have uniform hospitality -extended me as though it were my right and to have this done without -consciousness of virtue made me feel that the world's championship in -hospitality abides with the people of this bleak and inhospitable -country. - -[Illustration: The women work in the fields with the men. -Russians love their homes and their villages devotedly.] - -They get their living from the soil in a very short season, and this is -possible only because the summer day is twenty-four hours long. This -means that in the short growing season the crops grow very rapidly, and -it also means that all the work has to be done in that limited time. If -the crops grow twenty-four or twenty-two or twenty hours, then the -peasant must work the harder. The wife and mother and children must -also work. Most of the farm work is done by each family for itself, but -some of it is done by the whole village co-operatively. I spent a -half-day working in a hayfield with peasants from Konetsgory who were -eight versts from home. There were seventy-five of them, men, women, -and children, and they stayed in that field five days and nights until -the great stacks were finished. The hay was community property to which -each family had a right in proportion to the number in the family. I -noticed that they ate by families while at this work, the food being -strictly private property. And I saw Mrs. "Smith" give Mrs. "Jones" -some of her fresh cake, and other little private property courtesies. I -asked if the families at Konetsgory not represented by workers in the -field would have a right to any of the hay. Of course they would, -because they were doing other work as directed by the staroster. - -The staroster is a public official chosen by a meeting of the peasants -whose duty it is to assess labor for any public or co-operative purpose. -His assessments are compulsory upon men, women, children, and horses. -With most of the men in the army, as is now and has been the case for so -long, his chief labor resource of course is women. When there are -exceptions to his authority such as doctors and school teachers, these -persons do not count in the distributions of the co-operative products. - -In all distributions of land and products now women are counted. This -is a result of the revolution and has been brought about not because it -was legislated but as a spontaneous product of the common sense of -right. When Russia does have an election, as we must hope some day she -will, these peasant people all assume as a matter of course that women -will vote. - -Americans do not need to be told how backward Russia is in the matter of -machinery and especially agricultural machinery. But I gave myself a -surprise one day by going to every house in a small village and finding -in every house but one a one-horse cast-steel modern plow. I found also -some very good harrows and a few hand-wheel sewing machines, but -practically nothing else that could be called modern. I have since seen -two mowing machines and one hay-rake. The absence of machinery here is -practically as universal as it has been represented. There is no -prejudice against it and the people are not ignorant of it. They want -it, and they have plenty of money to buy it with, but it is not here to -buy, and the money has uncertain value. - -There is so much printed matter in America proving eighty-five per cent -illiteracy among the Russian people that I approach this subject -timidly. I cannot find the eighty-five per cent. I have yet to find -one child ten years of age who cannot read and write, and the subject is -of such interest to me that I always inquired about it. I found some -old peasants who could not and some who could but sensitively would not -write their names for me. I had Russian soldiers line up by hundreds to -sign their names in a register and not a man would fail to write his -own. I had peasants tell me that they knew how to read and write when -they were children but had forgotten it since. I have no statistics on -the subject, but it would be interesting to have the statisticians go up -the Dvina River looking for the eighty-five per cent. In almost every -village the best house is the schoolhouse. When it is not the best it is -still a very good house. Among hundreds of villages there is not one of -twenty houses or more that does not maintain a school eight months of -the year. - -Russia has but one church. I met a few dissentients--evangelicals and -atheists--but the dissent is not organized and there is very little -propaganda of reform. The Bolsheviki at first prohibited the church as -an evil thing. Many of the un-Bolshevik Russians have dropped the -church as a useless thing. But nobody seems to have undertaken to -reform the church. And yet one of the greatest reforms in -ecclesiastical history is taking place. In a moment and without warning -the physical and militant props dropped out from under this institution -and it had to stand alone or sink. Some of it did sink. Some of it was -scuttled by the Bolsheviki. Then came the aftermath--the afterthought of -the people. They missed something. They had not entirely outgrown the -church. They had hated its arrogance and exactions, but they still -believed what it had taught them and felt its spell. Now that they were -free from it they voluntarily returned to it. But it is with a new -attitude. These Russians go to church now looking for something that -they hardly find. And the priest's only resources now are -spiritual--superstition, art, inspiration, service, truth--perhaps he -will make use of all in the struggle for existence. - -I was interested in the attitude of the peasants toward their priest in -a large village that we were about to evacuate. The Bolsheviki would be -there shortly after we should leave, and as they were reputed frequently -to shoot priests the military had arranged to take him with us. He had -received for his worldly needs a house to live in, the use of some land -which he and his wife had cultivated as peasants do, a certain amount of -money, and certain ecclesiastical emoluments. When the committee of -peasants came to settle with him they said: "You are favored above the -rest of us. You are taken to a place of safety while we are left to the -cruelty of the Bolsheviki. The first thing they will do will be to -demand much food from us. After that they may kill us. So you must -help with the food. You may take with you only eight bags of flour. You -may not sell your hay. You may sell your cow, but not the yearling." -There was no appeal, as this had all been decided upon by vote, in a -meeting. They took no money from him, nor gold, as they are told the -Bolsheviki do not consider gold has any particular value. They were -careful to see that he left everything pertaining to the church. - -Talking with the priest afterward, having helped him build a fence -around "his" haystack, I asked him what he should do in the future. He -said he supposed he would be assigned to another church, but he wished -he could get a permanent job with the Y.M.C.A. - -The sense of private property is very strong among these people. They -are jealous of what they own, and normally acquisitive. These easy -expropriations and confiscations arise not from an absence of interest -in private property but from the presence of a strong sense of common -right and communal responsibility. Private property is not so "sacred" -as with us but the acknowledgment of common responsibility is more -general. - -I had occasion at one time to sell quickly about three hundred thousand -roubles' worth of supplies. I took a hurried trip through a string of -villages sending messengers to others, calling upon the president of the -co-operative society in each, and within a week I had sold out to the -co-operatives of twenty-two villages. My chief concern had been that -these goods should reach the peasants at cost, and they did. Each -co-operative gave me a statement showing the number of houses and of -people in the village, and showed me a statement giving the amount of -money that had been collected from each family as purchasing capital. -The staples, such as flour, sugar, and soap, were mostly distributed -among the houses within twenty-four hours. Every family was given the -privilege of buying its quota whether it had put up any purchasing -capital or not. These were their regular practices. - -The meeting of all the peasants by vote determines many matters of minor -as well as major importance. The president of the co-operative at -Shamova told me that he had asked the meeting to permit him to buy -sardines, but they had voted against it. He wanted some sardines for -himself, but could not buy them in the name of the co-operative. Would -I sell them to him individually if he would sign a bond not to sell any -at a profit? One committee had come under instructions to buy only -flour and sugar, and as I had to ration these out with other goods in -order to dispose of my cargo quickly they had to row their great -carbosse back in the wind and rain twenty versts and call a meeting of -the peasants for revised instructions. Married women and widows vote in -these peasant meetings. One committee came with fifty thousand roubles -in its bundle, but with instructions not to spend more than half of it -unless they could buy cloth. - -It seems to me almost unnecessary to say that I have found the Russian -people and the Russian soldiers scrupulously honest in all my dealings -with them. - -The difference between their standards of morality and ours has been -often dwelt upon by our writers. This difference as I found it -consisted in the fact that they talk about sex more easily than we do -and think about it less vulgarly. I believe the peasant woman is as -virtuous as the average woman anywhere. And an intimate acquaintance -with thousands of soldiers throughout the winter has given me this -belief. Attractive women are not so rare as to fully explain the -unusually excellent medical reports of the N.R.E.F. And nowhere in the -West has the family tie been stronger nor the family organization so -rigidly maintained. - -The war-weariness of these Russian people is beyond words to describe. -They are not in any sense militant in spirit. They do not believe in -war. Passive resistance they will resort to in a thousand ways and with -rare cunning and courageous persistence, but organized warfare is not to -their taste. Who rules Russia against her will or ideals from now on -will have a rocky road to travel, and who looks to her for militant -alliance is doomed to certain disappointment. I have had a Russian -officers' club in charge for two months and can say from personal -knowledge of these men that from colonels down they are utterly sick of -war and distrustful of its consequences. Before I went to Russia I felt -that Tolstoy had perhaps weakened the Russian spirit with his doctrine -of non-resistance. Now I think he only gave expression to what is most -common in the ideals of the Russian mind. - -In politics the Russian people are amateurs. They do not know the game. -Not our game. They do not understand the compromises that are essential -to the democratic state. They cannot agree to disagree in amity. They -are inclined to be dogmatic. Like our own youth they are in search of -the absolute in truth and righteousness and frequently think they have -found it. But no higher ideals are to be found in any people than the -political ideals of these Russians, and their interest in politics is a -keen and vital one. I have attempted a number of speeches on political -subjects to Russian soldiers by the aid of an interpreter and have been -gratified both because I was understood and because I was asked -questions that indicated real intelligence in political matters. - -I have witnessed a few peasants' meetings. At one the ownership of a -horse was hotly contested. A woman found the horse astray in the woods. -A boy claimed it, but it appeared that he had found it also only a few -days before. It probably had been owned in one of the villages that had -been burned in the fighting. The debate was loud and warm. The peasants -ranged themselves on the two sides and under the force of argument some -of them changed their opinion and so changed sides, arguing with each -other. Everybody argued. There was never an equal division. But the -Russian does not like majority votes. He insists on unanimity. There -came a calm, and an old peasant stood aside and said that neither -claimant had a good title to the horse, as its real owner might appear -and claim it, but suggested that if the boy would pay the woman ten -roubles for finding the horse he should hold it for six months and if by -that time no owner should appear the horse should be given to the -staroster as the property of the village. Everybody slowly went over to -the old peasant and the question was settled. The boy refused to pay -the ten roubles, so the woman paid ten roubles to him and took the -horse. - -I do not know that they always do justice in the management of their -local affairs, but I am sure that if injustice is done everybody is -clearly responsible for it, for everybody seems to take a hand in -everything. - -An American "Y" man said to me once that he thought the reason the -Russians were so ostensibly fond of Americans was because they are so -much like us. Perhaps there is some truth behind his remark, but in -many ways they are decidedly unlike us, and not all these divergencies -are by any means to their disadvantage. - -I do not anticipate that their political development will parallel that -of America. I do not see why it should, nor do I see how it can. Their -national ideals cannot take form in the molds cast by Jefferson and -Hamilton. And in their struggle for freedom and righteousness it is -quite conceivable that they will evolve political forms and practices -adapted to the modern days and conditions. - -Military men who characterize the Russian peasant as lazy, indolent, and -indifferent do not know what they are talking about. They do not see -through the peasant's whiskers. They resent too strongly the peasant's -aversion to the military profession. The peasant is no mollusc as they -learn who have to do with him long. He will fight a long fight for his -freedom, and fight it in his own way. And he will win it, may I -predict, and win it so gloriously that light will shine once more again -from the East even into the West. - -Standing on the key at Archangel and waving farewells to the American -soldiers who filled the decks and rigging of a transport slowly moving -off with the current, an educated Russian friend said to me: "They are -good boys, I am glad they came and glad they are going away. But now as -never before Russia knows that she cannot be a second America. Now we -do not want to be a second America. Russia must find her own way, for -herself." He had to wipe tears from his face as he turned for a moment -from the ship to say, "And you will go soon too?" - -"Yes." - -"But I shall stay here, and die fighting for Russia--fighting men who -love Russia perhaps as much as I do." - - - - - THE END - - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FIGHTING WITHOUT A WAR *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46191 - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one -owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and -you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission -and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the -General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and -distributing Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works to protect the -Project Gutenberg(tm) concept and trademark. 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