North Russia 1918

Early in 1918 the Allies decided to send a small force to Murmansk in North Russia, hoping to rally anti-Bolshevik elements of the population and also to deny the use of that ice-free port to the Germans. In April a mixed force of British, Canadians, French, Italians, Serbs and loyal Russians was sent under Major-General Maynard. It included a Rifle company of three 60th platoons and one Rifle Brigade platoon under Major V. Yeats Brown.

Lieutenant-Colonel G. Moore, 60th, commanded a British-Slav unit.

The local Russians adopted a more or less neutral attitude while the Bolsheviks gradually assembled considerable if inefficient forces to oppose the Allies. After the Armistice of November, 1918, the Russian winter put a stop to active operations, but in April, 1919, General Maynard took the offensive and reached Lake Onega on 21st May. He withdrew to Murmansk at the end of July and by 3rd October the whole force had re-embarked, leaving those Russians who had given us assistance to their fate.

The Rifle Company, in this hard campaign in sparsely populated, wooded country with few tracks, took part in many minor opera­tions and engagements with invariable success. They formed the rearguard at Murmansk and were the last troops to embark. On one occasion they took two machine guns and many prisoners, the enemy leaving forty dead on the field. The Company lost 3 officers wounded and 8 other ranks.

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