WITH GENERAL IRONSIDE'S FORCES IN NORTH RUSSIA [Main Title]

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  • Title: WITH GENERAL IRONSIDE'S FORCES IN NORTH RUSSIA [Main Title]
  • Film Number: IWM 808
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: British and other national forces in the North Russian Intervention Force in and near Archangel, and normal peasant life in the area, December 1918 to September 1919.
  • Description: (Reel 1) The icebreaker SS Canada brings the cameraman and his colleagues into Archangel harbour in the middle of winter. The locals, in full furs, use sledges for transportation, some of them drawn by reindeer. The statue of Peter the Great still stands, as does his house in Archangel. The city is then shown in summertime, including the cathedral and the docks. A French Montcalm Class cruiser is at anchor. A street market sells local goods. (Reel 2) British soldiers at a gunnery school are taught about the Vickers machine gun. In winter White Russian soldiers march across the frozen Dvina River into Archangel. In Murmansk a group of soldiers poses for the camera - British, American, French, Italian, Serbian and Russian. The main Allied warehouses are shown in Bakaritza, the harbour on the opposite bank of the river to Archangel. Soldiers in training use skis and snowshoes for patrol work. One of the trains in Archangel station has a YMCA canteen car. A supply train comes in and sleighs take the supplies out to the front. The village of Bolshayaozerka on the way to the front is shown. British soldiers in the front lines man trenches and rifle pits in the snow. (Reel 3) Sledge-ambulances bring the wounded back to the hospital in Archangel, where surgery is performed. The village of Toulgas is shown. Men of the Royal Scots Fusiliers carry out PT exercises in the snow. US troops come back to the village from the front, along with Canadian sleigh-mounted 18-pounder guns. In May 1919 the relief force arrives and marches through Archangel. Local Boy Scouts march at the rear of the column. Earlier, in the snow, White Russian Cossacks ride in on patrol, bringing in Bolshevik prisoners of war. In Archangel troops use the YMCA carriage, and there is a tug of war between US and Canadian soldiers. In September the last US troops evacuate the city by sea, their ship passing the repair base at Solombola. The great fire at the lumber mills at Maimaxa is shown from the river. (Reel 4) A "typical Russian village" is shown in the snow. More views of the peasant villages and their inhabitants. The camera is taken for a ride on a sledge. The various churches and cathedrals of the area are shown: the cathedral at Solombola in winter, that at Emetzkoe in winter, and the church at Kholmogorie, including detailed views of the church bells. The view over the Dvina valley in summer, including Kholmogorie market-place on Sunday afternoon with troops wandering about. At a nearby convent the nuns clean samovars, or work in the fields gathering early wheat. The village of Kergoman on the Dvina is shown in winter. More scenes of troops in Archangel itself, including a Russian boy 'mascot' for British troops. Russian girls work under US supervision making coffee in a YMCA hut. Children play with a see-saw.
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: Yes
  • Object_Number: IWM 808
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM (IWM 808)
  • Featured Period: 1914-1918
  • Production Date: 1919
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Joly, E F (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: British Army, North Russian Intervention Force (regiment/service) British Army, Scots Fusiliers, Royal (regiment/service) White Russians (regiment/service) Soviet Union Boy Scouts (regiment/service) Young Men's Christian Association (regiment/service) Young Men's Christian Association (regiment/service) United States Army & North Russian Intervention Force (regiment/service) Soviet Union Orthodox Church (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: operations, British military - movement: ship (object name) intervention, British/Russian, governmental (object name) weapons, British - gun: 18-pounder field gun & [Chinese] (object name) weapons, British - smallarm: Vickers machine gun (object name) training, British military - weapons (object name) ships, British auxiliary - assistance: Canada (object name) ships, French naval - cruiser: Montcalm Class (object name) transport, Russian civilian - animal special: sledge (reindeer) (object name) buildings, Russian - religious: cathedral (object name) buildings, Russian - religious: church (object name) society, Russian - ethnic (object name) arts, Russian - ethnic (object name) supplies, British, movement [RA] - misc (object name) medical, British military - hospital (object name) destruction, Russian: fire (object name) prisoners of war, Russian - movement (object name) religion, Christianity - ceremonial, Russian (object name) agriculture, Russian - arable (object name) Intervention in Russia, British & 12/1918=9/1919 (event) Russia & North Russia (geography) Russia & Archangel area (geography) Russia & Dvina (River) (geography) Russia & Murmansk (geography) Russia & Bakaritza (geography) Russia & Bolshayaozerka (geography) Russia & Toulgas (geography) Russia & Solombola (geography) Russia & Emetzkoe (geography) Russia & Kholmogorie (geography) Russia & Kergoman (geography) Russia & Maimaxa (geography) Winter (concept) snow (concept) Children (concept) camera (concept)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent Soundtrack language: None Title language: English Subtitle language: English
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 4 Footage: 3517 ft; Running time: 60 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    IWM 808

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