The story of the Polar Bear North Russian Expedition is a very interesting one. President Woodrow Wilson sent these troops to Russia in response to requests from the British and French governments to join the allied intervention in North Russia. On July 14, 1918, the U.S. Army’s 85th Division left their training camp at Camp Custer, in Battle Creek, Mich., for the Western Front in France. Three days later, Wilson agreed to limited participation by American troops with the stipulation that they would be used only for guarding stockpiled war material. When U.S. Gen. John J. Pershing received the directive from Wilson, he changed the orders for the 339th Infantry Regiment, along with the 1st Battalion of the 310th Engineers, plus a few other ancillary units of the 85th Division. The units were sent to England, where they were trained and re-outfitted with Russian firearms.
To Russia
Upon arrival in Archangel, Russia, on Sept. 4, 1918, The American North Russian Expeditionary Forces discovered that the war material they had been sent to guard had already been moved up the Dvina River by the retreating Bolshevik forces. The American units were then put under British command and almost immediately were used in offensive operations to aid in the rescue of the Czech Legion, who had been fighting the Bolshevik forces. The First Battalion of the 339th Infantry was sent up the Dvina River, and the Third Battalion of the 339th Infantry was sent to the Vologda Railroad, where they conducted offensive operations and pushed the Bolshevik forces back for the next six weeks. These two fronts each became hundreds of miles long and became difficult to supply and protect.
The Harshest Winter
With the onset of winter, The American North Russian Expeditionary Forces were no longer able to maintain offensive operations and adopted a defensive posture. Bolshevik forces went on the offensive and forced the Allies to retreat a considerable distance. After the Allied Armistice with Germany in November 1918, the families and friends of The American North Russian Expeditionary Forces troops started a campaign of writing letters to newspapers and circulating petitions to their representatives in Congress, asking for the immediate return of their loved ones from Russia. This raised awareness about the plight of the troops, but unfortunately the Port of Archangel was frozen and closed to shipping, so no withdrawal was possible at the time. All winter, the troops fought to survive under terrible conditions.
Coming Home
Finally, in May 1919, the British North Russian Relief Force arrived in Archangel to relieve the American Forces. By June, the bulk of the American troops were on their way home. During their time in North Russia, the American forces suffered more than 210 casualties, including at least 110 deaths from combat, about 30 missing in action, and 70 deaths from disease. This unusual force numbered only about 5,000 men, with two-thirds of them being from the state of Michigan.
Our Collection
The Michigan Traveling Military Museum is pleased to have and display a nice collection of original items from The American North Russian Expeditionary Forces, including books, helmets, insignia, medals, patches, paperwork, photographs, trench art shells, uniforms and more. Our display is a fitting tribute to a unique unit comprised of mostly members from Michigan who fought in one of the most unforgiving places on Earth.
