50 Sailor Sharpshooters (3 Viewers)

[Czech Legion]

Colonel George E. Stewart received orders to put in at Archangel instead of Murmansk and to put the 339th under the command of British Major General Fredrick C. Poole. They arrived on August 2, 1918. Additionally, there was also a small Marine detachment in Northern Russia and 50 sailor sharpshooters from the USS Olympia.

http://www.spanamwar.com/olympiatoursignalbridge.htm

So they arrived before most of the other White Russian aligned forces in Russia, aboard the famous OLYMPIA. They were under the command of Lt. Hicks. They hit the ground 'running' with 4 straight weeks of heavy action as soon as they debarked, and they helped drive the bolos out of Archangel.

Does anyone have any other knowledge of these 50 men?

 

[Czech Legion]

These guys must have a very colorful story.....I just haven't found it yet. Comments or leads appreciated.

 

[kilted vampire]

These guys must have a very colorful story.....I just haven't found it yet. Comments or leads appreciated.

I swear that the rifle he is holding is a Nagant. It could be a trophy.

 

[Czech Legion]

With Russia's entrance into World War I, production was restricted to the M1891 dragoon and infantry models for the sake of simplicity. Due to the desperate shortage of arms and the shortcomings of a still-developing domestic industry, the Russian government ordered 1.5 million M1891 infantry rifles from Remington Arms and another 1.8 million from New England Westinghouse in the United States. Massive numbers of Mosin-Nagants were captured by German and Austro-Hungarian forces and saw service with both militaries' rear-echelon forces and the German navy. Many of these Austrian weapons were sold to Finland in the 1920s.

very strange....1891 nagant made in USA After seeing some other pics i totally agree with you. 1891 nagant. non sniper bolt. as to whether it was spoils or not, we will never know. thanks for the heads-up on the nagant.

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Guys,

The forum being messed up due to the move has stripped away the answer I made the other night on this topic so I will go ahead and rehash what I posted earlier.

The best way to a good discussion on this really interesting if unknown action is for you all to get a copy of the book: The Ignorant Armies
By EM Halliday ISBN: 0-553-28456-8

This book is a decent account of the Campaign and is well worth reading. They also list some other books in the bibliography so if you want I will be happy to post that information. The issue of the Russian Weapons is relatively easy to summarize, Remington Firearms was under contract from the Czars Army to make the rifles and they did but they werent all delivered. Of those that were many were captured from the Austro Hungarian and German Armies who had taken them from the Russians. They equiped these soldiers with these weapons because someone was smart enough to realize that supply would be an issue especially when the winter set in so it was wise to arm them with the same equipment as their foes so the weapons and ammo could be used when captured.

Anyway this is an interesting side show to the end of the war and I for one would love to discuss it more deeply.

Dave

 

[Czech Legion]

thanks, and i would like to see the bibliography. ordered the book you mentioned from amazon 'used' for $1.99 plus shipping. i see the previous 2 pics were 'lost' in the server exchange, but at the risk of being a bandwith hog, here's another.

 

[DMNamiot]

OK Czech Legion here goes, I will put the book titles date published and authors last name:

Fighting Without a War, 1920 by Albertson
America Faces Russia, 1950 by Bailey
The Origions of Soviet-American Diplomacy, 1953 by Browder
Intervention, Civil War and Communism in Russia 1936 by Bunyan
Archangel: The American War with Russia, 1924 by A Chronicler (John Cudahy)
The Aftermath: The World Crisis 1918 - 1928, 1929 by Winston Churchill
The Armed Intervention in Russia 1918-1922, 1935 by Coates and Zelda
Why Did We Go to Russia? 1920 by Costello
Americas Siberian Adventure 1918-1920, 1931 by Graves
Archangel 1918-1919, 1953 by Lord Ironside
The History of the American Expedition Fighting the Bolsheviki 1920 by Moore Meade and Jahns
Company M 339th Infantry in North Russia 1918 - 1919 by Moore
With Ironside in North Russia 1940 By Soutar

This is most of the list I hope that it is a help I would imagine that the bulk of these books are long out of print so they maybe available in a big Library or forsale on line some where.

Dave

 

[Czech Legion]

sorry it took me so long to reply!....been moving to a new house and etc. thanks for the list and your time.

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi

Thats OK I too have been out of town. Hope the list helps.

Dave

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Czech Legion,

Go to the thread under books. Brad posted a link and they have a rather hard to find book on the Action in Russia. Book number 440 on the list.

Check it out

Dave