History of the World War

History of the World War, by

Francis A. March and Richard J. Beamish This eBook is for the use of
anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever.
You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project
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Title: History of the World War An Authentic Narrative of the World's
Greatest War
Author: Francis A. March and Richard J. Beamish
Release Date: August 6, 2006 [EBook #18993]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY
OF THE WORLD WAR ***

Produced by Don Kostuch

[Transcriber's Notes]
My father's part in WWI attracted me to this book. I recall him talking
briefly about fighting the Bolsheviki in Archangel. "The machine gun
bullets trimmed the leaves off the trees, as if it were fall." Like most
veterans, he had little else to say.

This book mentions his campaign on page 736; "August 3,
1918.--President Wilson announces new policy regarding Russia and
agrees to cooperate with Great Britain, France and Japan in sending
forces to Murmansk, Archangel and Vladivostok."
My father's experience seems to be described in the following excerpt
from the University of Michigan "The University Record", April 5,
1999. "Bentley showcases items from World War I 'Polar Bears'"; by
Joanne Nesbit.
"During the summer of 1918, the U.S. Army's 85th Division, made up
primarily of men from Michigan and Wisconsin, completed training at
Fort Custer in Battle Creek, Mich., and proceeded to England. The
5,000 troops of the division's 339th Infantry and support units realized
that they were not being sent to France to join the great battles on the
Western Front when they were issued Russian weapons and equipment
and lectured on life in the Arctic regions.
"When they reached their destination in early September, 600 miles
north of Moscow, the men of the 339th joined an international force
commanded by the British that had been sent to northern Russia for
purposes that were never made clear. The Americans were soon spread
in small fighting units across hundreds of miles of the Russian forest
fighting the Bolsheviks who had taken power in Petrograd and
Moscow.
"The day of the Armistice (Nov. 11) when fighting ceased for other
American armies, the allied soldiers were fighting the Bolsheviks said
to be led by Trotsky himself. After three days, the allies finally were
able to drive off the Bolsheviks. While this fight was a victory for the
Americans, the battle led to the realization that the war was not over for
these men. As the weeks and months passed and more battles were
fought, the men began to wonder if they would ever get home.
"The men of the 339th generally were well equipped with winter
clothing during the winter of 1918-19 while stationed near the Arctic
Circle, where temperatures reached minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

"There was little daylight for months at a time. Knowing that the war
was over for other American soldiers, the morale of the troops declined
throughout the winter.
"Families and friends of the men began to clamor for their return.
Politicians unwilling to support an undeclared war against the Russian
government joined in their demand. A petition to Congress was
circulated. Several of the British and French units mutinied and refused
to continue fighting. In early April, the American troops learned that
they would be withdrawn as soon as the harbor at Archangel was
cleared of ice.
"It was not until June of 1919 that the men of the 339th sailed from
Russia and adopted the polar bear as their regimental symbol. After a
stop in New York, the troops went on to Detroit where they took part in
a gala July 4 homecoming parade at Belle Isle."
The converted text for several chapters is copied from Project
Gutenberg's eBook 16282, History of the World War, Vol. 3, prepared
by Juliet Sutherland, Jennifer Zickerman, and the Project Gutenberg
Online Distributed Proofreading Team. This edition has minor
differences, mostly additional passages and images.
When considering monetary values listed in the text, one United States
dollar in 1918 is equivalent to about thirteen dollars in 2006. One
United States dollar in 1918 is equivalent to about 5.6 French Francs in
1918; one Franc in 1918 is equivalent to about 2.3 dollars in 2006.
For additional insight into the pilots and air battles of the war read "The
Red Knight of Germany; The Story of Baron von Richthofen,
Germany's Great War Bird" by Floyd Gibbons. This book is copyright
1927 and will not be freely available online until 2022.
In the PDf and Doc versions, the following pages contain additional
maps that may assist in understanding some of the references to
locations in the text.