Channel 5 is currently showing an interesting series about the Royal Marines in Afghanistan. While the situation, and the style of warfare is not the same, I was struck by similarities between the operations in Afghanistan and Russia in 1918 - 1920.
For instance much is made of the ideological differnces between the combatants. Indeed I suspect that if the average man in the street were to be asked the reasons for the British intervention they would say that it was an attempt to stamp out Bolshevism. Just as today there is a strain of thought that would have it that the NATO forces are engaged in a religious war.
However the reality of the intervention, certainly in the north, was for very different reasons. The British were there to protect the mass of supplies they had supplied to the Tzarist forces, with the intention of proventing them from falling into German hands. It should be kept in mind that the armistace was still a while off at the time the British launched the first all arms naval assault in history on Murmansk.
Leaving the wider pictrue aside, the task of the infantry was much the same in both conflicts. Therefore I have been rather inspired by the program in developing some scenarios.
peace:)
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