Synopses & Reviews
This book chronicles the origins and results of the ill-fated Anglo-American intervention at Archangel during the winter of 1918-19. Basing his account on previously unavailable archival material, including soldiers' diaries and correspondence between British field commanders and the War Office, this is the most complete treatment of the subject every published. The author argues that the campaign's political and military lessons are worthy of further study, especially since certain aspects of the situation--among them Allied intervention in a civil war between communist and anti-communist forces, predictions of a Communist blood bath should the Allies withdraw, and the invitation to land proffered by a democratic government--have parallels in contemporary events.
Review
. . . Rhodes' brief study is not only a useful reminder of things past, but it should also serve as a further hint that the involvement of outsiders in what is an internal matter seldom produces beneficial results. Senator Hiram Johnson's assertion that the US soldiers of the North Russian Expedition 'served under conditions that were the most confusing and perplexing that an American army was ever asked to contend with 'might easily be made with respect to any of the more recent Aemrican involvements in various civil wars around the globe. Perhaps this fact compelled Rhodes to subtitle his work 'a diplomatic and military tragicomedy,' for the parallels between North Russia and other US interventions are clear even to the most obtuse.Choice
Review
This concise study of the Allied intervention in northern Russia encompasses a broad range of military activities: alliance warfare, training of indigenous troops, close air support, riverine operations and combat in an arctic environment. For readers who are unaware that the US Army was actively involved in the Russian Civil War, this compact chronology is both enlightening and quite readable. It would also be a good supplement to joint and combined operations courses offered at the US Army Command and General Staff College. . . . For the scholar, The Anglo-American Winter War with Russia offers an abundance of worthwhile research topics. For the military reader, this work provides valuable insights that will remain pertinent as long as soldiers of Western democracies fight small wars in faraway places.Military Review
About the Author
BENJAMIN D. RHODES is Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.