Forgotten front: Britain, Bolshevism, and Chinese auxiliaries in northern Russia

Disrupting German plans

In the final phase of the First World War, British forces entered northern Russia (their wartime ally) to disrupt German plans in the region. Here, in the freezing temperatures of the Arctic, the British hoped to deny Germany the ice-free ports of Murmansk and Pechanga, prevent the construction of a submarine base, and protect the convoy routes through which Britain were sending supplies to Russia.

The British also wanted to tie down German forces in bordering Finland. 55,000 troops were in the area under the command of German army general Rüdiger von der Goltz. They hoped to prevent Germany from 'despatching reinforcements from this theatre to the Western Front'.

Though the German threat ended with the Armistice of November 1918, the British remained anxious. Considerable numbers of the Finnish White Guard, which had been under German influence, were positioned along the eastern border of Finland, next to Russia. The intervention was also part of a larger Allied involvement in the Russian Civil War, with Bolshevik activity increasing in the Archangel area – another port with Arctic access.

This led the British to raise a force to counter these impending threats, by recruiting volunteers of all nationalities from Murmansk and Archangel. Among the units they formed was the Slavo-British Legion, comprising of 3,000 local residents. Many of the recruits were Chinese workers brought to Russia to support wartime industries, but who had been abandoned following the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Chinese workers

The strategic importance of Murmansk, an ice-free port on the Kola Peninsula with year-round sea access, had led Russia to begin the construction of a railway to connect it with Petrograd (now St Petersburg). By 1916, due to an acute shortage of local workers, Russian companies had recruited about 10,000 Chinese workers to help lay the railway line across the frozen terrain.

A report from the British consulate in China, held at The National Archives, states that most Chinese workers in the Murmansk and Archangel areas arrived in 1916. Invited by Russian employers, lots came from the area around Harbin in Northeast China. Many arrived with Chinese passports describing them as 'peddlers, labourers, or mechanics'. Some had come to Russia as early as 1912. Following the outbreak of the 1917 Russian Revolution, they found themselves stranded in northern Russia and at risk of starvation due to difficulties in obtaining food tickets.

As the Russian Imperial Army (the army of the Russian empire) gradually withdrew, the Chinese workers were largely abandoned at the front, deepening their welfare crisis. As there was no Chinese consulate nearby to provide assistance, they were compelled to find other means of survival. Though outsiders in a domestic conflict, many were soon recruited into both the opposing Red and White armies, as well as local militias.

The Slavo-British Legion

As the Bolshevik threat grew, the British sought to support the anti-communist White Army. On 3 June 1918, the British War Council sanctioned the despatch of a military expedition to Murmansk and Archangel. A force known as Syren was to land at Murmansk under the command of Major-General C.C.M. Maynard. Another, known as Elope, was sent to Archangel under Major-General F.C. Poole with instructions to recruit 'armed force among the Russia population'.

As the British Government were not involved in the original hiring of the Chinese workers – this had been organised by the Imperial Russian and Chinese Governments – our records about them are patchy and incomplete. Our records do indicate, however, that most of the Chinese workers remaining in Murmansk and Archangel after the revolution welcomed the British intervention and joined the Slavo-British Legion. They were employed to monitor the movement of Bolshevik forces, and went into action three times, 'twice successfully', while sustaining no losses. They declared themselves proud to have served with the British.

Meanwhile, the Chinese consul in Vladivostok (on Russia's Pacific coast) reported that the Bolsheviks, who had seized power in Russia during the revolution, had forcibly seized several thousand Chinese from the west of the Ural Mountains. It detailed they had enlisted them in the so called Hung Huang Chun or Red and Yellow Army, with Foreign Office correspondence reporting they were being used to torture and execute prisoners and political opponents. The military attaché in Warsaw also reported to the Foreign Office that the number of Chinese and Koreans serving in the Bolshevik army had increased to 4,000.

Evacuation

By the end of February 1919, the situation in northern Russia, especially at Archangel, had become a serious problem for the British. Following a series of mutinies among the White Army Russian forces, the British no longer trusted them to defend their flanks, believing that they 'must be reinforced by troops from home at the earliest possible moment'. The General Staff reported this to the War Cabinet on several occasions. By 4 March 1919, the British had decided to evacuate their troops from northern Russia.

Around the same time, the Union of Chinese Workmen in Russia appealed to the Allied governments to help the Chinese workers return home through Siberia. The Union also sent a request to the Bolshevik government that a first party of about 300 be allowed to start for Siberia through Samara and Ufa. The Chinese Government, however, was concerned about the implications of these workers returning home as there was evidence that many had taken on Bolshevik ideas while in Russia.

The Chinese government’s alarm at the prospect of these workers’ repatriation can be seen in a despatch from the British Minister in China, who reported to the Foreign Office:

While the Chinese government accepted their return, they arranged for them to be kept under government surveillance to prevent the possible spread of Bolshevism.

The return

The evacuation was made westwards from Archangel and Murmansk, which saw the workers return to China via Canada. Having crossed the Atlantic to Halifax, Nova Scotia, aboard British merchant ships, they were then housed on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. They were then repatriated at Qingdao, China. The Chinese Labour Corps workers who had returned from the Western Front followed the same route.

On 31 October 1919, 1,776 labourers returned to Qingdao on board SS Badenia. Also aboard were 482 Chinese people who had served with the Slavo-British Legion, 'for onward conveyance to Vladivostok for demobilization on completion of duty'. Another 200 were repatriated in November on SS Tyndareus, and 179 more on 17 December on SS Ixion. Most were natives of Shantung, eastern China, who had emigrated to Vladivostok.

Though the repatriation was arranged by the British, its organisation proved controversial. It was opposed by G. S. Moss, the War Office representative in Qingdao. He cited a lack of available shipping as well as the impracticality of overland travel. He also warned that the British authorities in Qingdao were unaware of the terms under which the Chinese workers had been recruited into the Slavo-British Legion. He noted that the recruits had become resentful and had been demanding gratuities and separation allowances since before leaving Canada.

Moss attempted to come to an agreement and drew up a discretionary scale of back pay, ranging from $25 for a sergeant-major to $20 for a private. A separation allowance of 100 roubles per month was also to be 'paid directly to wives of dependants in Archangel area only', but not to the labourers.

WAR OFFICE EMIGRATION AGENCY...
TSINGTAO, CHINA

If the question of the Separation Allowance is dealt with in a liberal spirit no further trouble need be anticipated, but should the contrary be the case I anticipate that the Chinese Authorities will feel constrained to take up the case for the men and reopen negotiations at Peking. In that case bad feeling might developed instead of gratitude at the action of His Majesty’s Government in giving employment to these Chinese citizens in North Russia and in repatriating them at considerable expense. The matter has its political aspect and I am therefore reporting all action taken by me to His Majesty’s Minister, by whose views I must necessarily be guided.

The men report that they went to Russia with Chinese passports as peddlers, labourers or mechanics. Some entered Russia as early as 1912, but most of them responded to invitations from Russian employers of labour in 1916, and came from the neighbourhood of Harbin: they were not recruited by the Russian Government directly, and certainly not recruited at Vladivostock. They were well treated by the Russians under the old regime. When the revolution broke out in Russia they found themselves in North Russia and exposed to starvation owing to the high prices which obtained under the Soviets and the difficulty of obtaining food tickets. They therefore responded readily to the invitation of the British at Archangel to join the army...They state that they were very well treated.

Legacy

After finding themselves in a complex and volatile situation, these Chinese labourers played an important role in Britain's strategy in northern Russia at this time. As our records show, they contributed to various logistical and combat operations. Their repatriation, fraught with challenges and logistical and political concerns, also highlights the intricate interplay of international relations and wartime demands.

Their eventual homecoming raises intriguing questions about their influence on Chinese politics and society. Did those who developed communist sympathies while in Russia play a role in the early stages of Chinese communism, shaping political views, and contributing to the spread of the ideology in China?

While this story has largely been overlooked, possibly due to the British desire to forget a failed campaign, our records shed light on the experiences of these labourers and provide further opportunities for investigation.

Records featured in this article

• From our collection

  WO 32/5698

  Title

  Major General Maynard despatch on the Murmansk Operation

  Date

  1919

• From our collection

  FO 228/2895

  Title

  Foreign Office: correspondence, Dossier 14 Chinese Labour Corps

  Date

  1919–1921

• From our collection

  WO 106/1153

  Title

  Archangel and Murmansk: Telegrams and correspondence from G.O.C.

  Date

  1918–1919

• From our collection

  AIR 1/9/15/1/33/1

  Title

  North Russia Expeditionary Force report on the work of Kem Flight

  Date

  1919

• From our collection

  FO 228/2764

  Title

  Foreign Office: correspondence, Dossier 1. Russia, Volume XI

  Date

  1918

• From our collection

  FO 228/2765

  Title

  Foreign Office: correspondence, Dossier 1. Russia, Volume XII

  Date

  1918–1919

• From our collection

  FO 228/2766

  Title

  Foreign Office: correspondence, Dossier 1. Russia, Volume XIII

  Date

  1919

• From our collection

  MFQ 1/115/2

  Title

  Sketched Map of northern Russia

  Date

  1919

• From our collection

  WO 33/950

  Title

  War Office: Reports, Memoranda and Papers (O and A Series), north Russia

  Date

  1919

• From our collection

  FO 608/199/12

  Title

  Military operations: Bolshevik Army, including: Chinese and Korean units

  Date

  1919