Of the company a regiment. On the morning of january 19 1919, he stationed at the bottom river 250 mile self guarding the line of the American Allied little conflict which ill be explaining. He was awakened that morning in shelves screamed upon the river. He got out of bed and joint men and demanding the lines and these forms were headed for hundreds of forms on skis, meringue tunics and heading straight within minutes they were upon these americans which were overwhelmed quickly and the fight for their lives to escape north for their Companies Headquarters and north which is where they were stationed. They put the flight and a handful of them got back to their Company Headquarters and thats just a lead in to the question of what americans were doing in russia in 1919. Im glad you asked that. Basically, there this western front but also and Eastern Front that the russians had been Holding Since the outset of the war in august of 1914. They tried to invade Missouri Lakes but on the western front theres a semi static development and were faced off against germans and gary an empire. In late 1917, volodymyr who took russia out of the war he did and signed a treaty with the germans in early march of 1918, russia left a bore and that free to germany to transfer some divisions to the western front and those divisions took part on march 21st 1918. It was splitting the French Forces in northern france and very nearly succeeding the subsequent a fences and on may 27th across the river and early june they were within 35 miles of paris. The allies were quite nervous in these extra German Forces and about as soon as russia took itself out of the war and about ways to relieve the pressure on the western front, they settled with this idea of intervention that it was sent a handful of ally soldiers where they would of course be greeted as liberators on anti forces there and form an army which would reconstitute the Eastern Front to bring troops back or at least not take any more from where they were. That is a map. Theres dark angel and will lend dark angel and had southeast up into the river to a place which is 300 miles down the railway line which is down here another 300 miles. The idea is that they have this army reach out to this strange conglomerate of soldiers and they were known as the czech legion and the war of russia and allowed to have a vlad stop in france could help the cause on the western front. Well reach out to this army of thousands of men and in the most aspirations they envisioned moving to the law and the forces of the law the and ultimately moving out of moscow and with great aspirations they do everything and they were very gung ho as usual about that. By april, they out landed some men in bromance which is up here. They were joined by 1400 french troops and u. S. Ship of the olympia which would draw wilson agreed to send and meanwhile and into this interesting little frame will refuse and felt the resource should be used on the western front so and the powerful will find them there and admit july Woodrow Wilson felt time agonizing over this famous atm are. Which he first argued they were going to sound troops and saying why he was going to send troops to russia and the reason being there was 1 Million Dollars of material that had been sent to the russians throughout the war. And secondly he insisted that the troops not get involved in politics or do any fighting and aid the russians in any way they could. Meanwhile, back at the ranch federally pool is in command of whatever you want to call it and moved his troops down and try to start up the river and at the mouth he landed and the most governments fled but in all the stores that were moving by rail or up by ship and therefore are pretty much negating the entire reason for the americans to go to north russia. Whats interesting is that there was a contingent of 50 sailors from olympia, they look like a fun bunch. 25 of them have a local motive where they started chasing down the line and tried to get the stores back and wound of getting beaten bad and were split that the British Forces led and or down the vina and another one down the railway line and part of the sailing force wound up in this area which is the red base and donald hips bond up fighting in this area which another force moved there from behind and finally escaped and got back but meanwhile, back at the ranch the regiment had been selected and it was a 339th regiment which is men from wisconsin that had actually trained for humble can and were shortly after the use of American Forces in the russian region or they all thought they were going to frenchs and issued with american rivals and in the profit channel they were instead of heading for russia and grew up in indiana or his family had a boarding house and thomas has been a souvenir. He of course at inventions with arabia and harry and lowell cross paths on the street one day and he said were just going with our friends here and he said thats not what i heard. He just met with the british headquarters and sure enough they were getting lectured by the arctic explorer and were being issued in shackles and boots type of things. They traded and there springfields four american raid mush and design and guns that the soldiers complained that could shoot around corners. They were equipped with this because there was millions of rounds of ammunitions and they were sitting at dark angel and carried out at the time. They left england in late august in 1818 and sailed around this way. And i hit the wrong button. They sailed around here and the destination was it became an urgent call that they need to do an archangel where indeed, they went to their path and landed on september 5th 1918. The next day donald hicks and his men appeared on the whale ray line so it was no longer there and it was a series of mistakes but, they were quickly taken from their transports and the third battalion was put on a string from sky a and on september 6th they ran into opposition from local fighters in that area so to push down all the way through should be able to do which is 300 firearm self. The next day of the First Battalion was set up an which will be there by november and its no opposition and this is pie in the sky stuff. They ran into their thought that its just a little bit self and thats as far as they got where they did plus five or six men killed in action and russian gunboats came up and scared them off so they retreated back to that in early october they met them there and were sent back in mid october and a hampered them again and blew apart the houses that they had created where they then retreated to a more Permanent Base which is where there is going to spend the winter. Ironically or very ironically november 11th 1918 the company was attacked by hundreds of warriors that spent four days fighting for their lives and just barely they beat them off and ended up burning part of the village and spent the winter patrolling the river and the area that were partially under attack as the days bore on and became disinfected afterward got back at the world war had ended and that they could bring the word at the world war it was over. The question seemed to become a burning one which is that the war was over why are we still there. I never really got a good answer to that. Meanwhile, on the runway line, companies kept trying to battle their way through and were far which ended up down here by november and the company that got to the river was tried to take their force their way through pleasant sky and they took codeish where they lost him and at the end of the year they took it again and they ordered that it would be burned to the ground. That was pretty much the end of the operation there. There were widespread huge casualties but it was an insane idea the whole operation that was kind of a travesty. They also sent company h to guard the western flame. Part of them spent the winter and spring and they battled here i or reinforce in january and could find themselves at the very end of fighting. There is the voice from olympia. Its about 100,000 residents and the refugees going on between the whites in the reds. And look at the huawei front and this is the commander which is a very wealthy businessman and are in port sheridan and the third Battalion Commander was ineffective and or they spent fall, winter and in the spring not as part of company be in the snow patrol in the million middle of winter where there was a scathing book about the whole operation. Who is a sample of a blockhouse that eventually the two of us ran into the whole village and like i say, they kept trying to sneak in and they stay there until march when they turn it over to the russians. They were soon enough blackmailed into letting them in so it with everything they had fought for through the winter was lost and was not a shot fired. Also, basically moving on to company a once again. This is harry here who had fought some skirmishes and eventually were sent were sent here and thats where the Company Headquarters were and the American Forces add some reinforcements which they call this the British Allied league and some people say that they emptied the jail and theyre no more than 500 demanding this while the groups are building their forces and have a ill equipped or ill train army and over the winter they built it up and eventually in the northern specter they are 45,000 men they have allied soldiers which are a ridiculous order by june of 1918 with the red army is 600,000 strong so it is quite a movement and they were stationed here and it was a plastered place and it was winter and its like a civil war, they suspended operations of the spring but thats not how it happened when the ground froze they strapped on their scurry their skis and thats when the state fight is really when the war began in earnest. Whats interesting is they set a new commander for some reason to go on vacation so he left in the middle of this whole operation and sent another general and he arrived and visited the fronts where he decided that this was hopeless but its too late because they would be vulnerable and will just sit in our vacations here and its safer and hope nothing that happens. He had actually visited the front line on january 18th 1919. He wrote about it in a book where you can imagine how it could ride up that river in the small force here. He left and went to shed and cursed on the fourth platoon was attacked with the flight and ultimately, 25 men from company a with the fourth platoon would be killed or die of wounds, a handful of men made it back to the log campaigns and that turned out to be they soon came under all jewelry fire and had to flee that area and backed up to shed and cursed and there was a larger town and as soon as they arrived there and and four feet of snow they were in the town to so a lot including many civilians took the flight trying to find some refuge up the river and after several days they were able to circle the wagons and company a spend from about late january two early march in snow trenches fighting off attacks and their ordeal was pretty much over. Back at the line, of fighting continued into february at they try to still hammer down and tried to get anywhere further from around here. They were Gathering Forces and the way it was approached from here they were aiming to cut the supply within the force and 7000 bull civics and in the attack and part of company i wear russian shoulders and in the fall the small force of 500 men managed to be off this large force of death in thousand men and will turn it back up. This is a bolshevik soldier that was shot down on the outpost century there which was held by bolshevik at the time. That is a dead bolshevik soldier at bolshie ozerki. They were end up to fend off this large source with a few losses and that really was the end of the major engagement in the war which was in late march early april 1919 and things were beginning to wind down and looks to go home but i had no idea when they were going to go home and this is joe moore and they called him b. O. L. O. And he thought as men at top in a lot about the line and got shot from his horse. So, things were winding down but the good news that erupted amongst amongst the french was that the sign is what we are doing here they didnt get a good answer and the original design and fomenting this kind of revolution. The company i that were going to get sent to going to have a kerfuffle and acts of war by the commanding general. One morning was one man was thrown in the blockhouse and in company be there was a corporal sterling parish who created this document or petition that were not going to fight anymore so you tell us why were here. He said they were b. O. L. O. Sympathizers and b. O. L. O. Control but tragic at the same time. French units had a mutiny but there was a terrible feeling of having been stranded and they said they were leaving for home and it was over four months. And even when Woodrow Wilson in mid february said enough is enough and cut bait on the operation of the newspapers in the u. S. And it was a moot point because the white sea was frozen and unless they went all the way up to burbank and was attacked in the open field. All they could do is wait and there was another instance of be outlandish operation and the machine guns which dont operate will well when its 50 below. They brought are sleeping bags with them but otherwise they were pretty well a crypt and got used to it eventually. It wasnt bad except for the shackled to boots and a few of them were just flailing around and around four to six weeks of snow and both were through the snow and had a cases of frostbite and they are not huge and there were 70 men who had the flu before the end of september. Otherwise there was another 235 casualties including the flu and it was an accident that for engineers drowned in october of 20 1918. They were going to india get out and influences were accompany i taken over with local british command insisted that the company not crossed the bank to a certain date. He said they have to hold on this long and were concerned that the ice was going to go out so the Company Commander said that he took his men across and the english commander ordered canadian batteries to see if they could see if the canadians refuse and are on our side. The canadians were tough and battled hard on the western front. Its sort of like souvenir takers where you cut the ears off the dead blows and they were an interesting bunch. By stages once the river started following further south they were able to finally board ships and head back from the riverfront towards dark angel and train up the front towards archangel and once it was free of ice we would come back here and a lot of the forces gathered here and what they were able to get back. Luckily or maybe they did not try to attack where i think of water came from leon trot ski himself and to just let it go. They were involved in the negotiation and wanted recognition and wanted some benefits to come from that and known for slaughtering soldiers but its interesting that for about ten men that were taken prisoner and one of whom disappeared forever who disappeared and also wound up being taken and was the only soldier in general pools great plan and another one died in the hospital and were well treated. A handful of them were taken to moscow and actually lived more better than the global residence at the time and they stayed at a place where they could get library books. One soldier who did not come back made, it back to michigan in 1920. They didnt report being mistreated there was just an ordeal he had to go through. They started coming back to archangel and gathered here the british had made plans to send more troops to cover the retreats. They raised the several regiments in france who were unemployed or in life where the americans were relieved that the british were coming in in june and they did a cleaning up or mopped up violently down the river or up the dino river to create a buffer zone and the americans boarded their ships at were taken to france which were mopping up in september and that was the end of that little war. The americans went to france and the First Companies arrived in detroit on july 3rd 1919 which was the next day they had a parade which quickly formed the Polar Bear Association to commemorate their ordeal and the loss of their 235 comrades. Over time, with funds in 1929, they send it back to russia to look for the graves of bodies that had fallen and they took about 100 bodies with them in transports and ultimately on various fronts state located 86 bodies and ship them back to the United States where 40 them werent claimed and 46 of them were born around this magnificent statue and its about eight feet tall on this Commission Statute and Walking Around and its like i know the sky and its an interesting experience. And what was the impact what did this all amount to. It was a mistake that was swept under the carpet and except in detroit where there are more aware of the polar bears and what they went through and its much more commemorated where they used this invasion and the bolshevik gained the sympathy of the locals and the civil war between them didnt end until they had the bolsheviks winning the war. They are still taught in the russian schools today and a much longer memory of doing it so many times over the years that this one sticks in the memory with the capital is stick western whatever to use that preferred propaganda. I believe thats about all i have inside my little brain. laughs applause all right folks, were opening up the florida question so if you are able head down to mike and if you are not i will come to you. My name is a land a hall and im, a doctoral student at the university of kansas. A few weeks ago i found an interesting picture of the library of congress in this hall that was playing the National Game on the Russian Railroad in russia and its actually american soldiers in romania and they were coming with the red cross and on down through moscow and ill try to figure out, who are these people is