The Allied Intervention in the Far East and Siberia, 1918-20

In 2025 Andy spoke to us about the Allied intervention in North Russia and last year he returned to talk on the German Empire in the Pacific. This year he returns with another distant and neglected front in the Far East and Siberia, once again reminding us that the war dragged well past the “eleventh of the eleventh, 1918” in some parts of the world.

The Russian Empire was collapsing and the Bolsheviks were taking over what was left. The East was controlled through the tenuous Trans-Siberian Railway, but who controlled that? The Japanese and Chinese were the 'local' powers, as were White Russian led Bandits, but the situation was further complicated by the Americans, the French, a collection of largely medically unfit British troops, all relatively few in number, and the powerful and cohesive Czech Legion, together with Polish, Austrian and German PoW's. Andy reviews the key events, the leading officers and the conflicts between the Allies, and also considers the fate of the Tsar's gold!

Andy has a very varied background that includes serving in the Royal Artillery with tours in Germany, Canada and Northern Ireland, followed by a career in investment banking that took him as far afield as New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo before co-founding a technology development business.

During 'lockdown' Andy began writing, drawn to the world described in his grandfather, Arthur Walton's stories of his service during the First World War and the Russian Civil War, researching the topic in depth and using it as inspiration for three books.

Members and non-members of The Western Front Association are equally welcome. Any new visitors are guaranteed a friendly atmosphere and a warm welcome from a group of like-minded enthusiasts.

Main Image: Armoured train on the Trans-Siberian Railway