Battle of Shenkursk
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Shenkursk, in January of 1919, was a major battle of the Russian Civil War
. Following the Bolshevik
victory at the Battle of Tulgas
, the Red Army
's next offensive action was against the Allied
garrison
of Shenkursk
; located on the Vaga River
. Allied forces in Shenkursk and the surrounding villages included men primarily from the United States
and the United Kingdom
with support from the White Russians
. The battle ended with an Allied retreat from Shenkursk ahead of a superior Bolshevik army.
Company A, of the United States Army
339th Infantry made up the bulk of Allied forces protecting the Vaga River. American Captain Otto "Viking" Odjard was in command of about 200 men of the 339th and a remaining 900 British and White Russian troops. Odjard's headquarters was at Shenkursk though the majority of Americans were positioned in the nearby village of Visorka Gora. A small force of forty-six Americans, under Lieutenant
Harry Mead, was stationed eighteen miles south of Shenkursk at the village of Nijni Gora which is where the Bolsheviks under General
Dimitri Nikolaevich Nadjoznyj
struck first. At dawn on January 19, concealed enemy artillery opened up "a terrific bombardment" on the village. After an hour the shelling ceased and approxiamtely 1,000 Bolsheviks assaulted the village with bayonet
s fixed. Lieutenant Meade knew that his forty-six men had no choice but to retreat as fast as they could or else be massacred. The city streets were covered by enemy machine gun fire so using them meant certain death. Meade later wrote: "To withdraw we were compelled to march straight down the side of this hill, across an open valley some eight-hundred yards or more in the terrible snow, and under the direct fire of the enemy. There was no such thing as cover, for this valley of death was a perfectly open plain, waist deep in snow. To run was impossible, to halt was worse yet and so nothing remained but to plunge and flounder through the snow in mad desperation, with a prayer on our lips to gain the edge of our fortified positions. One by one, man after man fell wounded or dead in the snow, either to die from grievous wounds or terrible exposure."
Only seven men of the forty-six survived and they reached Visorka Gora only to be attacked again by the Bolsheviks. For five days the outnumbered Americans held Visorka Gora against repeated attacks from an enemy which now numbered over 3,000 men. The fighting took the form of heavy skirmishing and eventually the Russians began employing sniper
s to harass the American lines instead of launching more bayonet charges against well defended fortifications. The snipers inflicted many additional casualties on the Allied soldiers, as well as shrapnel from repeated artillery bombardments. By January 24, the remains of Company A retreated to Shenkursk and arrived that afternoon. Some of the Americans were so weary of battle that they fell asleep as soon as they stopped marching. The Red Army was not far behind them though and they surrounded Shenkursk with the apparent intention of attacking the following morning. Captain Odjard then requested instructions from his commanding officer, British General Edmund Ironside
in Archangel
, who ordered Odjard to withdraw before being destroyed. There was only one avenue of escape that had not been occupied by the Bolsheviks, an old logging trail that lead north through the forest towards the town of Vistavka. So at midnight on January 24, the garrison evacuated Skenkursk.
About 100 of the most seriously wounded left first. They were fastened to sleds and sent down down the road, pulled by horses. Those who could walk made the march on foot. Captain Odjard, who was wounded himself, feared that the Bolsheviks had placed snipers along the trail but there proved to be none and the garrison successfully escaped from Shenkursk without alerting the enemy. At this point the battle was over, the last shots fired were heard some ten miles away by the Allies at 8:00 am on January 25. The fire was from Bolshevik artillery which was shelling Shenkursk, unaware that the Allies had already reatreated. When the garrison finally reached Vistavka on January 27, they prepared defenses and withstood several Red Army attacks over the course of the next several weeks. The result of the engagement was important to overall Bolshevik victory in the war. By pushing the Allies north they were unable to launch offensive actions or combine their strength with a large army of White Russians heading west from Siberia
. Instead the Allies were obligated to defend Vistavka.
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. Following the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") 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....
victory at the Battle of Tulgas
Battle of Tulgas
The Battle of Tulgas was fought between Allied and Bolshevik troops on the Northern Dvina River. It took place on the day the armistice ending World War I was signed, November 11, 1918, and is sometimes referred to as the "Peace Day's Bloody Battle"...
, the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
's next offensive action was against the Allied
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
of Shenkursk
Shenkursk
Shenkursk is a town and the administrative center of Shenkursky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Vaga River. Municipally, it is incorporated as Shenkurskoye Urban Settlement of Shenkursky Municipal District. Population:...
; located on the Vaga River
Vaga River
The Vaga is a river in Totemsky, Syamzhensky, and Verkhovazhsky Districts of Vologda Oblast and in Velsky, Shenkursky, and Vinogradovsky Districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. It is a left and the biggest tributary of the Northern Dvina River. The length of the river is . The area of its basin...
. Allied forces in Shenkursk and the surrounding villages included men primarily from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with support from the White Russians
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
. The battle ended with an Allied retreat from Shenkursk ahead of a superior Bolshevik army.
Battle
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
339th Infantry made up the bulk of Allied forces protecting the Vaga River. American Captain Otto "Viking" Odjard was in command of about 200 men of the 339th and a remaining 900 British and White Russian troops. Odjard's headquarters was at Shenkursk though the majority of Americans were positioned in the nearby village of Visorka Gora. A small force of forty-six Americans, under Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Harry Mead, was stationed eighteen miles south of Shenkursk at the village of Nijni Gora which is where the Bolsheviks under General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Dimitri Nikolaevich Nadjoznyj
Dimitri Nikolaevich Nadjoznyj
Dmitry Nikolayevich Nadyozhny was a commander in the Russian Imperial Army who later joined the Red Army. He rose to lieutenant general and fought in the First World War and Russian Civil War, commanding the Red Army's northern front in the latter....
struck first. At dawn on January 19, concealed enemy artillery opened up "a terrific bombardment" on the village. After an hour the shelling ceased and approxiamtely 1,000 Bolsheviks assaulted the village with bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
s fixed. Lieutenant Meade knew that his forty-six men had no choice but to retreat as fast as they could or else be massacred. The city streets were covered by enemy machine gun fire so using them meant certain death. Meade later wrote: "To withdraw we were compelled to march straight down the side of this hill, across an open valley some eight-hundred yards or more in the terrible snow, and under the direct fire of the enemy. There was no such thing as cover, for this valley of death was a perfectly open plain, waist deep in snow. To run was impossible, to halt was worse yet and so nothing remained but to plunge and flounder through the snow in mad desperation, with a prayer on our lips to gain the edge of our fortified positions. One by one, man after man fell wounded or dead in the snow, either to die from grievous wounds or terrible exposure."
Only seven men of the forty-six survived and they reached Visorka Gora only to be attacked again by the Bolsheviks. For five days the outnumbered Americans held Visorka Gora against repeated attacks from an enemy which now numbered over 3,000 men. The fighting took the form of heavy skirmishing and eventually the Russians began employing sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
s to harass the American lines instead of launching more bayonet charges against well defended fortifications. The snipers inflicted many additional casualties on the Allied soldiers, as well as shrapnel from repeated artillery bombardments. By January 24, the remains of Company A retreated to Shenkursk and arrived that afternoon. Some of the Americans were so weary of battle that they fell asleep as soon as they stopped marching. The Red Army was not far behind them though and they surrounded Shenkursk with the apparent intention of attacking the following morning. Captain Odjard then requested instructions from his commanding officer, British General Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside
Field Marshal William Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside GCB, CMG, CBE, DSO, was a British Army officer who served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff during the first year of the Second World War....
in Archangel
Archangel
An archangel is an angel of high rank. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Michael and Gabriel are recognized as archangels in Judaism and by most Christians. Michael is the only archangel specifically named in the Protestant Bible...
, who ordered Odjard to withdraw before being destroyed. There was only one avenue of escape that had not been occupied by the Bolsheviks, an old logging trail that lead north through the forest towards the town of Vistavka. So at midnight on January 24, the garrison evacuated Skenkursk.
About 100 of the most seriously wounded left first. They were fastened to sleds and sent down down the road, pulled by horses. Those who could walk made the march on foot. Captain Odjard, who was wounded himself, feared that the Bolsheviks had placed snipers along the trail but there proved to be none and the garrison successfully escaped from Shenkursk without alerting the enemy. At this point the battle was over, the last shots fired were heard some ten miles away by the Allies at 8:00 am on January 25. The fire was from Bolshevik artillery which was shelling Shenkursk, unaware that the Allies had already reatreated. When the garrison finally reached Vistavka on January 27, they prepared defenses and withstood several Red Army attacks over the course of the next several weeks. The result of the engagement was important to overall Bolshevik victory in the war. By pushing the Allies north they were unable to launch offensive actions or combine their strength with a large army of White Russians heading west from Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. Instead the Allies were obligated to defend Vistavka.