The Polar Bear Expedition: The Heroes of America’s Forgotten Invasion of Russia, 1918-1919, by James Carl Nelson, examines a little known chapter in American history, our intervention (along with our World War One allies) in the Russian Revolution.
The mission was doomed from the start. Originally conceived as an attempt to guard munitions and supplies the allies had stored in Archangel for the Czar’s Army from falling in the hands of the Red Army, classic mission creep led to a wider engagement.
Americans, Canadians, British, French and other forces began a wider campaign to get Russian back in the war by supporting the Whites. But there was no clear strategy on how to do this; a small number of allied troops in the wilds of northern Russian had no real impact on the conflict. They were a drop in a very cold bucket.
The author writes about an area of Russian few Americans are familiar with; this can get confusing. Having a map handy helps with geographical intelligibility.
The mission was doomed from the start. Originally conceived as an attempt to guard munitions and supplies the allies had stored in Archangel for the Czar’s Army from falling in the hands of the Red Army, classic mission creep led to a wider engagement.
Americans, Canadians, British, French and other forces began a wider campaign to get Russian back in the war by supporting the Whites. But there was no clear strategy on how to do this; a small number of allied troops in the wilds of northern Russian had no real impact on the conflict. They were a drop in a very cold bucket.
The author writes about an area of Russian few Americans are familiar with; this can get confusing. Having a map handy helps with geographical intelligibility.
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