closed in on him from behind. About a hundred English marines, a
section of machine gunners, a platoon of Royal Scots, and some Russian
artillery, all enroute to Archangel from their chase of the Reds up the
Dvina, were ordered off their barges at Sisskoe, were christened “D”
Force, and, under the command of Captain Scott, British officer, were
given the task of preventing the Reds from Kodish from cutting off the
river communications.
This force was also to help Col. Hazelden out. But as we have seen, his
force had been destroyed, and Americans hurriedly sent out. At
Volshenitsa Captain Donoghue received a message by aeroplane from Col.
Guard at Obozerskaya that “D” Force was held up at Tiogra by the Reds.
After patrolling the forest five days and finding the trail to Emtsa
impassable during the wet season, “K” Company received both the welcome
reinforcements of Lieut. Gardner and the twenty men who had been left
at Lewis gun School at Bakaritza, and orders to proceed on to
Seletskoe.
The Red Guards hearing of the American successes on the railway and
hearing of the approach of this force from the railroad in their rear
went back to Kodish, and on the morning of September 16th “K” Company
became a full-fledged member of “D” Force to be better known the world
over in the bitterest part of this campaign as the Kodish Force.
Here the doughboys got their baptism of fire when they took over under
fire the outposts of the village of Seletskoe. For the Bolos who had
retreated the week before had told the inhabitants they would be back
and they were making their threat, or promise, as you will have it,
good. For two days and nights the Americans beat off the attacks,
principally through the good work of Sgt. Michael Kinney, the gallant
soldier who fell at Kodish on New Year’s Day. Aided by the accurate
fire of the French machine gun section, the “K” men inflicted such
heavy penalties that the Reds quit in panic, assassinated their
commander and skurried south thirty miles. However, this victory was
not exploited by the Allied force. It seems that the commander of the
force had sent out a Russian patrol on the east bank of the Emtsa River
which brought back information that a heavy force of the enemy was
operating in the rear of “D” force.
Accordingly Captain Scott ordered a retreat from Seletskoe to Tiogra,
taking up a position on the north bank of the Emtsa River after burning
the bridge to prevent pursuit by the Reds who it was afterwards found
were fleeing in the opposite direction, after having burned another
bridge on the Emtsa further to the south to prevent the Americans from
pursuing them.
An interesting story was often repeated about this funny episode which
was due to the credence given by the British officer to the report of
the highly imaginative Russian patrol.
An English corporal on one of the outposts of Seletskoe was not
informed by Captain Scott of the retreat during the night. Next morning
he went forward and discovered that the Reds had burned their bridge.
But when he went to report that fact he found the village of Seletskoe
evacuated by his own forces, natives also having fled with everything
of value from the samovar to the cow. A few hours later the old
corporal appeared on the other bridgeless bank of the Emtsa across from
the “K” men who were digging in and said in a puzzled way, “I saiy, old
chap, wots the bloody gaime?”
Of course as soon as an improvised pontoon could be rigged up “K”
Company and the rest of the happily informed force were in pursuit
again of the Reds. The bridge was constructed by a detachment of the
310th American Engineers, who had come up with Col. Henderson, of the
famous “Black Watch,” the new commander.
The French machine gunners by this time were badly needed on the
railroad force. In their place came a company of the Russian Officers’
Training Corps.
On September 23rd Seletskoe was again occupied and the Yanks began
improving its defenses, taking much satisfaction in the arrival from
Archangel of Lieut. Ballard’s American machine gun platoon. Within two
days also their ranks were greatly strengthened by the arrival of
Lieut. Chappel from Issaka Gorka with the other two platoons of “K”
company closely followed by Captain Cherry with “L” Company from the
Railroad force.
General Finlayson, whose job it was to take Plesetskaya, now sought to
shove the Kodish force ahead rapidly so as to trap the Reds on the
railroad between the two forces. Accordingly the next morning,
September 26th, “K” Company and two platoons of “L” and the machine gun
section moved south toward Kodish to achieve the mission that had been
assigned to Col. Hazelden. The Bolshevik was found the next morning
strongly entrenched on the other side of the river Emtsa near the
burned bridge and after severe losses suffered in the gaining of a
foothold on the north side of the river by crossing on a raft, the
Americans had to dig in. In fact they lay for over a week in the swamp
hanging tenaciously to their position but unable to advance. Men’s feet
swelled in their wet boots till the shoes burst. But still they hung on
under the example of their game old captain, At this time Lieut.
Chappel was victim of a Bolo machine gun while trying to lead a raiding
squad up to its capture. Six others were killed and twenty-four were
wounded. _Droskies_ needed for transportation of supplies and
ammunition had to be used to take back the wounded and sick from
exposure to Seletskoe. No “K” or “L” or “M. G.” man who was there will
ever forget those days.
It was obvious that the Kodish force must be augmented. English marines
and a section of Canadian artillery came up. Headquarters was
established in the four-house village of Mejnovsky, eight miles back.
Steady sniping and patrol action was carried on actively by both
forces. Col. Henderson’s further attempt to throw a force across the
river by means of a raft was frustrated by the Reds. October 7th
Lieut.-Col. Gavin came up to assume command.
This energetic and keen British officer soon worked out plans for
effecting an advance. Using the American engineers, he soon had a ferry
in use three versts—about two miles—below Mejnovsky.
And on October the 12th “K” and “L” Companies crossed on that ferry and
marched up the left bank of the Emtsa till within one thousand yards of
the flank of the strong Bolo position, and bivouacked in the swamp for
the night. In the morning Captain Cherry took his company and two
platoons of “K” and struck south to pass by the flank and fall upon
Kodish in rear of the enemy who was holding the position in great force
at the river.
The remainder of “K” Company moved upon the right of the enemy front
line at the river crossing. At the time Donoghue struck, a frontal
demonstration was made upon the Reds by the English marines and
American machine guns firing across the river and by the Canadian
artillery shelling the woods where the Red reserves were thought to be.
The plan failed because of the inability of Captain Cherry to reach his
objective, on account of the bottomless swamps that he encountered.
Captain Donoghue gained a foot-hold and then was forced to dig in and
during the afternoon repulsed two counter attacks of the Bolos, having
paid for the capture of the two Bolo machine guns by severe losses.
During the night under cover of these two platoons, “L” and the English
marines crossed the river, where the Reds had held them so many days.
And during the following day the right of the Bolo position was turned
by a movement through the woods.
But at four o’clock in the afternoon the enemy’s second, position, a
mile north of the village, developed surprising strength. In fact, the
Reds counterattacked just at dark and once more the doughboys lay down,
on their arms, in the rain-flooded swamp, where the dark, frosty
morning would find them stiff and ugly customers for the Reds to
tackle. In fact they did rise up and smite the Bolshevik so swiftly
that he fled from his works and left Kodish in such a hurry that he
gave no forwarding address for his mail. Captain Donoghue set up his
headquarters in Kodish and sent detachments out to follow the Reds and
to threaten the Red Shred Makhrenga and Taresevo forces. During this
fight, or rather after it, the Canadians taught our boys their first
lesson in looting the persons of the dead. Our men had been rather
respectful and gentle with the Bolo dead who were quite numerous on the
Emtsa River battlefield. Can you call a tangle of woods a field? But
the Canadians, veterans of four years fighting, immediately went
through the pockets of the dead for roubles and knives and so forth and
even took the boots off the dead, as they were pretty fair boots.
The officer who reports this says he has often heard of dead men’s
boots but had to go to war to actually see them worn.
In passing let it be stated that many a footsore doughboy helped
himself to a dry pair of boots from a dead Red Guard or in winter to a
pair of _valenkas_, or warm felt boots. One of “Captain Mike’s” nervy
sergeants protested against being sent back to Seletskoe to get him a
new pair of shoes, for he hated the ill-fitting British army shoe, as
all Americans did, and prevailed upon Donoghue to let him wait a few
days till after a battle when he sure enough helped himself to a fine
pair of boots.
One thing the American never did take from the dead Bolo was his
Russian tobacco, for it was worse even than the British issue tobacco.
A good story is told on one of Donoghue’s lieutenants. During the
excitement of burning the bridge over the Emtsa at Tiogra, time when
the two forces fled from one another, the officer, greatly fatigued,
sat down on the bridge during the preparations by the men. He was
missed later on the march and the man whom the captain sent back to
find the lieutenant arrived just in time to keep what little hair the
popular bald-headed little officer had from being singed off by the
leaping flames. Lieut. Ryan does not like to be kidded about it.
The morning of the seventeenth of October saw the American forces again
on the advance. Good news had come of the successes on the railroad.
The Kodish force was in the strategic position now to force the Reds to
give up Emtsa and Plesetskaya. But Trotsky’s northern army commander
evidently well understood that situation, for he gave strict attention
to this Kodish force of Americans and at the fifteenth verst pole on
the main road his Red Guards held the Americans all day. Again the next
day he made Donoghue’s Yanks strive all day. Just at night successful
flanking movements caused the enemy to evacuate his formidable
position. It was here that Sgt. Cromberger, one of Ballard’s machine
gun men, distinguished himself by going single-handed into the Bolo
lines to reconnoiter.
The converging advances upon Plesetskaya by the three columns, up the
Onega Valley, on the railroad and on the Kodish-Plesetskaya-Petrograd
highway now seemed about to succeed. Hard fighting by all three columns
had broken the Bolshevik’s confidence somewhat.
Of course at this time of writing it can be seen better than it could
then. He did not make a stand at Avda. He was found by our patrols way
back at Kochmas, only a few miles from the railroad. Meanwhile the
Russian Officers’ Training Corps which was armed with forty Lewis guns
and acted rather independently, together with the Royal Scot platoon
and a large number of “partisans,” anti-Bolshevik volunteers of the
area, effected the capture of Shred Makhrenga, Taresevo and other
villages, which added to the threat of the Kodish force on Plesetskaya.
Plesetskaya at that moment was indeed of immense value to the Reds. It
was the railroad base of their four columns that were holding up the
left front of their Northern Army. But they were discouraged. Our
patrols and spies sent into Plesetskaya vicinity reported and stories
of deserters and wounded men all indicated that the Reds were getting
ready to evacuate Plesetskaya. A determined smash of the three Allied
columns would have won the coveted position. But the Kodish force now
received the same strange order from far-off Archangel that was
received on the other fronts:
“To hold on and dig in.” No further advances were to be made. Thinking
of their eleven comrades killed in this advance and of the thirty-one
wounded and of the many sick from exposure, the Americans on the Kodish
force as well as the English marines and Scots who also had lost
severely, were loath to stop with so easy a victory in sight.
Of course General Ironside’s main idea was right, but its application
at that time and place seemed to work hardship on the Kodish force. And
the sequel proves it. To add to their discomfort, the very size of this
force which had struggled so valiantly this little distance, was now
reduced by the withdrawal of the English marines and of “L” Company,
and by the ordering of the Canadian artillery guns to the Dvina front.
The remaining force with Captain Donoghue totalled one hundred and
eighty men, which seemed very small to them, in view of the fact that a
mere reconnoitering patrol from the Bolos now returning to activity
always showed anywhere from seventy-five to one hundred rifles and a
machine gun or two. However, they made the best of their remaining days
in October to fortify the Kodish-Avda front sector of the road. The
Yanks were to be prepared for the worst. And they got it. Let us take a
look at the position held by these Americans. It is typical of the
positions in which many of the far-flung detachments found themselves.
At the seventeenth verst pole was a four-man outpost. At the sixteenth
verst pole Lieut. Ballard had two of his machine guns, a Lewis gun crew
and some forty-six men from “K” Company. Four versts behind him on the
densely wooded road Lieut. Gardner with forty men and a Vickers gun was
occupying the old Bolo dugouts. One verst further back in the big
clearing was Kodish village, a place which by all the rules of field
strategy was absolutely untenable. Here with four Vickers guns were the
remainder of “K” Company along with the sick and the lame and the halt,
scarce forty men really able to do active duty, but obliged to stay on
to support their comrades. The nearest friendly troops, including their
artillery, were back at Seletskoe, thirty versts away. On October 29th
the Reds returned to Avda. The noise from that village and reports
brought by patrols indicated that this enemy who erstwhile was on the
run, and whom our high command now held lightly, was determined to
regain Kodish. And while striking heavily at their enemy on the
railroad as we have seen, the Red Guards now fell upon this single
company of Americans strung out along the Kodish-Avda road.
In the afternoon of November 1st the enemy drove in our cossack post of
“K” men at verst seventeen, began shelling us with his artillery and
for several days kept raiding Ballard heavier and heavier. Meanwhile
Captain Donoghue sent out from Kodish every available man to strengthen
the line. Night and day the men labored to erect additional defenses,
with scarcely time to close an eye in sleep, patrolling all the trails
on their flanks. On the fourth of November, the day the Reds were
massed in such numbers on the railroad, they succeeded in forcing
Ballard from his trenches at the sixteenth verst pole. He fell back to
the new defenses at the fifteenth verst. It is related by his men that
he passed between Bolo forces who lined the road but permitted the
Americans to escape.
Lieut. Gardner was now reinforced at the twelfth verst pole, for a
patrol had lost a man somewhere on the river flank and it was thought
that the enemy was preparing to pass by the flank and bag this body of
American fighters by taking the newly constructed bridge on the Emtsa
in the rear of Donoghue’s small force. This bridge was their “only way
home.”
Their worst fears came true. On the morning of the fifth of November
these Yanks way out at front of Kodish, holding the enemy off
desperately from the frontal attack, and endeavoring vainly to
frustrate the flank attacks of their enemy in greatly superior numbers,
suddenly heard great bursts of machine gun fire way towards the rear in
the vicinity of Kodish. Instantly they knew that Reds had worked down
the river by the flank from Avda or even from Emtsa on the railroad and
were attacking in force three miles to their rear. That made the
situation desperate. But the Yanks who had in the beginning of the
campaign been looked down upon by the Red Capped British High Command
because of their greenness, now showed their fineness of fighting stuff
by fighting on with undiminished vigor and effectiveness. Nowhere did
they give way. Day and night they were on the alert. Attacks from the
front, sly raids from the woods on each side of the road, heart
chilling assaults upon the cluster of houses in Kodish way in their
rear, and steady progress of the Red Guards toward the bridge on the
Emtsa, their only way out of the bag in which the worn and depleted
company was being trapped, brought the prolonged struggle to a crisis
in the middle of the afternoon of the eighth of November.
It came as follows: Colonel Hazelden, survivor of the disaster earlier
in the fall, as already related, had returned to command the
Kodish-Shred Makhrenga fronts, when Col. Gavin was sent to command the
railroad front where Colonel Sutherland had fizzled.
This gallant officer was on his way to the perilous front to see
Ballard. Just as he passed Gardner at the twelfth verst pole, he found
himself and the two detachments of Americans at last completely cut off
by a whole battalion of Red Guards fresh from the south of Russia, sent
up by Trotsky to brace his Northern Army. For half an hour there raged
a fight as intense as was the bitter reality of the emergency to the
forty Americans with Gardner in those dugouts. By almost miraculous
luck in directing their fire through the screen of trees that shielded
the Reds from view, Sgt. Cromberger’s Vickers gun and Cpl. Wilkie’s
Lewis gun inflicted terrible losses upon this fresh battalion just
getting into action against the Americanskis. It was massed preparatory
to the final dispositions of its commander to overwhelm the Americans.
But with the hail of bullets tearing through their heavy ranks, the
Bolos were unable long to stand it, and at last broke from control,
yelling and screaming, to suffer still more from the well-handled guns
when they left their cover and ran for the woods. And so the little
force was saved. But so loud and prolonged were the yells of the
frightened and wounded Reds that Captain Donoghue, a verst in the rear
at his field headquarters, he related afterwards, paced the floor of
the log shack in an agony of certainty that his brave men were all
gone. He had been sure that the howling of the scattered pack had been
the fervent yells of a last bayonet charge wiping out the Yankees.
The Reds could not get themselves together for another attack at this
point before dark but did drive Ballard back verst after verst that
afternoon. It was a grim handful of “M. G.” and “K” men who looked at
their own losses and counted the huge enemy losses of that desperate
day and wondered how many such days would whittle them off to the point
of annihilation. Col. Hazelden had gone back to headquarters. Captain
Donoghue now acted with his usual decisiveness.
The Americanskis had slipped out of the bag before the Red string was
tied. And in the morning of the 9th of November the good old Vickers
guns and Lewis guns were peeking from their old concealed strongholds
on the American side of the Emtsa. Artillery support was reported on
the way to argue with the Bolo artillery. A platoon of “L” Company
which had come up during the last of the fighting, together with a
platoon of replacement men from the old Division in France, who had
just come across the trail from the railroad, now took over the active
defense of the bridge.
Both sides began digging in. American Engineers came up to build block
houses. And the fagged warriors of machine gun and “K” infantry men now
retired a short distance to the rear to make themselves as comfortable
as possible in the woods, and try to forget their recent harrowing
experiences and the sight of the seven bleeding stretchers that were
part of the cost of trying to hold a place that was a veritable death
trap. Here it was that Major Nichols on a look-see from the railroad
detachments found them. He had been sent across by the French colonel
commanding Vologda force, under which this Kodish force had recently
been brought. He was the first American field officer that had come to
inspect this hard-battered outfit. And his report on their miserable
plight had no little influence in bringing them relief.
Shortly afterward “K” Company was relieved by “E” Company which had
come down from Archangel guard duty, and “K” Company went to reserve
position in Seletskoe and later marched across the trail to
Obozerskaya, took troop train to Archangel for a much needed and highly
deserved two weeks’ change of scenery and rest, arriving one evening in
November in an early winter’s snow storm at Smolny Quay where the “M”
Company men captured them and their luggage and carried them off to a
big feed, first one they had had in Russia. Lieut. Ballard’s heroic
machine gun platoon a few days later was also relieved, by Lieut.
O’Callaghan’s platoon. So ended the fall campaign on the famous Kodish
front.
VII
PENETRATING TO UST PADENGA
Taking Of Shenkursk On Vaga—“Horse Marines”—Battling At Puia—Bad
Position For Troops—Retirement To Ust Padenga—Critical Situation—“C”
Company Stands Heavy Losses—Lieutenant Cuff And Men Killed In Hand To
Hand Fighting—Bolshevik Patrols—Cossack Forces Weak On Defense.
While the old first battalion was, as we have seen, fighting up to
Seltso on the Dvina River, numerous reports were coming in daily that a
strong force of the Bolsheviki were operating on the Vaga River. This
river is a tributary of the Dvina and empties into it at a village
called Ust Vaga, about thirty versts below Beresnik and on which is
located the second largest town or city in the province of Archangel.
This river was strategically of more value than the upper Dvina,
because, as a glance at the map will show, its possession threatened
the rear of both the Dvina and the Kodish columns. Accordingly, on the
fifteenth day of September, accompanied by a river gunboat, the
remaining handful of Company “A”, comprising two platoons, under Capt.
Odjard and Lieut. Mead, went on board a so-called fast river steamer en
route to Shenkursk. On the seventeenth day of September this detachment
took possession of Shenkursk without firing a single shot, the
Bolsheviki having fled in disorder upon word of our arrival. The
citizens of this village turned out en masse to welcome us as their
deliverers, and the Slavo-British Allied Legion soon gained a
considerable number of new recruits.
Shenkursk is a village about one hundred and twenty-five versts up the
Vaga River from its junction with the Dvina River. It is by far one of
the most substantial and prosperous in the province of Archangel. It
differs very materially from all the surrounding country in that it is
located on good sandy soil on a high bluff overlooking the river and is
comparatively dry, even in wet weather. It is quite a summer resort
town, has a number of well constructed brick buildings, half a dozen or
more schools, a seminary, monastery, saw mill, and in many others
respects is far above the average Russian village.