As the Americans fought against the Bolsheviks in the Russian North

History 29/12/19 As the Americans fought against the Bolsheviks in the Russian North

During a trip to the US in 1959, responding to another critical comment overseas “colleagues” Nikita Khrushchev said, “Our soldiers were not on American soil, but the American on the Russian — was.” The Secretary General reminded of the part in the intervention of the Russian North 339 regiment of the 85th infantry division of the US army. For this campaign, soldiers of the unit earned the nickname “polar bears”, and their logo appeared the inscription in Russian “the Bayonet decides”.

the March North

In early July of 1918 more than 500 Yankee 339 th infantry regiment landed at the port of Arkhangelsk. The unit served as infantry, recruited from the States of Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and according to the official version, they were sent to Russia to guard the vast stores of military equipment of allies, organized in the beginning of the First world war. The movement of troops was carried out on British ships and on the site of the future service soldiers learned while at sea. Commanded the American troops Colonel army of the United States George Stewart, however, the overall management of the invaders was carried out by the American General William Edmund Ironside.

it is Known that the regiment was on the Dvina, and Onega Railroad fronts, however, according to the historian-americanist Ivan Kurillo, the only episode of direct military confrontation between Russian and American military units became Shenkurskiy battle.

Americans in the Russian snows

on 19 January 1919, the Bolsheviks forces of the 6th army (3000 men) and with the support of local partisans began operation on clearing of the Russian North from the whites and American-canadian invaders. In the midst of the fighting red partisans took in the enemy’s rear strategically important village Shegovari after the troops left the town of Shenkursk, with military stores to the winners. The battle red threw white 90 km and POPsgiven preconditions for the future liberation of the North from counterrevolutionaries and foreign interventionists.

the Most difficult for the Americans were fighting in the train station area of town yemtsa, Arkhangelsk province. The soldiers of the 339 regiment dug in on the mound and fought off attacks by the red regiments. Station four times passed from hand to hand, but in the end the Americans retreated from their positions. Despite the tight control of correspondence, information about the battle remained in the letters of corporal Clement Grobbel and Hugo Salchow, who especially complained of impassable snow and Russian artillery fire.

New symbol

In memory of participation in the fighting against the Russian command decided to Supplement the new regiment emblem heraldic elements. After the campaign in Russia regimental insignia of the division was as follows: blue shield, the bottom of which has a polar bear standing on an ice floe. In the upper left corner shows three of the common swift (coat of arms of the founder of Detroit, French Cadillac). Under the shield is a yellow ribbon with the inscription in Russian “the BAYONET DECIDES”. The full motto of the 339 regiment of the U.S. army is: “We decide the fate of a bayonet fight.”

Despite the menacing motto, direct evidence of the melee between the Americans and the Russians not. It is known that during his stay on the Northern front, the regiment lost 110 men, of which 70 men died from the Russian weapons, and from the epidemic of “Spanish flu”. After the winter fighting, American soldiers began to raise a riot and demand to go home. The men did not understand what they are doing in Russia, if the Germans had already surrendered. In 1919, the regiment was sent to the United States.

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