The
of 1918–1922 was the dispatch of troops of the Entente powers to the Russian
Maritime ProvincesPrimorsky Krai also known as Primorye , is a federal subject of Russia . Primorsky means "maritime" in Russian, hence the region is sometimes referred to as Maritime Province.-Geography:...
as part of a
larger effort by the western powers and JapanThe Allied intervention was a multi-national military expedition launched in 1918 during the Russian Civil War and World War I. The intervention involved fourteen nations and was conducted over a vast expanse of territory...
to support
White RussianThe White movement , whose military arm was the White Army aka the White Guard , and as the Whites comprised some of the politico-military Russian forces who unsuccessfully fought the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution and...
forces against the
BolshevikThe Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903...
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
during the
Russian Civil WarThe Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed and the Soviets under the domination of the Bolshevik party assumed power, first in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a multi-party war that...
. The
Imperial Japanese ArmyThe Imperial Japanese Army , or literally Army of the Empire of Greater Japan was the official ground based armed force of Imperial Japan from 1867 to 1945...
continued to occupy Siberia even after other Allied forces had withdrawn in 1920.
Background
Following the Russian
October RevolutionTheOctober Revolution , also known as the Soviet Revolution or Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution. It began with an armed insurrection in Petrograd traditionally dated to 25 October 1917 Julian calendar...
of 1917, the new
BolshevikThe Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903...
government signed a separate peace with
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
. The collapse of the Russian front presented a tremendous problem to the
EntenteThe Triple Entente was the name given to the loose alignment between the United Kingdom, France, and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907...
powers, since not only did it allow Germany to shift troops and war material from its eastern front to the west, but it also made it possible for Germany to secure the huge stockpiles of supplies that had been accumulating at
MurmanskMurmansk is a city and seaport in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, 12 km from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland....
,
ArkhangelskArkhangelsk , formerly called Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina river near its exit into the White Sea in the far north of European Russia. City districts spread for over along the banks of the...
and
VladivostokVladivostok is Russia's largest port city on the Pacific Ocean and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai. It is situated at the head of the Golden Horn Bay not far from Russia's border with China and North Korea...
. In addition, the 50,000 man Czech Legion, fighting on the side of the Allies, was now trapped behind enemy-lines, and was attempting to fight its way out through the east to Vladivostok along the Bolshevik-held
Trans-Siberian RailwayThe Trans-Siberian Railway or Trans-Siberian Railroad is a network of railways connecting Moscow and European Russia with the Russian Far East provinces, Mongolia, China and the Sea of Japan.-Route development:The original plans and funding for construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway...
.
Faced with these concerns,
Great BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
and
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
decided to militarily intervene in the Russian Civil War against the Bolshevik government. They had three objectives that they hoped to achieve:
- prevent the Allied war material stockpiles in Russia from falling into German hands
- rescue the Czech Legion
The Czechoslovak Legions were Czech and Slovak volunteer armed forces fighting together with the Entente powers during World War I.-Overview:...
and return it to the European front
- resurrect the Eastern Front
The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...
by installing a White RussianThe White movement , whose military arm was the White Army aka the White Guard , and as the Whites comprised some of the politico-military Russian forces who unsuccessfully fought the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution and...
backed government.
Severely short of troops, the British and French requested that the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
provide troops for both the
North Russia CampaignThe North Russia Campaign was part of the Allied Intervention in Russia after the October Revolution. The intervention brought about the involvement of foreign troops in the Russian Civil War on the side of the losing White movement...
and the Siberian Campaign. In July 1918, against the advice of the
War DepartmentThe United States Department of War, also called the War Office, was the cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the US Army...
,
President WilsonThomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States. A leading intellectual of the Progressive Era, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
agreed to send 5,000 U.S. troops as the American North Russia Expeditionary Force (aka the
Polar Bear ExpeditionThe Polar Bear Expedition was a contingent of about 5,000 U.S...
) and 10,000 U.S. troops as the
American Expeditionary Force SiberiaThe American Expeditionary Force Siberia was a United States Army force that was involved in the Russian Civil War in Vladivostok, Russia, during the tail end of World War I after the October Revolution, from 1918 to 1920....
. In the same month, the
Beiyang governmentThe Beiyang government or warlord government collectively refers to a series of military regimes that ruled from Beijing from 1912 to 1928 at Zhongnanhai. It was internationally recognized as the legitimate Government of the Republic of China...
of the
Republic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, is a state in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition and jurisdiction over China into a democratic state with limited international recognition and jurisdiction only over Taiwan and minor islands, though it...
accepted an invitation by the White movement and sent 2,000 troops by August. The Chinese later
occupied Outer MongoliaThe Occupation of Mongolia by the Beiyang Government of the Republic of China began in October 1919 and lasted until the last Chinese forces were routed in 1921.- Background :...
and
TuvaTyva Republic , or Tuva , is a federal subject of Russia .-Geography:...
and sent a battalion to the North Russian Campaign as part of their anti-Bolshevik efforts.
Britain
The British, short on personnel, only deployed 1,500 troops to Siberia. These came from 9 Bn, Hampshire Regiment and 25 Bn
Middlesex RegimentThe Middlesex Regiment was a regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms when the 57th and 77th Regiments of Foot were amalgamated with the county's militia and rifle volunteer units.On December 31, 1966 The Middlesex Regiment was amalgamated with three...
.
Canada
The Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force, commanded by Major General James H. Elmsley and authorised in August 1918, was sent to Vladivostok to bolster the allied presence there. Composed of 4,192 soldiers, the force returned to Canada between April and June 1919. During this time, the Canadians saw little fighting, with fewer than 100 troops proceeding "up country" to Omsk, to serve as administrative staff for 1,500 British troops aiding the White Russian government of Admiral Alexander Kolchak. Most Canadians remained in Vladivostok, undertaking routine drill and policing duties in the volatile port city.
Italy
The "Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Estremo Oriente" was made of
AlpiniThe Alpini, , are the elite mountain warfare soldiers of the Italian Army. They are currently organized in two operational brigades, which are subordinated to the Alpini Corps Command. The singular is Alpino ....
troops, supported by 2,500 ex-POW (of Italian ethnicity in the Austro-hungarian Army) enrolled in the
Legione Redenta.
The Legione Redenta fought mainly in
SiberiaSiberia , is the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the USSR from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the...
and
ManchuriaManchuria is a historical name given to a vast geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria either falls entirely within China, or is divided between China and Russia...
against the Lenin's Soviet troops, in order to maintain the Transiberian Railway active for the
AlliesIn general, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose. In English usage, those who share a common goal and whose work toward that goal is complementary may be viewed as allies for various purposes even when...
's support to the
White RussiansThe White movement , whose military arm was the White Army aka the White Guard , and as the Whites comprised some of the politico-military Russian forces who unsuccessfully fought the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution and...
.
The Italian legionaries played a small but important role during parts of Russia's Revolution, fighting together with the
Czechoslovak LegionThe Czechoslovak Legions were Czech and Slovak volunteer armed forces fighting together with the Entente powers during World War I.-Overview:...
that used heavily armed and
armoured trainAn armoured train is a train protected with armour. Usually they are equipped with railroad cars armed with artillery and machine guns. They were mostly used during the late 19th and early 20th century, when they offered an innovative way to quickly move large amounts of firepower into position...
s to control large amounts of the railway (and of Russia itself) during the
Russian Civil WarThe Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed and the Soviets under the domination of the Bolshevik party assumed power, first in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a multi-party war that...
at the end of
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
.
The main areas of battle of the Legione Redenta were
IrkutskIrkutsk is one of the largest cities in Siberia and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, situated by rail from Moscow. Population: -History:...
,
Harbin' , is a sub-provincial city and the capital of the Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China. It lies on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
and
VladivostokVladivostok is Russia's largest port city on the Pacific Ocean and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai. It is situated at the head of the Golden Horn Bay not far from Russia's border with China and North Korea...
.
Japan
The Japanese were initially asked by the French in 1917, to intervene in Russia but declined the request. However, the army general staff later came to view the Tsarist collapse as an opportunity to free Japan from any future threat from Russia by detaching Siberia and forming an independent buffer state.
The Japanese government in the beginning refused to undertake such an expedition and it was not until the following year that events were set in motion that led to a change in this policy.
In July 1918, President Wilson asked the Japanese government to supply 7,000 troops as part of an international coalition of 25,000 troops, including an
American expeditionary forceThe American Expeditionary Force Siberia was a United States Army force that was involved in the Russian Civil War in Vladivostok, Russia, during the tail end of World War I after the October Revolution, from 1918 to 1920....
, planned to support the rescue of the Czech Legion and recurring of wartime supplies. After heated debate in the
DietThe is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...
, the administration of
Prime MinisterThe is the usual English-language term used for the head of government of Japan, although the literal translation of the Japanese name for the office is Minister for the general administration of the Cabinet...
Terauchi MasatakeField Marshal Count , GCB was Field Marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army and the 18th Prime Minister of Japan from 9 October 1916 to 29 September 1918.-Early period:...
agreed to send 12,000 troops, but under the command of Japan, rather than as part of an international coalition.
Once the political decision had been reached, the
Imperial Japanese ArmyThe Imperial Japanese Army , or literally Army of the Empire of Greater Japan was the official ground based armed force of Imperial Japan from 1867 to 1945...
took over full control under Chief of Staff Yui Mitsue and extensive planning for the expedition was conducted.
United States
The American Expeditionary Force Siberia was commanded by Major General
William S. GravesMajor General William Sidney Graves [March 27, 1865 – February 27, 1940). The commander of American forces in Siberia during the Allied Intervention in Russia....
and eventually totaled 7,950 officers and enlisted men. The AEF Siberia included the U.S. Army's
27thThe 27th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the Wolfhounds, is a unit of the United States Army established in 1901, that served in the Philippine-American War, in the Siberian Intervention after World War I, and as part of the 25th Infantry Division during World War II, the Korean War, and later the...
and 31st Infantry Regiments, plus large numbers of volunteers from the
13thThe 13th Infantry Regiment is a United States Army infantry regiment whose battalions are currently tasked as basic training battalions.- History :War Department files of the 13th Infantry Regiment prior to its reconstitution in 1861 are unavailable...
and 62nd Infantry Regiments along with a few from the 12th Infantry Regiment.
Although General Graves did not arrive in Siberia until September 4, 1918, the first 3,000 American troops disembarked in Vladivostok between August 15 and August 21, 1918. They were quickly assigned guard duty along segments of the railway between Vladivostok and Nikolsk-Ussuriski in the north.
Unlike his Allied counterparts, General Graves believed their mission in Siberia was to provide protection for American-supplied property and to help the
Czechoslovak LegionsThe Czechoslovak Legions were Czech and Slovak volunteer armed forces fighting together with the Entente powers during World War I.-Overview:...
evacuate Russia, and that it did not include fighting against the Bolsheviks. Repeatedly calling for restraint, Graves often clashed with commanders of
BritishGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
,
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
and
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese forces, who wanted the Americans to take a more active part in the military intervention in Siberia.
Allied intervention (1918-1919)
The joint Allied intervention began in August 1918. The Japanese entered through Vladivostok and points along the Manchurian border with more than 70,000 Japanese troops being involved. The deployment of a large force for a rescue expedition made the Allies wary of Japanese intentions. On September 5, the Japanese linked up with the vanguard of the Czech Legion. A few days later the British, Italian and French contingents joined the Czechs in an effort to re-establish the east Front beyond the Urals; as a result the European allies trekked westwards. The Japanese, with their own objectives in mind, refused to proceed west of Lake Baikal and stayed behind. The Americans, suspicious of Japanese intentions, also stayed behind to keep an eye on the Japanese. By November, the Japanese occupied all ports and major towns in the Russian
Maritime ProvincesPrimorsky Krai also known as Primorye , is a federal subject of Russia . Primorsky means "maritime" in Russian, hence the region is sometimes referred to as Maritime Province.-Geography:...
and
SiberiaSiberia , is the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the USSR from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the...
; east of the city of
Chita-Places:* Chita, Aichi, a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan* Chita District, a district located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan* Chita Peninsula, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan* Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai, a city in Russia; administrative center of Zabaykalsky Krai...
.
In the summer of 1918 onwards, the Japanese army lent its support to White Russian elements; the
5th infantry divisionThe was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call-sign was the .-History:The 5th Division was formed in Hiroshima in January 1871 as the , one of six regional commands created in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army. The Hiroshima Garrison had responsibility for western region...
and the Japanese-backed Special Manchurian Detachment of Grigory Semyonov took control over Transbaikalia and founded a short-lived
White TransbaikaliaThe White movement in Transbaikal was a period of the confrontation between the Soviets and the Whites over dominance in Transbaikal from December 1917 to November 1920.-Initial stages:...
government.
Allied withdrawal (1919-1920)
With the end of the war in Europe the allies decided to support the anti-Bolshevik White forces and effectively intervene in the Russian Civil War. Allied army support was given to Admiral Kolchak's White government at
OmskOmsk is a Russian city located in southwestern Siberia and the administrative center of Omsk Oblast. It is Russia's second-largest city east of the Ural Mountains. The distance from Omsk to Moscow is ....
while the Japanese continued to support Kolchak's rivals in
Grigory SemyonovGrigory Mikhaylovich Semyonov, or Semenov , was a Japanese-supported leader of the White movement in Transbaikal and beyond from December 1917 to November 1920, Lieutenant General and Ataman of Baikal Cossacks .-Biography:Semyonov was born in the Transbaikal region of eastern Siberia...
and Ivan Kalmykov. In the Summer of 1919, the White regime in Siberia collapsed, after the capture and execution of
Admiral KolchakAleksandr Vasiliyevich Kolchak was a Russian naval commander, polar explorer and later head of part of the anti-Bolshevik White forces during the Russian Civil War...
by the Red Army.
In June 1920, the Americans, British and the remaining allied coalition partners withdrew from
VladivostokVladivostok is Russia's largest port city on the Pacific Ocean and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai. It is situated at the head of the Golden Horn Bay not far from Russia's border with China and North Korea...
. The evacuation of the Czech Legion was also carried out in the same year.
However, the Japanese decided to stay, primarily due to fears of the spread of
communismCommunism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general. Karl Marx posited that communism would be the final stage in human...
so close to Japan, and the Japanese controlled
KoreaKorea is a civilization and formerly unified nation currently divided into two states. Located on the Korean Peninsula, it borders China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait....
and
ManchuriaManchuria is a historical name given to a vast geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria either falls entirely within China, or is divided between China and Russia...
. The Japanese were forced to sign the
Gongota Agreement of 1920The Gongota Agreement of 1920 was a milestone in the Russian Civil War in Transbaikal. The Agreement was finalized at Gongota railway station on July 15, 1920 between the Far Eastern Republic's delegation headed by Alexander Krasnoshchyokov and Genrich Eiche and the Japanese Expeditionary Corps...
in order to evacuate their troops peacefully from Transbaikal. It meant an unavoidable end to
Grigory SemyonovGrigory Mikhaylovich Semyonov, or Semenov , was a Japanese-supported leader of the White movement in Transbaikal and beyond from December 1917 to November 1920, Lieutenant General and Ataman of Baikal Cossacks .-Biography:Semyonov was born in the Transbaikal region of eastern Siberia...
's regime in October 1920.
The Japanese army provided military support to the Japanese-backed Provisional Priamur Government based in Vladivostok against the
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
-backed
Far Eastern RepublicThe Far Eastern Republic , sometimes called the Chita Republic, was a nominally independent state established at Blagoveshchensk, covering the former Russian Far East and Siberia east of Lake Baikal on April 6, 1920...
. The continued Japanese presence concerned the United States, which suspected that Japan had territorial designs on Siberia and the Russian Far East. Subjected to intense diplomatic pressure by the United States and Great Britain, and facing increasing domestic opposition due to the economic and human cost, the administration of Prime Minister
Kato TomosaburoViscount was a career officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy and the 21st Prime Minister of Japan from 12 June 1922 to 24 August 1923.-Biography:Born in Hiroshima, Aki Province to a samurai family, Katō enrolled in the 7th class Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and graduated second out of a class...
withdrew the Japanese forces in October 1922.
Effects on Japanese politics
Japan's motives in the Siberian Intervention were complex and poorly articulated. Overtly, Japan (as with the United States and the other international coalition forces) was in Siberia to safeguard stockpiled military supplies and to "rescue" the Czech Legion. However, the Japanese government's intense hostility to communism, a determination to recoup historical losses to Russia, and the perceived opportunity to settle the “northern problem” in Japan's security by either creating a buffer state, or through outright territorial acquisition, were also factors. However, patronage of various White Movement leaders left Japan in a poor diplomatic position vis-à-vis the government of the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
, after the Red Army eventually emerged victorious from the Russian Civil War. The intervention tore Japan's wartime unity to shreds, leading to the army and government being involved in bitter controversy and renewed faction strife in the army itself.
Japanese casualties from the Siberian Expedition included some 5,000 dead from combat or illness, and the expenses incurred were in excess of 900 million yen.
Books
- White, John Albert. The Siberian Intervention. Princeton University Press
The Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large....
(1950)
External links