US Intervention in the Russian Civil War
1918–1920 · The Forgotten Invasion
13,000 American troops sent to Russia. 400+ casualties. Fighting in Arctic conditions, through a Russian winter, in a civil war that wasn't theirs, for objectives no one could clearly define. The “Polar Bear Expedition” to Archangel and the Siberian Expedition — the interventions that helped launch the Cold War before it had a name.
The Cost: $650M for a Generation of Distrust
The financial cost was modest by wartime standards. The strategic cost was incalculable. The interventions failed to overthrow the Bolsheviks, failed to protect Allied supplies (which were largely irrelevant after WWI ended), and succeeded only in confirming Soviet suspicion of Western intent — a suspicion that fueled 70 years of Cold War.
| Category | Amount (2024$) |
|---|---|
| Archangel (Polar Bear) Expedition | $200M |
| Siberian Expedition (AEF Siberia) | $300M |
| Naval Operations | $50M |
| Logistics & Supply | $100M |
Context: Revolution, Betrayal, and Intervention
When the Bolsheviks seized power in November 1917, they inherited a nation devastated by three years of war. Lenin's first act was to sue for peace with Germany — fulfilling his promise to end the war. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918) withdrew Russia from WWI, ceding massive territory to Germany.
The Allies were apoplectic. Russia's withdrawal freed 50+ German divisions for the Western Front at the most critical moment of the war. Billions in Allied war supplies sat in Russian ports. And a revolutionary government explicitly dedicated to the overthrow of capitalism now controlled the world's largest country.
Fourteen nations ultimately intervened in the Russian Civil War: Britain, France, the US, Japan, Canada, Australia, Italy, Greece, Romania, Serbia, China, Poland, Finland, and Estonia. The intervention was the largest multinational military operation between WWI and WWII — and it failed completely. The Bolsheviks won the civil war despite (or perhaps partly because of) foreign intervention, which allowed them to rally nationalist sentiment against the invaders.
The Polar Bear Expedition: Archangel (1918-1919)
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Bolshevik Russia exits WWI, signing a separate peace with Germany. The Allies are furious — Russia's withdrawal frees German divisions for the Western Front. Massive Allied war supplies (worth billions) sit in Russian ports at Archangel and Vladivostok. The Allies fear these supplies will fall to Germany or the Bolsheviks.
Decision to Intervene
Wilson, under enormous pressure from Britain and France, agrees to send troops to Russia. The stated reasons: protect Allied war supplies, support the Czechoslovak Legion (Czech and Slovak POWs fighting their way across Siberia), and maintain an "Eastern Front" against Germany. The unstated reason: undermine the Bolshevik government. Wilson later claimed the intervention was not anti-Bolshevik. It was.
Polar Bears Arrive in Archangel
The 339th Infantry Regiment (mostly draftees from Michigan) arrives in Archangel, Russia — above the Arctic Circle. They are issued Russian rifles (because American ammunition won't be available), placed under British command, and sent south to fight Bolshevik forces along the Northern Dvina River and railroad. Many of these soldiers have been in the Army less than four months.
Combat Operations Begin
American troops fight Bolshevik forces across a vast, frozen landscape. Engagements occur at Shenkursk, Tulgas, Kodish, and along the Vaga River. The fighting is brutal — Arctic cold, deep snow, temperatures reaching -40°F, and an enemy that knows the terrain. Morale plummets as soldiers learn that WWI has ended (November 11) but they're still fighting in Russia.
Battle of Shenkursk
Bolshevik forces attack the American-held town of Shenkursk with overwhelming numbers. The garrison is nearly overrun. Americans retreat through deep snow in -45°F temperatures, suffering severe casualties and frostbite. It's the worst American defeat of the intervention and demonstrates the futility of the mission.
Mutiny & Withdrawal
As spring approaches, American soldiers refuse to advance. Several units effectively mutiny, demanding to know why they're still fighting in Russia when the war is over. British commanders are furious. American officers are sympathetic. The Army begins withdrawing, with the last Polar Bears leaving Archangel in late July 1919. 235 Americans are dead.
The Siberian Expedition: AEF Siberia (1918-1920)
AEF Siberia Arrives
The 27th and 31st Infantry Regiments (8,000 troops) under General William Graves arrive in Vladivostok, Siberia. Graves has orders from Wilson to remain neutral in the Russian Civil War — protect the Czech Legion and Allied supplies, nothing more. This puts him in an impossible position: the Japanese (who send 70,000 troops) and White Russian forces expect American support for anti-Bolshevik operations.
Guarding the Railroad
American troops guard sections of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, protect Allied supplies, and try to remain neutral while surrounded by warring factions. They face attacks from both Bolshevik partisans and Cossack bandits loyal to White Russian warlords. General Graves becomes increasingly alarmed by White Russian atrocities — mass executions, village burnings, and the terrorizing of civilians.
Japanese Expansionism
Japan deploys 70,000 troops to Siberia — far more than any other intervening power. Japan's goal is transparently imperial: controlling Siberian resources and expanding into Manchuria. Graves realizes that one purpose of the American presence is to check Japanese expansion — but Wilson never explicitly says so. The US and Japan engage in a shadow competition across Siberia.
Kolchak's Collapse
Admiral Alexander Kolchak, the leading White Russian commander in Siberia (recognized by Allied powers as "Supreme Ruler of Russia"), is defeated by the Red Army. His government collapses. The White Russian cause in Siberia is lost. Kolchak is captured and executed in February 1920. The rationale for the American presence evaporates.
Withdrawal Complete
The last American troops leave Vladivostok. Japan stays until 1922. The Siberian intervention has cost approximately 189 American lives and achieved nothing. General Graves later wrote that his mission had been "non-interference in Russian affairs" — a characterization the Bolsheviks did not share.
Key Figures
Reluctantly agreed to intervention under Allied pressure. His aide-mémoire of July 1918 listed limited objectives (protect supplies, support Czechs) but the reality was anti-Bolshevik intervention. Wilson's ambiguity left American commanders in impossible situations with contradictory orders. The intervention contradicted Wilson's own rhetoric about self-determination.
Commanded 8,000 American troops in Siberia with orders to remain neutral. One of the most principled American generals of the era — he refused to support White Russian forces despite enormous pressure from Allies and his own War Department. His memoir, "America's Siberian Adventure," is a damning account of the intervention's futility.
The most aggressive proponent of anti-Bolshevik intervention. Churchill wanted to "strangle Bolshevism in its cradle" and pressured the US to commit more forces. He envisioned a full-scale Allied war against the Bolsheviks — a vision Wilson rejected but partially enabled through the interventions he approved.
Approximately 70,000 Czech and Slovak former POWs fighting their way across Siberia to Vladivostok for evacuation. Their conflict with Bolshevik forces along the Trans-Siberian Railroad was the stated justification for intervention. The Czech Legion eventually evacuated through Vladivostok — but not before becoming entangled in the Russian Civil War themselves.
What It Was Like: Fighting in the Arctic
The Polar Bear soldiers endured conditions no American army had faced since Valley Forge. Temperatures dropped to -50°F. The sun disappeared for weeks. Supply lines stretched across frozen rivers and through dense forests. Men fought in snowshoes. Rifles froze. Machine guns jammed. Wounded soldiers faced hours of evacuation across frozen terrain.
Worst of all was the morale crisis. These soldiers had been drafted to fight Germany. The Armistice ended that war on November 11, 1918. Yet they were still fighting — and dying — in Russia, for objectives their own officers couldn't explain. Letters home were desperate: “Why are we still here?” The question was never adequately answered.
When the Polar Bears finally returned to Michigan in July 1919, they discovered that most Americans had no idea they had been in Russia at all. The intervention received minimal press coverage. There were no parades. The bodies of many fallen Polar Bears remained in Russia until a privately funded expedition recovered 86 of them in 1929. Some remain unrecovered to this day.
Legacy: Seeds of the Cold War
The Russian intervention is perhaps the most consequential forgotten episode in American military history. It achieved none of its stated objectives. The Bolsheviks consolidated power despite the intervention. Allied supplies were not protected. The Czech Legion eventually evacuated through Vladivostok regardless. The White Russian cause collapsed.
What the intervention did achieve was a legacy of distrust that poisoned US-Soviet relations for generations. Lenin, Stalin, and every subsequent Soviet leader cited the 1918 intervention as proof that Western capitalism was inherently hostile to the Soviet state. When Americans wondered why the Soviets were so paranoid about Western intentions, the answer was simple: the West had invaded them.
“I was in command of the US troops sent to Siberia and I must admit, I do not know what the US was trying to do.”
— General William Graves, America's Siberian Adventure (1931)
The intervention also set a template for American Cold War behavior: supporting anti-communist forces regardless of their democratic credentials, intervening in civil wars with unclear objectives, and expecting that military force could achieve political outcomes in foreign societies the interveners didn't understand. The Russian Civil War intervention was Vietnam before Vietnam, Afghanistan before Afghanistan — the first American war fought not against a nation, but against an ideology. It would not be the last.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the US invade Russia?
The official reasons were: (1) protect Allied war supplies at Archangel and Vladivostok from falling to Germany or the Bolsheviks, (2) support the Czechoslovak Legion fighting across Siberia, and (3) maintain a nominal "Eastern Front" against Germany. The unofficial reason was to undermine the Bolshevik government and support anti-Bolshevik (White Russian) forces. Wilson publicly denied anti-Bolshevik intent, but the effect of the intervention was to prolong the Russian Civil War and establish deep Soviet distrust of the United States.
How many US troops were sent to Russia?
Approximately 13,000 total: 5,000 to Archangel (the "Polar Bear Expedition," primarily the 339th Infantry Regiment from Michigan) and 8,000 to Siberia (the American Expeditionary Force Siberia, primarily the 27th and 31st Infantry Regiments). The Archangel force fought under British command; the Siberian force under American General William Graves.
How many Americans died in Russia?
Approximately 400+ total casualties. About 174 were killed in combat, with the remainder dying from disease (the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic was especially deadly), accidents, and exposure to Arctic conditions. The Archangel expedition suffered approximately 235 deaths; the Siberian expedition approximately 189. Many Polar Bear bodies were not recovered until 1929 — and some remain in Russia.
What was the Polar Bear Expedition?
The "Polar Bear Expedition" refers to the 5,000 American soldiers (primarily Michigan draftees of the 339th Infantry) sent to Archangel, Russia, in September 1918. Placed under British command, they fought Bolshevik forces in Arctic conditions through the winter of 1918-1919. The name comes from their shoulder patch — a polar bear — adopted during the mission. Morale collapsed when WWI ended but they were kept fighting. Near-mutinies occurred in 1919. They withdrew in July 1919.
Did the Russian intervention cause the Cold War?
It contributed significantly. The interventions confirmed Bolshevik suspicions that Western capitalist powers would try to destroy the Soviet state. Lenin and Stalin both cited the 1918-1920 interventions as proof of Western hostility. Soviet propaganda used the interventions for decades. While the Cold War had many causes — ideological, geopolitical, nuclear — the 1918 intervention established a pattern of mutual distrust that persisted for 70 years. Americans forgot they invaded Russia. The Russians never did.
Why don't Americans know about the Russian intervention?
Several reasons: (1) It was overshadowed by WWI, which ended just as the intervention began. (2) It failed — achieving none of its objectives — and nations prefer to forget failed wars. (3) During the Cold War, acknowledging that the US had invaded Russia first was inconvenient for the narrative of Soviet aggression. (4) The intervention was never formally declared by Congress, making it easier to exclude from official war histories. It remains one of the most consequential forgotten episodes in American military history.
Related Pages
Sources
- William Graves — America's Siberian Adventure, 1918-1920 (1931)
- Robert Willett — Russian Sideshow: America's Undeclared War, 1918-1920 (2003)
- Dennis Gordon — Quartered in Hell: The Story of the American North Russia Expeditionary Force (1982)
- David Foglesong — America's Secret War Against Bolshevism (1995)
- Army Center of Military History — The US Army in the World War, 1917-1919
- Polar Bear Memorial Association — Historical Records