These dangers drew Allied forces into Northern Russia. In May, 1918, the U. S. S. Olympia, which won fame as Dewey's flagship at Manila Bay, arrived at Murmansk with Lieutenant General Poole, of the British army, and a small detachment of troops. They drove off an attack at Pechenga. A small group of Russian naval officers, who could not reconcile themselves to Bolshevik rule, spent the winter on a sealing trip. They believed themselves safe when in sight of the Murman coast with their cargo of skins worth $35,000. Without warning a German submarine came up alongside and sank their vessel, few of the crew escaping.
The Murmansk Soviet could not retaliate because, by the treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Russian navy could take no further part in the war. So they turned over their navy, consisting of three destroyers, one to the British, one to the French, and one to the Olympia when she arrived. I dare say few people, even in the Navy, knew that we possessed a destroyer named the Karitan Yurasovsky. Its crew was half Russian and half American. It was a queer sort of arrangement, but Admiral McCully, in command of Naval Forces in Northern Russian Waters, said "It worked remarkably well, there never being the least sign of friction, and the destroyer always ready for duty."
Not much has been heard of the U. S. flotilla on Lake Onega. When the Allied forces, including a small detachment from the Yankton, were on the line of march within 300 miles of Petrograd, there was need of water transportation. Our small naval contingent was equal to the emergency. Two motor boats, each with a short one-pounder in the bow and a machine-gun on the beam, were transported by rail down to near Lake Onega, then hauled miles through the woods, and launched in the lake on May 27, 1919. Three times they were engaged with Bolshevik gunboats at long ranges.
In June, 1918, the Olympia sent a detachment 150 strong to Kandalaska to assist in guarding that point. When the Murmansk government broke with the Bolsheviki, Allied troops landed in Murmansk. In August a detachment from the Olympia under Captain Bierer took part in the successful expedition against Archangel. This same detachment under Lieutenant Hicks bore their share in the pursuit of the retreating Bolshevists to the interior, having some hard fighting. Under Colonel G. W. Stewart, the 339th Infantry Regiment and 310th Engineers, about 5,600 men, having just completed their training at Aldershot, reached Northern Russia September 4th, and they remained all winter. They were immediately put in the front line, doing practically all the fighting that was done, and during this time losing more men in action than all the other Allies combined. The small detachment of Navy men privileged to fight with their army brethren in Northern Russia, regard them as among the noblest of all fighting forces.
The Asiatic Fleet, under command of Admiral Austin M. Knight, coöperated with the Japanese and other Allied forces in the Far East, and the flagship Brooklyn or some other vessels were almost constantly at Vladivostok, where Admiral Knight took a prominent part in the conferences and operations to check enemy and hostile activities.
In June, 1918, Vladivostok and nearly all of Siberia fell into the hands of the Bolsheviki. Assisted by German and Austrian prisoners of war, they were resisting the advance of the Czecho-Slovaks who, fighting their way for thousands of miles through Russia, were endeavoring to reach the eastern coast, where Allied vessels might take them home. Vladivostok was their destination, but they had hard fighting before they could enter. On June 29 they took the city after a three-hour battle with the Bolsheviki. There were 12,000 of the Czecho-Slovaks, but only 2,500 of them were armed and equipped. The city was still in an uproar, with desultory firing at various points. In the afternoon Admiral Knight ordered ashore Marines and sailors to guard the American consulate, and to act as part of a patrol force composed of British, Japanese, Chinese and Czecho-Slovaks who patrolled the city, preventing destruction and preserving order.
Marines from the Brooklyn in July guarded the German and Austrian prisoners of war on Russian Island, five miles from Vladivostok. Our Navy had a radio station there. Men from our ships formed a part of the force of British marines, Japanese and Chinese blue-jackets and Czecho-Slovak soldiers organized to guard the Russian navy yard at Vladivostok, and prevent disorder in the city.
The United States Asiatic Fleet performed a valuable function in the Far East. Guarding American interests and coöperating with the Allied forces, its vessels operated from the Philippines to the Russian coast. They exerted, as always, decided influence in China, supporting the Chinese Government in its stand with the Allies. Though the Japanese had long before taken Kiao-Chau, the German stronghold, and the Teuton strength was broken, constant efforts were required to prevent the German propaganda and agitation from causing trouble. A sharp lookout was maintained for German raiders. One, the famous Seeadler, sank two American vessels in the Pacific. But after it was run down and disposed of, no more raiders appeared.
Our vessels in the Pacific were of material assistance to the Army when American troops were sent to Russia to protect the Siberian railway, and again when they were being returned from Russia. Admiral William L. Rodgers succeeded to the command of the Asiatic Fleet in the latter part of 1918 and continued until late in 1919, when he was succeeded by Admiral Gleaves. Some of our vessels were at Vladivostok practically all the time. One of the first suggestions made by the British when we entered the war was that we maintain our force in Asiatic waters, and while the vessels were few in number, they performed excellent and necessary service.
