Fort Apache Toulgas: L'assedio nella tajga

Intervento militare alleato in Murmania e invasione delle guardie bianche finniche

Murmansk è una città giovane, costruita nel 1916/7 alla vigilia della Rivoluzione Russa per motivi militari, strategici ed economici. Il suo (gigantesco) porto, lambito dalla corrente calda del Golfo, è sempre libero dai ghiacci (pack) e agibile tutto l'anno compatibilmente con la latitudine. Murmansk è collegata a San Pietroburgo e a Mosca con una ferrovia costruita coi lavori forzati dei carcerati dello zar poi coi prigionieri austriaci e tedeschi della prima guerra mondiale. È base dei rompighiaccio per ogni evenienza. -Usa- L'ambiguità di una politica - i retroscena dell'intervento alleato in Murmania http://digilander.libero.it/trombealvento/guerra2/varie/piantine.htm		Bolshevik invitation or british ultimatum ? The evidence that suggests the intervention was motivated primarily by the war with Germany is abundant and detailed. A communication between the First Secretary of the British Embassy and the Counselor for the Department of State relays the fears of British Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs Balfour as such: The Germans will seize or destroy any Russian vessels in the ports of Archangel and Murmansk and further use the peace of Brest to demand the evacuation of Murmansk by all allied troops and “make anattempt to themselves occupy the port as a submarine base… for the purpose of cuttin goff allied trade with Russia after the war.” This is precisely what the Germans did demand, according to a communication from the Consul at Moscow to the Secretary of State. German ambassador Count von Mirbach sent an ultimatum to the Bolshevik administration warning that if all allied forces did not evacuate Murmansk that “it will be necessary for Germany to undertake military operations occupying further territory either in the direction of Murmansk or elsewhere.”. A second telegram from the Consul at Moscow confirmed this ultimatum’s existence and demands. It further mentions gossip of demands by Germany for Russia to accept economic reforms and German occupation of important centers to restore civil order. The message ends bleakly: “possibility of German occupation of Moscow within near future again being discussed by serious people.” But even prior to this, a letter from the British Embassy stated that the local commander of the British forces in Murmansk believed “the occupation of Murmansk will probably be necessary.” The unnamed local commander was stated to have noted the anti- allied views of the Bolsheviks and a possible assault by the Finns on thePetrograd- Murmansk railway as his major concerns. In fact, a memorandum dated May20, 1918 confirmed that the Finns did, indeed, attack Murmansk. This force was repulsed. dalla tesi di laurea http://www.scribd.com/doc/69429173/FIERRO-In-the-Name-of-the-Russian-People-but-not-For-Them-President-Wilson-the-Allies-and-Limited-Intervention-in-Russia-1918-to-1920 . Trad: L'intervento è stato motivato principalmente dalla guerra con la Germania e l’evidenza è abbondante e dettagliata. Una comunicazione tra il primo segretario dell'Ambasciata britannica e il Consigliere del Dipartimento di Stato americano riferisce dei timori del Segretario di Stato britannico agli Affari Esteri Balfour: i tedeschi si preparano a distruggere le navi russe nei porti di Arcangelo e Murmansk e successivamente useranno il trattato di Brest per chiedere l'evacuazione di Murmansk da tutte le truppe alleate e disporre di una base sottomarina allo scopo di tagliare le vie di commercio con la Russia dopo la guerra. Questo è precisamente ciò che i tedeschi domanderanno, secondo una comunicazione dal Consolato di Mosca al segretario di Stato Usa. L’ambasciatore conte von Mirbach ha inviato un avvertimento (ultimatum) alla amministrazione bolscevica che se tutte le forze alleate non evacueranno Murmansk "sarà necessario per la Germania intraprendere operazioni militari che occupino più territorio possibile sia in direzione di Murmansk che altrove ". Un secondo telegramma da Mosca conferma l'esistenza di questo ultimatum e le richieste. Esso menziona inoltre richieste alla Russia di accettare le riforme economiche e l’occupazione tedesca dei centri più importanti per ristabilire l'ordine civile. Il messaggio si conclude tristemente con: ". Possibilità anche di occupazione tedesca di Mosca nel prossimo futuro…" Ma anche prima di questo, una lettera dall'ambasciata britannica ci fa sapere che il locale comandante delle forze britanniche a Murmansk riteneva necessaria l’occupazione (una maggiore). Il comandante non nominato aveva anche riportato il punto di vista sovietico non favorevole agli alleati e il possibile attacco da parte dei finlandesi sul nodo ferroviario Petrograd-Murmansk. Un memorandum datato May 20, 1918 conferma, se ce ne fosse ancora bisogno, che i finlandesi hanno attaccato Murmansk. Questa forza è stata per ora respinta. (ndr: in diplomazia a volte si sparano anche grosse)

Marinai statunitensi dell'"Olimpia" sbarcati per un'azione nella zona di Arcangelo Fortino a Toulgas sotto treno armato alleato di pattuglia sulla ferrovia Arcangelo Vologda		by E. M. Halliday AS THE LAST SHOTS of World War I echoed into silence in France on the morning of November 11, 1918, an American army captain named Robert Boyd was leading his troops in desperate battle in the heart of North Russia nearly two thousand miles to the east. The enemy was the Red army of Soviet Russia. Non s’era ancora spenta l’eco dell’ultimo colpo sparato in Europa quando un Capitano statunitense, Robert Boyd, portò i suoi uomini in una disperata battaglia nel Nord della Russia. Il Nemico era l’armata Rossa. Neither Boyd nor the three hundred American infantrymen under his command had heard anything about the end of the war with Germany, but there is no reason to think it would have made any difference to them at the moment. Supported by another three hundred troops, including a company of Royal Scots and a few Canadians, they were under heavy attack by more than a thousand Soviet infantry. Che la Guerra fosse terminata e che la notizia non fosse giunta non faceva differenza in quel momento. 600 uomini, fra americani canadesi e scozzesi erano sotto un pesante attacco di circa 1000 sovietici bolscevici. The village of Toulgas, where the Allies were barricaded in log blockhouses and peasant dwellings, was practically surrounded: only to the east, across the two-mile width of the Dvina River, were they free of Bolshevik rifle fire. But from the river, whenever the Soviet infantry fell back into the cover of the enclosing forest, Soviet gunboats blasted the Allied position with high-explosive shells. Il villaggio di Toulgas era praticamente circondato. Solo a est dalla parte della larga Dvina erano liberi. Liberi per modo di dire perché i Russi avevano in acqua, a Kotlas, natanti pesantemente armati. Escape that way was out of the question; and to the north, in the direction of the Allied base nearly two hundred miles away at Archangel, the route was blocked by six hundred Russian riflemen who, circling through the forest from the south, had suddenly attacked Toulgas in the rear. There appeared to be no prospect of Allied reinforcements. To answer the Soviet heavy artillery, the Allies had only two three-inch pieces manned by fifty-seven men of the Canadian Expeditionary Force: they had soon found the Bolshevik guns beyond their range. The situation looked hopeless, and the American and British soldiers eyed their bayonets thoughtfully whenever a lull came in the onslaught. It seemed quite likely that most of them would die with bayonets in their hands. Di scappare da quella via non se ne parlava: sulla strada di Arcangelo (200 miglia) c’erano altri 600 russi e niente rinforzi in arrivo. Per rispondere al fuoco russo loro avevano solo due pezzi da 3 pollici del C:E:F (canadesi). Non c’erano molte speranze. Sarebbe finita in un corpo a corpo.

Treno armato sovietico in altra zona del paese		The Russian attack from the rear had come as a complete surprise. Increased Soviet patrol activity had been noticed in the area south of Toulgas beginning on November 7, the first anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution. To the north, however, where the lines of communication led fifty miles back to the Allied supply base of Bereznik, it appeared unlikely that there was any danger. The Allies held the forest trail and the Dvina River all the way from Toulgas north to Archangel, and the movement of large forces except by these two routes was thought to be out of the question by the British general, R. G. Finlayson, who inspected the Toulgas position on November 10. Although there had been some freezing weather, the pine forests were still swampy and treacherous underfoot, and this, added to the thick underbrush, made Touglas look safe from the north. L’attacco dal retro, dopo che da sud si era celebrato l’anniversario della Rivoluzione (7/11) con forti movimenti di pattuglie era giunto inaspettato. Loro tenevano, con la Dvina e la foresta, le uniche due strade per tornare ad Arcangelo. Faceva molto freddo e il terreno paludoso e traditore sotto i piedi, per ora li proteggeva da quella parte. The erratic weather -- freezing by night and thawing by day -- had also fooled the Americans and British into a sense of false security with regard to the Communist artillery. Earlier in the fall British gunboats had held their own on the Dvina; but with the first deep frost they had hastily made for Archangel for fear of being frozen in. The Soviet gunboats, in like manner, had retreated up river (that is, southward) to their base at Kotlas. Now in November, however, the river had thawed sufficiently in the vicinity of Toulgas to allow navigation by the Soviet craft. Down the river, two hundred miles further north, ice jams still packed the stream, and the Allied boats were immobilized for the season. When the Soviet gunboats returned to Toulgas, therefore, they were unchallenged by Allied river craft and could sit a few miles off in the stream lofting 4.7 and 6-inch shells at will into the Toulgas defenses. Il tempo eccentrico, gelate di notte e disgelo di giorno, dava loro un falso senso di sicurezza. Il gelo (ghiaccio sul fiume) aveva anche tenuto le cannoniere lontane ma adesso erano tornate vomitando i loro 6 pollici sui difensori di Toulgas



Nel Settentrione, fra Murmansk e Arcangelo, operava l'esercito bianco del generale Evgenij Karlovich Miller (1867-1938) con circa 20.000 uomini. Dall’estate del ‘18 era supportato dalle potenze alleate che avevano sbarcato migliaia di uomini. Quando un anno dopo, a causa di ripetuti ammutinamenti le forse alleate si ritirano, Miller resta solo. Nel febbraio del 1920 ripara in Norvegia e da qui raggiunge a Parigi il Granduca Nicola e Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel altro fuggiasco battuto dalle armate rosse. Qui si costituisce un movimento di esiliati meglio conosciuto come ROVS che si propone la conservazione delle tradizioni e la riconquista del potere. Il primo presidente fu proprio Wrangel seguito dal Romanov (1924-1928), Kutepov (1929-1930) poi da Miller fino al 1937. Questa gente era strettamente sorvegliata dai servizi segreti russi (GPU-NKVD) che vi infiltrarono traditori. Il 22 settembre 1937 l’agente segreto Nikolai Skoblin rapiva Miller e in una cassa lo spediva in Russia via mare da Le Havre. Verrà giustiziato a Mosca nel maggio del ’38. La stessa fine aveva fatto Alexander Pavlovich Kutepov prima di Lui.		Captain Boyd and his men, most of whom were posted in blockhouses and billets in Toulgas itself, were unpleasantly interrupted at breakfast on November 11, by rifle fire and shrill cries of hourra! hourra! from attacking Bolshevik infantrymen, who had crept upon the village from the south, through darkness and the heavy morning mist. In that direction Lieutenant Harry M. Dennis was commanding a squad of Americans in a cluster of buildings somewhat grandiosely named Upper Toulgas, south of the main settlement by a few hundred yards. La mattina dell’11 vennero “svegliati” durante la colazione dal crepitare dei fucili russi da sud. In quella posizione chiamata Upper Touglas, a 2oo yarde dalla postazione centrale c’era il tenente Harry M. Dennis He immediately realized that he had more on his hands than the squad could manage, and withdrew quickly toward Boyd's position by a wooden bridge crossing the deep, narrow stream, tributary to the Dvina, which cut between Upper Toulgas and Toulgas. Just as Dennis and his squad reached the central defenses, under a pelting fire from the attacking Reds, Captain Boyd was dismayed to hear, directly from his rear, the crash of hundreds of Soviet rifles, mingled with the vicious chatter of machine guns. He realized that, contrary to all predictions, the Bolsheviks had managed to move a powerful force of men through the forest underbrush and mud, in a wide encirclement, to attack the dozen or so buildings to the north known as Lower Toulgas. Egli realizzò subito che chi attaccava non era una squadra e attraverso un ponte, di un tributario della Dvina, ripiègo su Boyd. proprio nel momento che da dietro centinaia di Russi venivano avanti urlando e sparando. Non potevano che essere passati dal bosco. Two things were particularly distressing about this realization. The little field hospital of the Allied force, occupying a log hut in Lower Toulgas, had been left with a number of Allied sick and wounded in it, virtually unguarded; and between Lower Toulgas and the main village were emplaced the two Canadian field pieces which constituted the only artillery the little Allied force possessed. There was nothing to prevent capture of the field hospital; and there were only the Canadian artillerymen themselves, plus one American squad with a Lewis machine gun, to prevent capture of the artillery. At this juncture there occurred a short chain of fatal events that largely determined the outcome of the whole battle. The Bolsheviks attacking in the rear, under command of a giant of a man named Melochofski, took a few crucial minutes to ransack the buildings of Lower Toulgas, including the field hospital. Melochofski, wearing a huge black fur hat that made him look like a very caricature of Bolshevism, entered the hospital and ordered his soldiers to kill the invalid British and Americans. Da quella parte c’era anche l’ospedaletto da campo, poi i due pezzi dell’artiglieria e unici difensori una squadra americana con una mitragliatrice Lewis.Una serie di circostanze fece prendere alla azione la sua piega. I bolscevici erano guidati da un gigante Melochofski, ritratto stesso della rivoluzione che dopo l’irruzione nell’ospedale fece prigionieri e morti fra i ricoverati. Two things stopped him. The British noncom medical officer had the presence of mind to realize that the Reds were probably exhausted from their all-night trek through the swampy forest: he hurriedly set before Melochofski the tastiest rations available, and a large jug of rum. At this point the Allied soldiers were astonished when a young woman, wearing very much the same clothing as the Bolshevik fighters, strode into the room and announced that she would shoot the first Soviet soldier who offered to carry out Melochofski's order. This formidable female, whose face was as striking as her behavior, turned out to be the Bolshevik commander's mistress: she had chosen to follow him through mud, slush, dark of night, and rifle fire, rather than sit behind in a Soviet base up the river. Somewhat mollified by rum and love, Melochofski countermanded his order, and the lady was left to watch over the wounded while the Bolshevik leader went forth to continue the attack on Toulgas. He was to return a few hours later, mortally wounded, to die in the arms of this dauntless woman. Due cose lo fermarono, così crede l’ufficiale medico: la fame dopo una notte nel bosco, nel fango, e i fiaschi di Rum di cui disponeva l’infermeria . Il gigante si stava mangiando le razioni quando una donna fece irruzione nelle baracche proibendo al resto della compagnia di accompagnarsi alle libagioni. Lei era il capo e Melochofski il gigante rischiava la fucilazione: riprese l’attacco. Poche ore dopo morirà fra le braccia della sua impavida compagna.

INTERVENTO USA IN ESTREMO ORIENTE

		The Viena expedition (Finnish: Vienan retkikunta) was a military expedition in March 1918 by Finnish volunteer forces to annex White Karelia (Vienan Karjala) from Bolshevist Russia. It was one of the many "kinship wars" (Heimosodat) fought near the newly independent Finland during the Russian Civil War. ...British InterventionThe situation became more complicated with the landing in Murmansk of 130 British Royal Marine Light Infantry on 6 March to prevent the Germans (and their Finnish allies) from gaining the White Sea coast and the Murmansk Railroad. By June 1918, an assortment of British Royal Marines, French artillerymen, part of a Serb battalion, Poles, Red Russians from the Murmansk Soviet, and some Red Finns occupied the railway line from Murmansk south as far as Kem. The arrival of British reinforcements and an Allied plan for them to link up with anti-Bolshevik units in Siberia prompted Trotsky, now at peace with the Germans, to send 3,000 Red troops northwards. In July these troops were disarmed and seen off by the British, who advanced as far south as Sorokka. British-led forces defending the railway line included a battalion of 1,400 Red Finns and the Karelian regiment also known as the "Irish Karelians" after Colonel P.J. Woods of the Royal Irish Rifles who raised and led the regiment formed of the local Karelians. The situation of the Viena expedition began to deteriorate. The Karelian regiment stationed in Kem attacked the Finnish troops at Jyskyjärvi on 27 August. 18 men were lost. The next attack came against Luusalmi on 8 September when 42 Finns were killed. The following battles were fought at Kostamus and Vuokkiniemi in September–October. The Finnish troops withdrew to Finland on 2 October. Of these troops, 195 survived and made their way home; 83 were killed. The British forces withdrew in October 1919 and the situation of the Russian White Army collapsed. The Aunus expedition was an attempt by Finnish volunteers to occupy parts of East Karelia in 1919, during the Russian Civil War. Aunus is the Finnish name for Olonets Karelia. The expedition crossed the border on the night of April 21, 1919. The goals were to capture Lodeynoye Pole, Petrozavodsk and the Murmansk railroad. The troops were divided into three groups and were made up of 1000 volunteers. The southern group advanced to Lodeynoye Pole in just three days, but was pressed back behind River Tuulos by Bolshevik troops. The northern group captured Prääsä. At this time it became obvious that there weren't enough troops to complete the goals of the expedition. A new round of recruiting 2000 new volunteers was started and Mannerheim made Aarne Sihvo the new commander of the expedition. Major Paavo Talvela's regiment started an attack aimed at Petrozavodsk on June 20, but was beaten by Red Army and Finnish Red Guard forces just outside the town. The British troops that operated along the Murmansk railroad were quite close by, but did not participate. The initiative now passed to the Bolsheviks. On June 26 over 600 Finns of the Red Officer School in Saint Petersburg made a landing at Vitele across Lake Ladoga behind the Finnish lines. The southern group was forced to retreat to Finland after suffering heavy losses. Talvela's group was also forced to retreat back to Finland. In the treaty of Tartu in 1920 Finland and Soviet Union agreed on their common border. Repola and Porajärvi were left on the Soviet side and the Finnish troops had to be withdrawn before February 14, 1921. da wikipedia

Postazione di Mortaio a Toulgas. Il copricapo bianco in testa altro non è che una retina per evitare le zanzare delle paludi. Si presume quindi che sia tarda primavera o estate del '19.		The ransacking of Lower Toulgas and the episode in the hospital had taken only a few minutes; but it was long enough for the Canadian artillerymen to make a vital -- or lethal -- adjustment. Their two field guns had been emplaced with the muzzles pointing south, ready to shoot over the heads of their companions in Toulgas at any Soviet forces attacking from that direction. Now, working in feverish haste, the Canadians dragged their guns out of the slits, swung them around 180 degrees, and loaded them with shrapnel fuse 5, a quick-bursting charge intended for work at very close range. Meanwhile they were covered by the American machine-gun squad, and by those of their own contingent who were not needed on the guns, firing and refiring their rifles as fast as they could reload. Hundreds of Melochofski's men were now charging through the mud toward the artillery emplacement, shooting as they came. The Canadian gunners, who were old hands from the western front, touched off the first blast point-blank, and the shrapnel exploded squarely in the midst of the oncoming mass of Bolsheviks. Dismembered corpses and splattering pieces of torn flesh were blown in all directions, and the unwounded Soviet soldiers wavered. Urged on by their officers, they drove forward another few yards, only to meet head-on the second blast from the mouths of the Canadian guns. Erano bastati quei pochi minuti per permettere ai veterani canadesi di aggiustare il tiro. Coperti dalla mitragliatrice spararono nel mucchio a Shrapnel. Pezzi di corpo volavano da tutte le parti. Gli ufficiali sovietici spingevano ancora avanti gli uomini che finirono nella bocca dell’ arma. This mass slaughter was too much for the Bolsheviks, and those who could made for the protection of the forest or the buildings of Lower Toulgas; scores were left shattered and dead behind them. From the cover of the woods and buildings, however, the Soviet troops directed heavy rifle fire at the Canadian guns; and the company of Royal Scots coming out from the main defenses in Toulgas suffered severe casualties as they made their way to the support of the artillerymen. While the surprise attack on Lower Toulgas had thus been successfully turned back, at least for the time being, Captain Boyd's infantrymen in the center village of Toulgas had experienced relatively little difficulty holding off the assault from the south. A strong log blockhouse had been built by the Americans at the north end of the wooden bridge across the stream, and the Soviet attackers were kept away from the approaches to the bridge by concentrated machine-gun fire. Apparently, moreover, the several hundred Bolsheviks attacking from the south were counting heavily on the surprise blow at the Allies' rear, and were thrown into consternation by the debacle created by the fast work of the Canadian artillery. Thus, as the shadows lengthened rapidly in the November afternoon, the desperate situation of the Allied force appeared to be temporarily stabilized. Shortly before the early subarctic nightfall, Lieutenant Dennis led a platoon of Americans out from the defenses into the edge of the forest and dislodged a string of Soviet snipers who had been causing trouble. About the same time, the Canadian gunners put a few carefully-aimed shells into the buildings of Lower Toulgas (excepting the hospital) where Bolshevik soldiers had taken cover; then, reversing their guns again, they sent two salvos whistling over Toulgas into the woods toward the south, to let both parts of the Soviet force know that the guns were intact, and ready for anything. Darkness fell on the first day of the battle of Toulgas. Quando l’attacco a sorpresa ebbe esaurito l’effetto a Boyd bastò poco per fronteggiare quello da Sud. Il ponte, detto prima, incanalò il nemico che venne falciato. La sorpresa questa volta l’avevano avuta i Russi, sicuri che l’altra azione avesse sbandato gli alleati. Il sole andò giù presto e fu un ulteriore aiuto a Boyd (la notte artica sarebbe cominciata il 18). Il tenente Dennis con una squadra snidò anche dalla foresta dei cecchini che continuavano a creare problemi. Il buio scendeva sulla prima giornata di scontri
		Il finale
Allied Intervention in North Russia The following numbers of foreign soldiers occupied the indicated Russian regions: 50,000 Czechoslovaks (along the Trans-Siberian railway) 24,000 Greeks (in Crimea and the Ukraine) 12,000 Poles (mostly in Crimea and the Ukraine) 4,000 Romanians (in Archangel region) 28,000 Japanese later increased to 70,000 all in the Vladivostok region 13,000 Americans (in Archangel and Vladivostok regions) 4,000 Canadians (in Archangel and Vladivostok regions) 4,000 Serbs (in Archangel and Vladivostok regions) 4,000 Italians (in Archangel and Vladivostok regions) 1,600 British (in Archangel and Vladivostok regions) 760 French (mostly in Archangel and Vladivostok regions)		The next morning, the Bolo artillery focused on the Allied blockhouse that was protecting the bridge at the southern approach to the village. Once it was hit, their infantry attempted to cross the bridge, but without success against the deadly machine gun fire from B Co. While this was happening, the Royal Scots stormed the field hospital and routed the Bolos who were holding the patients as prisoners. On the 13th, the situation worsened for the surrounded Allied garrison in Toulgas when the Bolos changed tactics and mounted a continuous bombardment of the village. By nightfall, with their ammunition running low and no outside communications, the Americans decided to try and break the seige by staging a surprise flank attack on the Bolshevik forces south of the village. In the pre-dawn of the 14th, B Co. managed to sneak through the swamps west of the village and at daylight, they charged the surprised Bolsheviks. Thinking that Allied reinforcements had arrived from the north, the Bolos retreated and due to the worsening weather, their gunboats retreated upstream, leaving Toulgas in the hands of the Allies Il giorno dopo di nuovo I russi con la loro artiglieria e di nuovo l’attacco da Sud. Ma non successe niente di nuovo. Gli scozzesi addirittura ripresero l’ospedale con i sopravvissuti. Il 13 novembre altri bombardamenti per ore e ore. Ma gli americani ora decisero di cambiare tattica. Col favore delle tenebre andarono loro dai russi, e la sorpresa fu molto grande. Grazie anche all’arrivo di rinforzi i russi levarono le ancore nel senso umano e non letterale, perché i loro barconi armati restarono nel fiume.
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