North Russia Intervention - International Contingent

International Contingent

The British 6th Battalion Royal Marines Light Infantry (RMLI) was scratched together from a company of the Royal Marine Artillery and companies from each of the three naval port depots. Very few of their officers had seen any land fighting. Their original purpose had been only to deploy to Flensburg to supervise a vote to decide whether northern Schleswig-Holstein should remain German or be given to Denmark. Many of the Marines were less than 19 years old; it would have been unusual to send them overseas. Others were ex-prisoners of war who had only recently returned from Germany and had no home leave.

There was outrage when on short notice, the 6th Battalion was shipped to Murmansk, Russia, on the Arctic Ocean, to assist in the withdrawal of British forces. Still not expecting to have to fight, the battalion was ordered forward under army command to hold certain outposts.

The Forces included:

• A British Royal Navy Flotilla of over 20 ships - including 2 Seaplane Carriers, HMS Pegasus and HMS Nairana
• Approximately 8,000 United States Army soldiers
• 14 Battalions of British Commonwealth troops – Canadian Brigade and Australian Infantry,
• 2,000 French, Colonial & Engineers,
• 1,000 British-Serbian and Polish Rifles assigned to assist Admiral Kolchak’s White Guard forces in the north and make a junction with his Siberian forces (Czechoslovak Legion) near Kotlas.
• A British Royal Air Force contingent comprising Airco DH.4 bombers, Fairey Campania and Sopwith Baby seaplanes along with a single Sopwith Camel fighter.

Opposing this international force was the Seventh and Eighth Red Army, the "Army of the North West", which was poorly prepared for battle in May 1918.