BOLSHEVIK SUCCESSES
The outflanking movement by the enemy which I had anticipated from the
day I first took over the command, and which I had made my plans to
counteract, was now in full swing, but so far no damage to our main
position had been effected.
General Detriks visited the front and informed me that the Allied
Council had chosen Major Pichon, of the French detachment which was
timed to arrive next day, to take over the command of this front. After
a personal inspection he expressed himself as satisfied with my
dispositions and suggested that I should still retain the command, and
that he would see that the decision relating to Major Pichon's
appointment was reconsidered in view of the changed conditions he now
found. But I could see that a revision of the Allied Council's
resolution might affect French _amour propre_, and place both Council
and commander in an anomalous position. I therefore requested General
Detriks to take no steps to alter the resolution of the Allied Council,
and stated that I would gladly serve under Major Pichon or any other
commander elected by the Council. British prestige, I added, was too
well established for such trifles to be considered when the only reason
for our presence was to help our Czech and Russian friends. He,
however, pointed out that it was impossible to allow a British colonel
to serve under a French major, and that my command must be considered
quite an independent one.
Major Pichon arrived on August 18, 1918, and I formally handed over the
command. He asked me to consider myself as jointly responsible for the
operations on that front, and said that we would from time to time
consult together as to any action that might be necessary. I found him
both polite and considerate and most anxious to meet the wishes of the
several parts of his command; in fact, he was a gentleman whom it was a
pleasure to meet and work with. His battalion-commander, Major Malley,
was equally urbane, and together I think we made a very happy
combination.
The great outstanding personality of this front was Captain Stephan, the
commander of the 8th Czech Battalion. Originally a brewer of Prague, he
had been compelled on the outbreak of war to join the Austrian Army. He
had done his duty as a soldier of that effete Monarchy, been captured by
the Russians, and while a prisoner of war had been liberated by the
Revolution; he was one of the men who had organised their fellow exiles
and offered their services to France and the Allied cause, believing
that in the success of England's arms was to be found the liberation of
their beloved Bohemia. I asked him why he had offered his services to
France, and his answer and his compatriots' answer was always the same:
"It is to great England we always look to as our saviour, but the German
armies are in France, and to meet our enemies on the field of battle
was, and always will be, the first ambition of every Czech soldier, for
if England says we are a nation, we know we shall be."
I must say I felt flattered by the almost childlike confidence which
Pole, Czech and Russian had in the name and honour of England. We were
undoubtedly the only nation represented on this front and in Siberia
generally against whom not one word of suspicion was directed. I
naturally expected that the prestige of France, in view of her pre-war
alliance with Russia, would be very great, but from the closest
observation of all ranks of Russian society I think it would be
impossible to say which was most suspected in the Russian mind, France,
America or Japan. The presence, however, of French soldiers, and the
politeness of the French officers, may do much to generate a warmer
feeling in Russia towards France. The presence of the soldiers of the
Rising Sun, and the manners and general attitude of her officers towards
the Siberian population, will, if persisted in, certainly result in
changing fear to universal hate.
On the afternoon of his arrival an important movement of enemy forces on
our right front caused Major Pichon to ride through my bivouac, when he
was formally introduced to the officers and men under my command. Later
he informed me that he did not consider the movement sufficiently
important to make any change in our dispositions necessary. Towards dusk
Captain Stephan, accompanied by his adjutant, rode up and reported an
important movement of enemy forces towards Runovka, our solitary
remaining position on the opposite side of the river, which formed the
natural defence and limit of our right flank. Again I was asked to move
forward to render such assistance as might be necessary in case our
right were forced to retire across the river. We marched forward in the
darkness with the flash of the Bolshevik guns lighting up the way, but
as their attention was entirely directed to our outpost at Runovka, we
were as safe as if we had been in Hyde Park. The Czechs have a fatal
preference for woods as a site for defensive works, and they selected a
wood on the left flank of the road for my position. I rejected their
plan, and chose a position about two hundred yards in front of the wood
at a point where the roads cross, and a fold in the ground, aided by the
tall marsh grass, almost entirely hid us from the observation-post of
the enemy. Millions of mosquitoes, against which we had no protection
whatever, attacked us as we began to entrench, but officers and men all
worked with a will, and by dawn we had almost completed what was
probably the best system of field-works so far constructed on this
front. How we wished we might see the enemy advance over the river and
attempt to deploy within range of our rifles! He had by vigorous
artillery fire driven our remaining Czech company across the river, and
so had become complete master of the other side.
It was here that a second chance came to deal effectively with this
attempt to outflank our entire position. A sudden dash across the bend
of the river in the north-eastern corner at Khamerovka on to the
unprotected line of enemy communications would have resulted in a
complete frustration of the enemy plans, with a fair prospect of his
decisive defeat. I even suggested this, but had to confess that I had
moved forward twice, contrary to my imperative orders, and that unless I
chose to run the risk of court-martial, if not dismissal, I could not
join in the attack, though I would come to the rescue. This was too
ambiguous for the other leaders, and the opportunity was allowed to
pass.
Shortly after, I met an old tramp with his pack, and handed him over to
my liaison officer. We could not very well detain him as he had already
in his possession a Czech and a French passport, but afterwards I much
regretted that I had not perforated his papers with a bullet as they
rested in his breast pocket. He tramped along the road, and my sentries
deflected his course away from the trenches, but he saw my men scattered
about in the wood behind, and at daybreak the enemy artillery began to
spatter the wood with a plentiful supply of shrapnel and shells. One
dropped within twenty yards of myself and officers whilst at breakfast;
pitching just under a tree, it lifted it into the air in a truly
surprising manner. The number of shells--some of which were German
make--the enemy wasted on that wood proclaimed an abundant supply of
ammunition. To this persistent shelling we had nothing to reply, and at
last from sheer exhaustion the enemy fire died down. With darkness he
began again, and the feeble reply of three small mountain guns, which
we knew were with the Runovka Cossack outpost, indicated that an attack
was developing in that direction.
The unequal duel continued intermittently until 2 A.M., when a field
telephone message informed me that Runovka had been abandoned, that the
Czech company was retiring across our front, and that Kalmakoff's
Cossacks were retiring over the river lower down and taking up a
position at Antonovka on our extreme right rear. This meant that our
whole defensive positions were completely turned, and the next enemy
move would place him near our lines of communication.
This, however, was not our only difficulty. Until two days previous we
had been able to give an occasional shot in return for the many sent
towards us; then the Bolshevik gunners found the mark on the two guns
whose duty it was to prevent an advance along the railway, and our two
and only field guns were called in to fill the gap, leaving the infantry
without any artillery protection. I cabled to Commodore Payne, R.N., who
commanded H.M.S. _Suffolk_, at Vladivostok, informing him of our
critical position and asked him to send such artillery assistance as was
possible. The commodore was as prompt as is expected of the Navy. In an
incredibly short space of time he fitted up an armoured train with two
12-pounder Naval guns and two machine guns, and dispatched it at express
speed to my assistance, with a second similar train following behind,
the whole being under the command of Captain Bath, R.M.L.I. It is
scarcely possible to describe the feeling of relief with which our
exhausted and attenuated forces welcomed this timely aid from our
ever-ready Navy. It enabled us to bring the two Czech guns into position
to keep down the fire of the enemy, and gave us a sense of security in
that our rear was safe in case retirement should be forced upon us. It
put new heart into the men, though they never showed the slightest sign
of depression in spite of their many discomforts. The British soldier
certainly offers the most stolid indifference to the most unfavourable
situations.
The Bolshevik leaders were not long in showing their hand. They remained
silent during the following day, but at night they began to shell us
from their new position in Runovka itself, selecting as the site for
their two batteries the hill on which the Orthodox church stood, and
using the Greek tower as their post of observation.
About 9.30 A.M. an enemy armoured train moved slowly forward from
Shmakovka, followed by four others, which directed a flank fire at my
position. The shells all plunked into the marsh about four hundred yards
short, affording much amusement and causing many caustic Cockney
comments. Next came a troop train which gave us great hopes of a real
attack developing on our front, but our Naval 12-pounders on the
_Suffolk's_ armoured train began to do good practice, and a shot
registered on the front enemy engine caused volumes of steam to burst
from her sides, and great consternation suddenly appeared amongst the
trains' personnel. The Naval gunners did not seem inclined to lose the
mark, and so the whole attempt fizzled out, and the trains steamed back
to shelter.
The two old Czech field guns, which had been repaired by H.M.S.
_Suffolk's_ artificers at "Vlady," wheeled into position behind a fold
in the ground on our right rear and began a duel with the two enemy
batteries at Runovka. This duel was most entertaining. The enemy
artillery searched our wood and works, and the line of trees occupied by
the French was plentifully sprayed with shrapnel, but they failed to
locate our guns, or get anywhere near them, or indeed to cause a single
casualty either to man or horse. During the night a peasant gave the
guns' position away, and in the early morning exchanges one gun came to
grief. The remaining gun changed position, and the duel became still
more interesting. By skilful manoeuvring the gun was got much nearer,
and at once the range was obtained to a nicety. Every shot was placed so
near the mark as to rouse the infantry's obvious excitement to fever
heat, and finally a shell was planted right into the enemy observation
tower, setting it on fire and burning it to the ground. By placing four
shells near to hand, and working like Trojans, the Czech gunners fired
four shots so rapidly as to deceive the enemy into the belief that four
guns were now opposing them, and after about two hours of this relay
work the enemy batteries were beaten to a frazzle, and retired from the
unequal contest with two guns out of action. It was simply magnificent
as a display of real efficient gunnery. There is no doubt the enemy had
intended to make an effort to cross the river at Runovka and that his
artillery had been placed with a view to protecting the passage of his
troops. The young Czech gunnery lieutenant by his stratagem with one
solitary field-piece had made this plan appear impossible to the enemy
commander. Never was deception more complete.
Having felt our right flank and found it too strong, the enemy continued
his movement towards our right rear. He could only do this with safety
by correctly anticipating our strategy. He took our measure to a
military fraction. He saw that, though he offered the most tempting
bait, we made no effort to move forward to snap it up, and doubtless
came to the conclusion that we were chained to our positions by either
dearth of numbers or military incapacity. In the last stage of his
movement his communications stretched for twenty-three miles along our
flank, with three posts of just over one hundred men to protect his
supply trains. If the commander of that force is still alive he probably
has a poor opinion of the ability of his opponents. We were ready to
deal him a death-blow at any moment from the day he occupied Uspenkie
until he crossed the river before Antonovka. He and his column were only
saved by orders from Vladivostok.
For two days no movement was observable in the enemy lines, and it began
to look as though he would or could not take full advantage of his
extremely favourable position.
I had waged an unequal contest with millions of mosquitoes while trying
to sleep in a field telephone hut made of rough branches and marsh
grass. The Czech soldier who acted as operator had helped me as much as
possible, but at last in desperation I got up and walked about until the
wonderful colouring in the East heralded another glorious Siberian
summer day. The bluey-purple pall had given place to a beautiful
orange-tinted yellow such as I had never seen before. The sentry prodded
a sleeping Tommy who had a huge black frog sitting on the highest point
of his damp, dewy blanket, and a bugle glistening by his side. The
sleeper awoke, and after washing his lips at the tank, sounded the
soldiers' clarion call, the "Réveillé." Instantly the whole bivouac was
alive, but scarcely had the bugle notes died away when the telephone
buzzer began to give forth a series of sharp, staccato sounds. The Czech
operator gave a sharp ejaculation, like "Dar! Dar! Dar!" looking more
serious as the sounds proceeded. He then calmly hung up the
speaking-tube on the tree that supported our home and began to explain
to my interpreter, Lieutenant Bolsaar, the message just received. It was
that Major Pichon wished to see me at his headquarters at once in
reference to the serious position of Antonovka. I mounted my horse,
"Nero," which was a beautiful present from Captain Pomerensiv on handing
over his command, and soon arrived at Kraevesk and heard the full story
of the surprise at Antonovka.
From Major Pichon I gathered that Ataman Kalmakoff with his Cossacks had
taken up a position on the high ground in the village of Antonovka,
keeping touch with the French on his left, and a company of the 5th
Battalion of Czechs on his right, who guarded the road to Svagena, and
that though he posted sentries in the usual way during the night, the
enemy in large numbers crept between them, and when the alarm was given
and Kalmakoff mounted his horse he found some thirty of his men already
wounded or dead and his machine guns in enemy hands. Most of his troops
were in a cul-de-sac, and had to charge a high fence and by the sheer
weight of their horses break a way out. Kalmakoff with a few Cossacks
tried to retake the guns with a superb charge, but though he got through
himself he lost more men, amongst whom was a splendid fellow, his second
in command, named Berwkoff, who was greatly loved by us all. A Magyar
soldier seeing Kalmakoff with his Ataman banner borne by his side, took
a point-blank shot at his head, but he forgot the high trajectory of the
old Russian rifle, and the bullet merely grazed the top of the Cossack
leader's head and sent his _papaha_ into the mud. His banner-bearer
could not see his leader's cap so left, and jumped off his horse to
rescue it. Raising the cap from the ground, he found himself challenged
with the bayonet by the same Magyar soldier. He had no time to draw, but
with a mighty sweep, sword in scabbard, he felled the Magyar to the
ground; he had no time to dispatch him, and was barely able to get away.
The Czech company was retiring slowly towards Svagena, and the Cossacks,
while keeping in touch with the enemy, were retiring towards the railway
on our rear. This was a very startling situation, and required immediate
action if we were not to be caught in a trap.
We both decided that a retirement was the only alternative to being
completely surrounded.
We there and then drew up the orders necessary to secure that the
retreat should be both methodical and orderly. The Czechs were to retire
first, past my lines, and entrain at Kraevesk, followed by the English
and the French, who were to bring up the rear, which was to be covered
by the English armoured train, assisted by the machine-gun section of
the Middlesex Regiment under Lieutenant King. So the evacuation of our
splendid position regretfully began.