Few people realise that Australian soldiers fought in Russia near the end of the First World War. Having completed a great deal of research and travel throughout Russia, Michael Challinger brings to life the story of this distant theatre of war in the frozen wastelands of far north Russia. With humour and an eye for irony he retells how a small group of Aussies were seconded in 1918 to help to protect the British from a rear guard attack from northern Russia. Without Russia's army Germany would have overwhelmed the French and British. But by 1917 Russian casualties exceeded five million men and Russia began to fall apart. On 7 November 1917 the Bolshevik Revolution installed Lenin in power. The regime's first act was to open peace negotiations with Germany. Alarmed, the British acted quickly and with Trotsky's permission landed a force in Northern Russia to protect the seaways and ports from the Germans. The Aussies became embroiled in what was to become the Russian revolution and were to win two Victoria Crosses. With bitter fighting and lack-lustre support from a divided Russia they fought in conditions that only polar explorer, Ernest Shackleton, who outfitted the troops in Arkangel, had experience of. A fascinating account that brings Russian history into focus and reveals how easily the war could have been lost. For the first time this lonely and brave story is told by Michael Challinger.
