The French?

[Mr.Marx]

Hey All,

Does anyone have any good sources for the French Intervention forces in the Russian Civil War?

I have some French from a long abandoned Great War project, and am feeling oddly drawn towards the Great Back of Beyond.

MM.

[cuprum]

French in Siberia and the Far East:

The name of the commander of the French battalion - R. Mallet.

Composition Le Bataillon Colonial Français de Siberie (BCFS):

From Hanoi on the boat "André Lebon" sailed:

- 2 companies of the 9th Colonial Infantry Regiment (6 th company - 228 Marines, commander - Lieutenant Deseille; 8th Company - 226 Marines commander - Captain Schill, assistant - Lieutenant Rivette; into these two companies, in addition to the Marines , included 277 Tonkin shooters - vietnamese);

- 2 machine gun platoon of the same regiment.

On August 4, Taku (China) on the ship "André Lebon" additional weights:

- 2 companies of 16 Colonial Infantry Regiment (8th Company - 230 Marines commander - Captain Feneurstein, assistants - lieutenants Fumk and Brauenstein; 11th company - 230 Marines commander - Captain de Vaux, assistants - lieutenants Basail and Seguinel), basically, all natives of Alsace and Lorraine;

- 1 company of Zouaves 3rd Regiment (5 th company - 202 Zouaves, commander Captain Pauzon, assistants - Lieutenant Gadarsand and Lieutenant Jeffrey).

August 9 at 6:00 steamer "André Lebon" arrived in the port of Vladivostok and stood up for unloading.

From 1136 the French were in Siberia under the command of Colonel Mallet (his assistant - Captain Dunant, a junior officer, Lieutenant - Tosse, medical officers - majors Jouvelet and Guerneray) did not return to France 21 people.

Killed in battle - 5 people.
Wounded - 21 people (of which later died of his wounds 5 people).
Went missing - 5 people.
Died of disease - 6.
Have received frostbite of the lower limbs - 26.
-------------------------------------------------- -----------------------
Total: 16 dead and 5 missing and 42 wounded.

[cuprum]

August 9, 1918 the steamer "Anri Lebon" French Colonial Siberian battalion was taken to the port city of Vladivostok. French troops took up positions near the village Dukovskoe under Ussuriysk, where for the first time on August 13 were fired of red partisans.

August 15 Red Partisans according French data, launched an offensive on the French position, as expressed in the regular artillery and machine-gun fire. French made quality trenches and until August 20 not suffered any losses. Night of 20 August the red attacked the white command post, where there were 4 Zouaves, who became the first Frenchman killed in Siberia. On the same day from the disease died a Rene Vyultyuri(?).

August 21 red launched an offensive on Vladivostok. Red vanguard attacked the village Dukovskoe on the Allied forces: 1 French battalion, 4 Czech, 1 English and several subdivisions of Cossacks. In view of the numerical superiority of red and heavy Allied losses (25 Battalion Middlesex Regiment the British was defeated, while standing near the Japanese refused to come to the aid) allies retreated.

August 23 offensive again. By evening, the white and the interventionists unit under the overall command of Colonel Pichon moved to the outskirts Dukovskoe. At night, the French took the language that informed that the partisans have 4.5 thousand mens.

August 24 with have joined the Japanese, interventionists went into a counter displacing the Red partisans. Thus the French Colonial Siberian Battalion won unique victory in the history of France over the Red Army.

In battle the battalion lost two men killed and 16 wounded. Criticized the French side - the Japanese lost 300 men killed.

In early September, of Chinese from FCSB have translated to Vladivostok on the protection of the French military hospital. In Primorye, an outbreak of typhoid.

October 9, 1918 of the French battalion, and a new addition - 3 artillery battery from China, 175 people - were sent by rail to Kolchak. The French arrived in Ufa November 21, 1918 after the end of the 1st World War in Europe. On the way there was an accident - the explosion of an ammunition wagon, which killed further 3 Zouaves.

Battalion has staid in Ufa before the end of 1918 not participating in the fighting. In early 1919, the French have translated to Chelyabinsk, where the French have traditionally experienced all the splendor of her most terrible enemy - Russian Winter. This time, not simply Russian, and Siberian! Day profit temperatures were in the area - 20 C, the night fell to -50 C. The 26 man battalion as a result frostbite were amputated limb. In addition, due to the end of the 1st World War, 6 officers and 543 soldiers were demobilized and left the battalion which thus reduced by half.

Since March 3, Frenchmen begin as escort to accompany the train of ammunition circulating on the Trans-Siberian railway between Chelyabinsk, Ufa, Penza.

March 30, 1919 French Colonial Siberian battalion was marked in the order of Minister of Defense and received the right to inscribe on its banners the honorary title SIBERIAN - SIBERIE (now preserved in the Army Museum in Paris). The dates on the 1914-1919 flag really no one explained, presumably from the date of the First World War to the date of the Treaty of Versailles.

July 15, 1919, in view of the imminent collapse of the White Army in Siberia, the battalion ordered to retreat to Vladivostok, where the French arrive until September 14, 1919 In Vladivostok the battalion ensured evacuation allies because of the rapidly approaching Red Army, and the chaos and anarchy of what used to be the White army. February 14, 1920 the battalion departed the French steamer to Hanoi, where he arrived in March.

In early May, the decision and the June 24, 1920 officially French Colonial Siberian battalion was disbanded.

[cuprum]

[Ignatieff]

Wow!  cracking Cuprum!!!

[Driscoles]

youre amazing Cuprum. Thank you !

[Mr.Marx]

Wow! Thanks for all the info cuprum. Where did you get it all from?

MM.

[cuprum]

I many years studied the history of the Civil War in Siberia and the Far East. It's part of my hobby 

[H.M.Stanley]

Thank you for sharing Cuprum

[giles the zog]

mark Plant has done a book on the french forces in the south of Russia.Check out his Pygmy wars website.

[Ignatieff]

mark Plant has done a book on the french forces in the south of Russia.Check out his Pygmy wars website.

I have it.  It is superb.  Massive French (and Greek) armies at play in the Ukraine

[Mark Plant]

Cuprum has covered the fighting in the East with his usual knowledge. As you can see it wasn't very much. A bit of fighting against Reds (though not Red Army) outside Vladivostok in August in 1918, then basically nothing. Of course there was always the possibility of more.

I have some French from a long abandoned Great War project, and am feeling oddly drawn towards the Great Back of Beyond.

Not probably particularly useful if they are already painted, I'm afraid, if we are sticking to history. As far as I have been able to track it down, the troops sent to Russia were pretty much exclusively in khaki, not horizon blue.

The troops were almost exclusively colonials (including Zouaves in the South). Cuprum's list gives colonials in the east (although I'm not sure how natives of Alsace and Lorraine get to be in colonial regiments).

[Mr.Marx]

Cuprum has covered the fighting in the East with his usual knowledge. As you can see it wasn't very much. A bit of fighting against Reds (though not Red Army) outside Vladivostok in August in 1918, then basically nothing. Of course there was always the possibility of more.

Not probably particularly useful if they are already painted, I'm afraid, if we are sticking to history. As far as I have been able to track it down, the troops sent to Russia were pretty much exclusively in khaki, not horizon blue.

The troops were almost exclusively colonials (including Zouaves in the South). Cuprum's list gives colonials in the east (although I'm not sure how natives of Alsace and Lorraine get to be in colonial regiments).

Ive only painted a hand-full of them in Horizon Blue. I'd probably just paint the rest up in Khaki....although I cant say im going all to heavy on the history right now....I have a Char 2c leading the force into battle at the mo 

MM.

[Patrice]

As far as I have been able to track it down, the troops sent to Russia were pretty much exclusively in khaki, not horizon blue.

Yes probably. Although the guys in very large berets on the pictures are "chasseurs alpins" I don't think they ever wore khaki (but I may be wrong).

I'm not sure how natives of Alsace and Lorraine get to be in colonial regiments.

A lot of men of Alsace-Lorraine origin went to enlist in the French army between the FPW and WWI; especially some from educated families, who became officers.

[Plynkes]

I'm not sure how natives of Alsace and Lorraine get to be in colonial regiments.

L'Infanterie coloniale were European troops from France (previously the Troupes de marine, renamed in 1900ish). I guess they would walk into a recruiting office just like anyone else. Alsace and Lorraine are a long way from the sea, I grant you, but one imagines they recruited from all over France (and most of Lorraine and a tiny bit of Alsace were still French, not to mention the border-hopping brought up by Patrice).