RUSSIA.

Taihape Daily Times, 17 October 1919, Page 5

RUSSIA.

’ 1 BACK FROM ARCHANGBL. ' nieenas‘ TELL THEIR s1"-oar. y-* _ . ILONDON, -Sept. 28. 1 éqfwenty Australians who have returned .from the Archangel front, where‘ A they fought as portion of the‘ Austra-i _f. lian detachment of the Royal Fusiliers, ,‘/(«tell a. ygaliaiii stbl‘y_'of‘the fighting on - it ‘the Archangel front, which culminated in the great. exploit at Emptas, at -the end of August. _ _ Although the men were discharged from the A.l.F._._ and enlisted as Imperial troops, they proudly wore their slouch hats, a privilege which the War . Ofl-ice’:-cadily' sanctioned.’ . The detachment was formed" 80 strong, and was made up of English and * Australians, the latter being chiefly ap- a pointed non-conxs. Their three months’ , experience included three hard fights. l “Every one of us wouldgladly go through the same experience again,” declared Sergeant Rawlins, a soldier from Leichardi, Sydney. “It was a rough time, but the Bolsheviks .r«equir'e putting down. It’s a pity the British are coming away.” ' The biggest battle, which was fought at Emptsa, resulted in a twenty-mile ad- ?‘ Vance in three days. ' A -The detachment was holding the rail-‘\ 3 way 330 miles from Vologda, and was‘ ,3 ordered on August 28 tosattack gun positions about five miles behind the Bolshevik front line; Three Russian platoons reinforced fihe Idetachmuent, taking their orders from Australians. In order to avoid the numerous block houses, the march began early in the afternoon, widely dctouring through‘ '-a swampy £Bl-est elioleed with fallen trees. -A The going was extremely heavy, V and as the men were carrying Lewis guns and plcntifgl ammunition, frequent halts were -essential, K At night the detachment rested, but a. piercing frost prevented them-sleep ‘ing. At 2.30 o’cl«ock next morning a they moved off again. -The British guns put down aubarrage 011 ‘the Bolsheviks a few minutes before the final rush, and the Redmachine ‘° guns :o.penedfire, but ‘did no damage. z The‘ rush to the objective revealed‘ other British soldiers, who, through a‘ mis—take_. were attacking the same position from anotzher vflank. The commander, Major Day, changed his plans instantly,‘ assairaing the" point which was left unattached. G The mis'take is described as the luckiest possible. Two armoured trains ' were discovered, which the Australians . endeavoured to capture, despite a strong fusilade. Afterwards they stormed the treln-i ches"to which the Bolsheviks had fled, } after abandoning their guns. W ' Fighting forward in “the. most orderly i style, «the Aussie detachment, with the attached Russiaiis, forced their way through the barbed wire, and met the‘ Bolsheviks in a hand-to—hand encounter. The Bolsheviks were no match’ for‘ the Diggers. and soon gave in. Five hundred Bplshieviks were taken prisoner and quantities of machine guns, rifles-,~ ammunition and material were captured. , The Australians state that ‘the Bolsheviks extensively used explosive bullets_ " AUSTRALIANS IN RUSSIA. ‘ ( ________ . ‘T A DIFFICULT CAMPAIGN. BOLSEHEVIKS OUTFOUGHT. : LONDON, Oct. 15.. . The Australian Press Association in- ? ‘terviewed a. high officer from North Russia. He gives unreserved praise to the bravery of the Australia."ns, who . fought for six weeks on the Archangel ' railway front‘ with the Vologda force under Gerreral Turner. They arrived at the front on July 21 at 'a critical moment, when a Bolshevik attack, cou- ' pied with a Russian mutiny stimulated by Bolshevik propaganda, was in full o swing. Glen\era’l ~ Turner’s force of ten thousand was divided into three sections, the central force of British, on the railway, and the right and left flanks consisting of Russians, with a sprinkling of British «advisory oflicers. ' The right flank was on the Onega ‘ River. Un‘expect,‘edly the Russians ‘_ mu-tined, arresting their officers, and , sending twenty British officers to: Mos- ,’ ‘cow. During the battle the Australians I feared that they would be overwhelmed A‘ owing to the numbers of the'Bolslle-i ‘ V-ik.S,_ but they killed a. good many and M took a few prisoners, iipsetting the Bol- ‘ sh,§Vik3l’iPlßDS and ending the mutiny ‘A-among the'Russians. T‘ "' A - In’ the subsequent period the Austl-3-’ ' lla.n_s were holding the ‘lines at. times", Oalfrying out reconnaissanceg -and doing _7 . lnuch daring individual work, but the * Sfadf regarded them . as exceptional - shock troops, andemploycd them with English units in the most important see. , T°r -during the final attack on August . 29, to facilitate the ev,acua,tion_ , The Australians, with a hundred Eng, L ‘TS-iSh,.’crOops,.stovlnied the Bolshev-ik,gun’ Dpopitions, capturing ten guns and 300," '‘ _-PP99n,3,17S- was during this attaclvj, if )9 iilifthgti crgfiaznys‘ Pearce cut , ghis Way§—.,ij,,~,.,-‘, th.rough.the wire in the daytime, dism.

garding the most intense fire, andl bombed a ledoubt, for which he was recommended for the Victorian Cross. Pearce received a bullet in the thigh, piercing an artery. He bled to death before he could be reached. The Australian casualties throughout were under '3O. The Bolsheviks possessed an equal quantity of artillery, but less ammunition. Doubtlcss the Russians will maintain a-successful defence provided the troops remain. loyal. The British left all the guns and equipment the Russians desired. ON THE ARCHANGELFRONT. M AUSTRALIANS FINE WORK. . LO‘N.DSON, Oct. 15. Further details of the Australian campaign on the Archangel front, show that when the Australians reached the battleline the Russian mutiny was in f-ull swing, and that it was anticipated that the trouble would extend to other sectors. It was grappled with in time, however, by disarming the Russians and threatening‘ them that every tenth man would be shot every half hour until the ringleaders were given up- The mutineers- then disclosed the ringleaders, and these promptly shot. The Australians‘, under Captain Newbolt, who served with the New Zealanders in France_, hurriedly arrived with other reinforcements when the position was very gloomy. The Bolsheviks were attacking along the entire front, and the ‘Australians immediately went in and performed a great part in stopping the‘ attack. The Australians quickly located over a battalion of Bolsheviks hiding in a wood preparing a surprise attack on the British flank. ‘The entire Australian force, a hundred strong, including machine-gunners, went out, and after a ‘few minutes of outpost‘ fighting, the real battle opened, and the Bolsheviks wer surprisd, and d_ispers_ed_ av, jso'vl_n'r Pm:-ss ALARMED. . '. , A LONDON, Oct. 15. .- 'R.euter?.s correspondent‘ states that the rßol.shlcvik's hhve: mobilised \the population for the defence of Tula. . ‘ The rapidity of Deniken’s operations ~ha'.s.greatly alarmed the "Soviet press. ‘All former land owners and civil ofiicials in Petrograd and Moscow are being registered. I A plot was‘ discovered, implicating 800 oificers, to seize the wireless at Moscow and announce the fall of the Soviet, and organise an armed insurrection of, troops. . Yudenitch has reached Gatchina (30 miles S.S.W. of Petrogffad). EOLSHE-VIKAS WEAKENING RAPIDLY. ' COPENHAGEN, Oct. 15. Bolshevik resist.-ancxe is weakening rapidly. The Red army is only fighting because the soldiers fear machinegunners posted in ?their rear, with orders to fire on fugitives and cowards.