Russian Sideshow

by Robert L Willett

  During the next month Dr. Hall spent time caring for the Allied wounded, but, in accordance with his medical creed, he found time to minister to the Russians, who had contracted the influenza that had so devastated the Americans. Hall’s diary mentions his ministrations to the peasants, “among whom the ravages of Spanish influenza and pneumonia were heartrending to behold.”27

  By that time, First Battalion was almost completely split. Company B remained with the British forces on the Dvina, Company A was the farthest away at Ust Padenga on the Vaga River, Company C was at Shenkursk, and Company D was farther north at Seletskoye. Since the Allied instructions were to cease any offensive movement, the offensive shifted to the Bolsheviks, who were becoming more organized, more aggressive, and more proficient. However, the masses of men they could provide to any front at any time proved their greatest advantage. Their losses, while heavy, scarcely dented their manpower pools. The Allies had few replacements for the fallen. On September 30, a shipment of replacements had arrived, bringing some three thousand additional British troops with 510 Americans.28

  By October 17, the Allied Left Bank Force was entrenched in Toulgas, frantically digging in both for defense and for winter quarters with the professional help of a squad of Company A, 310th Engineers. On October 20, both Americans and Royal Scots received replacements, including Lt. John Cudahy, who joined Company B. Cudahy was so shocked by the poor rations that he paid for additional provisions out of his own pocket.29

  The replacements were just in time to beat off an attack from increasingly aggressive Bolshevik units. Parrish commented on October 21, “Snow and Cold and laying out in Coald Wet Rifel Pits.”30 The weather was definitely becoming a factor, and barracks bags with winter clothing were still somewhere on the docks. The restless Bolos attacked the upper Toulgas area on October 23, but were easily beaten off, sustaining but one American wounded.31 With the increasing activity against Toulgas, two platoons of Company D, then at Chamova, were ordered to hike to Toulgas to bolster the Scots, Canadians, and Americans. They arrived barely in time.

  Red gunboats had retreated because of cold weather and ice in the river. A brief thaw brought them back on November 7 after a week’s absence, and they began firing shells into Toulgas. Enemy patrols became more aggressive, civilians became less friendly, and all signs pointed to an imminent attack. British gunboats had long since retreated to friendlier shores, with no orders, just their own instincts for self-preservation. The Allied boats were sorely missed during the renewed Red attacks, and the failure to leave any of the British rifled artillery created a major hole in the Toulgas defenses. While the Bolos could bring their ships from upriver during the thaw, the ice freed by the thaw served as a plug in the narrow lower Dvina, preventing any Allied ships from coming upriver to support the men in Toulgas.

  Toulgas was a river town, split by a creek that ran east-west through the village. It was really three villages in one. Upper Toulgas, south of the creek, had some sixty homes, as well as two American outpost locations manned by Company B. The central village housed the local church and priest’s house, with several other houses in a level, cleared plot just north of the bridge over the creek. The northern, or lower, area included the hospital and quarters for the Sixty-seventh Battery, Canadian Field Artillery’s fifty-seven men. The north-end hospital was three miles from the outposts in upper Toulgas and virtually unprotected. Just south of the hospital, the two Canadian field pieces, eighteen-pounders, faced south, from which a Red attack would most likely come. To the west of the town, heavy forest formed a semi-circle from the southern end to the northern end; the ground sloped fairly steeply to the river, with a shallow ravine running through the lower village to the Dvina. Most of the homes were in the central and north sections of the village, which also housed a newly constructed blockhouse near the creek bridge. The doughboys were billeted in various houses in the three areas, as well as in outposts at the edge of the woods.

  Early in the morning on November 11, as the western front grew silent, all hell broke loose at Toulgas. During the night the Reds had brought up two of their most powerful gunboats, landed a battery of artillery in the woods, and opened fire on the outposts and blockhouses in upper Toulgas. Simultaneously five hundred Red infantry poured out of the woods to the west, and a like force appeared suddenly from the woods to the south. As the attack came, the exposed men in the outposts ran frantically for the blockhouse, all but one making it safely. Lt. Henry Dennis made a brief attempt to slow the Soviets at the outposts, but he was unsuccessful.

  The first American to fall was Pvt. Leo Gasper, who fell just short of the bridge. The gunboats continued to fire at the blockhouse guarding the bridge on the creek, as the doughboys began their defense. Their Lewis and Vickers machine guns cut into the swarms of attackers coming across the bridge; at the same time the Reds sent their infantry into action coming down the ravine, sweeping almost everything before it. Had it not been for the bravery of the Canadian artillerymen, with their small, but deadly, eighteen-pounders, and the stubborn Yanks, the three sections of Toulgas would have fallen quickly. But the Canadians fired their eighteen-pounder guns point-blank into the masses of Bolos, causing them to stumble back up the ravine and regroup. Lt. John Cudahy wrote of the Canadians:

  They swore fine, full chested Canadian blasphemies that were a glory to hear, crammed shrapnel into their guns, and turned terrible blasts into the incoming masses, that exploded among them and shattered them into ghastly, dismembered corpses and hurled blood and human flesh wide in the air in sickening, splattering atoms.32

  The Bolsheviks, however, had captured the hospital filled with wounded Scots, Canadians, and Americans. There, a legend was born:

  One of the leading commanders was an extremely powerful giant of a man, named Melochofski, who first led his troops into the village hospital in the rear of the gun positions. He strode into the hospital wearing a huge black fur hat, which accentuated his extroardinary height, and singled out all the wounded American and English troops for execution, and this undoubtedly would have been their fate, had it not been for the interference of a most remarkable woman, who was christened by the soldiers “Lady Olga.” . . . She had fallen in love with Melochofski and had accompanied him with his troops through the trackless woods, sharing the lot of the common soldiers and enduring hardships that would have shaken the most vigorous man. With all her hardihood, however, there still was the touch of eternal feminine, and when Melochofski issued the orders for slaughter of the invalided soldiers, she rushed forward and in no uncertain tones demanded that the order be countermanded and threatened to shoot the first Bolo that entered the hospital.33

  Melochofski left and took his men back into the fight, but the close-up cannon fire by the Canadians forced them back, and the hospital stayed intact, with the lovely Lady Olga as a welcome addition. The Bolo commander went out to join the fight against the Canadian gunners and within minutes was brought back mortally wounded to die in the arms of his lover.34

  At the bridge, the fire from the blockhouse kept the Bolos on the south side of the creek. With only seven doughboys in the blockhouse, it was a test of their bravery and marksmanship that no Soviet soldier made it all the way across the eighty-foot bridge. Sgt. Fred Marriott was the noncom in charge, supervising the Vickers and machine gun fire. The Reds turned their artillery and gunboat fire on the little blockhouse, but by some miracle, at the end of the day the blockhouse still stood. As the shells burst all around the post, debris blocked some firing ports. Sgt. Floyd Wallace was one of those in the stronghold. Twice, Wallace went outside to clear the ports; the second time, his luck ran out and he was hit in the arm. After almost a full day of attacking the bridge, the Reds retreated with extensive casualties.

  Late in the day, Lieutenant Dennis took a squad to wipe out Soviet snipers, who had inflicted a number of casualties during the day. Despite the savagery of the Red attacks, and the enormous casualties inflicted by the defenders, the U.S. loss was
small. Pfc. Jake Anderson, Pvt. Leo Gasper, and Pvt. Alek Pilanski died, and several others were wounded.

  The battle, begun on Armistice Day, continued the following day as the Soviet land batteries and enemy gunboats opened fire, trying to drive out the Yanks without using infantry. All day the shells rained down on buildings and on the blockhouse. Sgt. Fred Marriott left the protection of the log blockhouse to clear a firing port, but was killed as he stepped outside. The Canadian gunners continued to pour their fire at the Bolo land artillery and into the woods, where the Soviet infantry waited. The only other American casualty that day, Pvt. John Zajaczkowski, was killed in the hail of artillery fire.

  The shelling continued on November 13, with the blockhouse miraculously still intact. Finally, a shell hit it directly and collapsed the log roof, killing two of the gunners inside, Pvt. John Angove and Cpl. John Savada, and wounding five others. One of the wounded, Pvt. Charles Bell, was severely hit in the face and blinded in one eye, but covered the withdrawal of the other wounded from the ruined blockhouse until dark, when he was evacuated.35 As the Bolos kept up their attempts to cross the bridge, an American Yankee, Stanley Karan, set up another machine gun in a rifle pit across the road from the rubble of the blockhouse; he kept up his fire, maintaining control of the bridge.36 During the day, the Royal Scots counterattacked in lower Toulgas, taking back the hospital and buildings there.37 That night found the doughboys still in central Toulgas. The weather continued to be bitterly cold with temperatures dipping to almost 30 degrees below zero.

  The Allied forces at Toulgas were really on two sides of the Dvina River, which was some two hundred yards wide at the village. The first day the communications cables were mangled, and contact could only be maintained by signals. At first, the Royal Scots on the right bank, many of whom were Russian volunteers, had been kept out of the fight, which took place on the left bank. The situation changed on November 14 when the Bolsheviks sent 140 men against the by then jittery Scots. Their commander, Lieutenant Dalziel, attempted to hold his men in their defenses, but early in the fight, he was wounded in the neck. His men were tired of fighting and, without hesitation, fled the scene, leaving the wounded lieutenant to the Reds. A woman observer reported that he tried to reach for his holstered revolver, but was immediately set upon by two Soviet soldiers, who smashed his head and face with their rifles, killing him instantly. General Finlayson’s report verified this: “His body was recovered later and its appearance helps bear out this statement.”38

  In Toulgas Captain Boyd decided to risk an attack on the Bolos in the woods. Using Lieutenant Cudahy’s platoon and parts of Company D, newly arrived from Chamova, the doughboys jumped off early on November 14 and headed west toward the woods, sending parts of their force south to cut off snipers. During the night the river began to freeze, so the Soviet gunships left to go south. Boyd’s attack was a success; the demoralized Bolos fled the scene. Private Henkelman, with Cudahy’s platoon, while resting after the attack, was handed a letter from his father. “It said my brother Carl had been killed in France in October. There was also a picture inside of his grave and a cross. Poor Carl. My only brother.”39

  The assault was enough to break the enemy; on November 15, patrols found the Bolshevik positions abandoned and the Toulgas fight was at an end. The American casualties were listed as seven killed and twenty-three wounded.40 By November 15, two of the wounded had died, Pfc. Elbert Ball and Pvt. Allick Detzler. The Scots’ casualties were the heaviest of the Toulgas force; the total Allied loss was twenty-eight killed and seventy wounded.41 The enemy losses were significantly higher in terms of men, but possibly the greatest impact was in the leaders killed. Not only were Generals Melochofski and Murafski killed, but the expedition leader, Foukes, died in the final American attack.42 The civilians suffered as well. The village priest had barricaded his family in his church, which gave little protection from the fury of the artillery. After the Bolos fled, he was found in the church with his son and daughter, all dead.

  Late on November 15 the order was given to burn upper Toulgas to protect the forces in the central and lower villages. Sergeant Parrish was sympathetic, yet a loyal soldier:

  Nov. 15th made a Counter atact on Bolo and Routed him and was Ordered to Burn Small village where Enemy Could do efective sniping. Women opened fire on us and we had to advance Without firing on them But we took 16 Enemy prisoners and Killed 2—then We Burned the Village and my heart ached to have the Women fall down at my feet and grab my legs to Kiss my hand and Beg me not to do it. But orders are orders—and I Was in comand of the 15 men Who Went across that field So I done my dutie.43

  Several honors were bestowed on the Toulgas defenders: Private Bell, Sgt. William Bowman, and Cpl. Robert Green (Company D) all were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). On March 11, Sergeant Parrish was decorated by the British with the Military Medal. General Finlayson’s report commends “the actual leaders, British Col. Skiel 2/10 R. S. Com. Rvr. Column and Captain R. P. Boyd, U.S.A. Inf. Com. Left Bank Col.”44 Finlayson closes his report as follows: “I think the above covers practically the whole of the operations unless it is that I have not sufficiently commended the staunch work done by ‘B’ and ‘D’ Cos., U.S.A. Inf. Whose bearing throughout hardly ever gave the commander, Capt. Boyd, any anxiety.”45 What part Finlayson himself played in the battle is uncertain. Ironside reports that Finlayson was on the left bank and in charge throughout the battle, yet Finlayson’s words in his report indicate he was not the leader, and none of the other reports mention him.

  From then until March 1919, Toulgas was held by Company B, with Company D relieving periodically, supported by Royal Scots. There were periodic attacks by the Bolsheviks, which kept the Allies from sending their troops to other fronts, but there was little real activity other than normal patrolling and scouting. However, on March 1, 1919, one of these patrols found the Soviets in force. Cpl. Arthur Prince led a patrol out of Toulgas, walking single file in an open field approaching the woods. As they neared the woods, the air rang with rifle fire, and the patrol took cover in the deep snow. Three men were killed outright, Pvt. Joseph Pawlak, Pvt. Daniel Robbins, and Pvt. Frank Ruth, with Corporal Prince missing.46 Two more men died later that day, Sgt. William Bowman (who had won the DSC in November) and Pvt. Frank Clish. In his report, Lt. Albert M. Smith showed that he was troubled by the incident: “The affair was most unfortunate, but one which had been expected for some time, as daily patrols over established routes, which it is necessary to follow owing to depth of snow, could only lead to an ambush sooner or later.”47

  On the same day, while entering a blockhouse in central Toulgas, Pvt. Dale Wilson accidentally shot himself in the leg and was bleeding badly. He was brought to the British hospital in Toulgas, and his leg amputated on about March 4 by a young British surgeon. He was transported to Bereznik on March 15, but appeared to be suffering from severe bedsores. Captain Boyd complained to the chief medical officer in Archangel about Wilson’s treatment by the British. Finally, on June 9, 1919, a report was given to Boyd stating that Wilson’s treatment had been adequate.48 That was small consolation to the men of Company B; Wilson had died on April 3.49

  Following the ambush of the patrol, the discontent that had been present ever since the Armistice in France surfaced in Company B. On March 15, 1919, four members of the company issued a proclamation:

  To the Commanding Officer of Archangel District We the undersigned firmly resolve that we demand relief not later than MARCH 15th 1919

  And after this date we positively refuse to advance on the Bolo lines including patrols and in view of the fact that our object in Russia has been accomplished & having duly acquited ourselves by doing everything that was in our power to win—and was asked of us, we after 6 months of diligent and uncomplaining sacrifice after serious debate arrive at this conclusion and it is not considered unpatriotic to the U.S.

  In view of this be it that the interests and the honor of the U.S.A. are not at stake, and tha
t we have accomplished the defeat of the Germans which was our mission—and whereas find our activity means interfearance in the affairs of the Russian people with whom we have no quarrel—we do solemnly pledge ourselves to uphold the principles herein stated and to ceace all activities on and after above mentioned date.50

  The petition was signed with the initials H. P. D. K. Two of the signers were Pvt. Bill Henkelman and the heroic Sgt. Silver Parrish. Parrish was brought before Colonel Stewart, who read him the Articles of War, reciting the punishment for mutiny, which was death. Parrish, who had been recommended for a commission by Captain Boyd, wrote in his diary, “But I knew it anyhow and should worry I won’t get my Commission Now (more Luck).”51 In spite of the severity of the warning, no official action followed. On February 2, Captain Prince of the American Military Mission verified that the mood indicated by the petition was the feeling of most of the company: “Regarding the present operations, the men feel that they are contrary to the policy announced when the A.N.R.E.F was sent to Russia.” That fact, plus lack of enthusiasm and lack of spirit among officers and inadequate artillery, kept morale at a low point after the Armistice.52 The Company B petition came only two weeks before Company I on the railroad front made their protest. The Allies—British, French, Russian, and Americans—had all reached their limit. Only the Canadians seemed to be impervious to the morale decline felt by the others.

  The ambush of Corporal Prince’s patrol marked the end of any action at Toulgas. The Bolsheviks made no real effort to take the town, content to just harass the Yanks and Scots. Still, it was unnerving to the patrols. “Remembering their comrades who had been ambushed before, it took the sturdiest brand of courage for small parties to go out day and night on the hard packed trails, to pass like deer along a marked runway with hunter ready with cocked rifle.”53 Happily, though, their days in Toulgas were numbered; in early April the Yanks were ordered back to Archangel, as Ironside began his preparations for evacuating the Americans. Toulgas was turned over to the Third North Russian Rifle Regiment. On April 25, the Russian regiment mutinied, murdered their officers, and handed the town over to the Bolsheviks. The Canadian and loyal Russian artillery responded in May with devastating fire, and the Scot infantry retook the town in mid May.