Intervention
In early 1918 while Russia was in the grips of Revolution, German troops threatened to capture Moscow. Lenin, now in charge of the government, ended the war with Germany to end in late February with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Citing betrayal, Allies turned against Lenin's regime by aiding his "White" enemies and landing troops in Russian ports to prevent Russian supplies from reaching Germany.At the urging of France and Great Britain, the United States sent military forces to the Russian cities of Vladivostok and Murmansk. The American troops in the north were from the 339th Infantry Regiment, a unit made up primarily of men from the Detroit, Michigan area. When the armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, the 339th found themselves in a war with Bolshevik Russia that would last until mid-1919.
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| Men of the 339th Infantry in Murmansk |
US Intervention in My Novel
I worked the story of America's Intervention into Slogans: Our Children, Our Future by showing the effect American action had the Russian expatriates living in the United States.
* * *
No sooner had Locko Fadukovich made his opening statements
then the All Russian Committee for the Aid to Dependent Slavic Families became
a fractured mob. The committee, whose numbers were smaller than its name,
consisted of the seven Russian men whose families were still in the Old Country
and to Locko it appeared their families' plights were the only thing they had
in common. Instead of ways to raise
money, the discussion had turned into a debate on American intervention. As chairman, Locko tried to keep the talk
civil and on topic, but the harder he pounded his fist the louder the voices
became. Perhaps, he now realized,
meeting in the backroom of Shimek's Tavern was not the best idea.
“So America should stand by and do nothing while the
Bolsheviks run around murdering innocent Russians. If those devils can kill the Tsar, then no one is safe.”
“Oh, and the Tsar was not a murderer with blood dripping
from his hands? How many millions died
because of him? I say good riddance to
him and all the royalty.”
“You're as much a bastard as those who are doing the
killing.”
“Let those still in Russia decide. If it's a tsar they want, then it's a tsar they'll have. But don't let other countries determine her
fate. Especially the French and
English. They are no friends of Russia.”
* * *
America's continued meddling in Russian affairs lead to a series of demonstrations and clashes between Russian sympathizers and police. Using the prospect of a Communist uprising as an excuse, most of the demonstrations were brutally suppressed. My characters' reactions were not surprising.
* * *
How can we obey a
country making war on our home? I've
had enough of Wilson's lies. First he
says America invaded Russia to prevent it from leaving the war. Later American soldiers are in Archangel to
protect weapons after Kerensky was overthrown.
Then they are in Vladivostok fighting Russians to free the Czech
Legion. Today he says the America army
is advancing in Siberia to save the lost Russian children. How many more lies does Wilson have to tell
and how may more Russians do the Americans have to kill before we do
something? A thousand? A million?”
* * *
A Monument to Folly
In June of 1919, the last American troops left Murmansk after suffering more than 500 casualties and souring Russian-American relations for years to come. To commemorate their service in Russia, the 339th was given the nickname of Detroit's Own Polar Bears and a distinctive unit insignia. A monument to the unit and its action ion Russia was erected in Troy, Michigan. | ||
| Polar Bear Monument in White Chapel Cemetery, Troy, Michigan, by Leon Mermant |
The USS Chester
In a twist that can only happen in real life, the last US troops were evacuated from Murmansk aboard the American cruiser, USS Chester. Twenty-five years later, my father who was seven-years old at the time, found himself serving on a new heavy cruiser named the USS Chester.
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| USS Chester, CL-1 |
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