Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force
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The Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force (also referred to as the Canadian Expedition Force (Siberia) or simply C.E.F. was a Canadian military force during the Russian Revolution sent to Vladivostok, Russia to bolster the allied presence. Composed of 4,000 soldiers (including other forces in Northwest Russia) and authorised in 1918, the force returned to Canada in 1919 without seeing battle. The force was commanded by Major General J.H. Elmsley.
The Churkin Naval Cemetery in Vladivostok, a Commonwealth War Graves Commission site, contains the graves of Allied and Commonwealth soldiers who died during the Siberian Intervention and a monument to Allied soldiers buried in various locations in Siberia. The Commonwealth portion of the cemetery was neglected during the Soviet era; a Canadian naval vessel restored the cemetery in the 1990s.[1]
Background
Canadian involvement in the Siberian campaign was to a significant degree driven by the policy of Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden towards the United Kingdom. As a dominion, Canada was neither a full-fledged member of the Entente, nor simply a colony. Borden's arguments for Canada's involvement ""had little to do with Siberia per se, and much to do with adding to the British government's sense of obligation to their imperial junior partner."[2]
Arrival and disposition in Vladivostok
Under General Elmsley's command, Canadian troops arrived in Vladivostok in August, 1918. The general office of the troops was eventually established at Vladivostok's Pushkin Theatre.[3]
See also
Links
War diaries - North Russia (Siberian) Expeditionary Force, 16th Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery
References
- ^ St. Andrew's College Highland Cadet Corps, Andreans Who Served in Russia in the Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force and Northern Russian Expeditionary Force.
- ^ P. Whitney Lackenbauer, University of Waterloo Why Siberia? Canadian Foreign Policy and Siberian Intervention, 1918-19.
- ^ Expeditionary Force (Siberia) War Diary.