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When Hell Froze Over by E.M. Halliday
BLOOD AND ICEOn November 11, 1918, World War I officially ended. But for the men of the ill-starred American Expeditionary Force to North Russia, the fighting had only begun. Plagued by meager supplies, poor leadership, and the tack of a clear-cut objective, this small but valiant American contingent fought impossible odds, scoring several stunning victories against the Bolsheviks before superior numbers and the bone-breaking arctic winter that had defeated Napoleon forced them to withdraw. Now, in this clear, forthright account, E.M. Halliday re-creates one of the most obscure but important of America's foreign an epic of confusion, endurance, failure -- and gallantry -- that history almost forgot and the Russians never forgave. Only today, more than seventy years after the Allied occupation of Archangel, have American-Soviet relations begun to thaw.
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First published January 1, 1960
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 16, 2012
An excellent book on the American contribution to the Allied intervention in North Russia 1918-1919.
The book reads easily and quickly, has a good bibliography for further reference and provides a good balance (although not thorough) between politics surrounding the intervention and actions on the ground. This is an excellent book if you are interested in getting the quick and dirty of the expedition or if you are starting an in depth study.
Halliday's narrative uses information from interviews with the actual combatants to give us an excellent view of what life was like for the common soldier, who were overwellmingly American, in the fron lines. Also, the personalities of the generals and politicians whose indecisiveness often cost these soldiers their lives. Halliday mixes both the military and politcal maneuverings skillfully giving us a balanced picture of an often ignored part of out history.
Unfortunately, there are no maps in the book so you are forced to rely on the authors descriptive powers (great, but not the same as a decent map) to set the scene and understand the movements & placement of units. The author also leaves out those unit designations that allow us military history nuts to track which squad belonged to which platoon, etc. (no offense to the other reviewer, I'd just like to see a bit of balance).
Also, this book focuses almost exclusively on the American contingent of the intervention, with only passing references to the British side.
The book reads easily and quickly, has a good bibliography for further reference and provides a good balance (although not thorough) between politics surrounding the intervention and actions on the ground. This is an excellent book if you are interested in getting the quick and dirty of the expedition or if you are starting an in depth study.
Halliday's narrative uses information from interviews with the actual combatants to give us an excellent view of what life was like for the common soldier, who were overwellmingly American, in the fron lines. Also, the personalities of the generals and politicians whose indecisiveness often cost these soldiers their lives. Halliday mixes both the military and politcal maneuverings skillfully giving us a balanced picture of an often ignored part of out history.
Unfortunately, there are no maps in the book so you are forced to rely on the authors descriptive powers (great, but not the same as a decent map) to set the scene and understand the movements & placement of units. The author also leaves out those unit designations that allow us military history nuts to track which squad belonged to which platoon, etc. (no offense to the other reviewer, I'd just like to see a bit of balance).
Also, this book focuses almost exclusively on the American contingent of the intervention, with only passing references to the British side.
July 25, 2010
Stop me if you've heard this before. The U.S. military gets bogged down in some god-foresaken corner of the world suffering ongoing casualties fighting for some vague objective. After enough complaints about "our boys" spilling blood on foreign soil, the old chestnut of "fighting for democracy" is used to explain just why in fact we are over there. We eventually get out, leaving the this foreign country no better off, and in some ways worse, than it was prior to our military adventuring.
Parallels to modern history aside, this is an informative and enjoyable book to read for anyone interested in the little known story of America fighting Russia in Russia's own backyard. I don't usually read military history books, but the easygoing writing style and eschewing of typical military history prose made this quite accessable. Recommended...
Parallels to modern history aside, this is an informative and enjoyable book to read for anyone interested in the little known story of America fighting Russia in Russia's own backyard. I don't usually read military history books, but the easygoing writing style and eschewing of typical military history prose made this quite accessable. Recommended...
December 23, 2021
Well written, but unless you're really interested in military history, it will likely be a dry read. I read it because my great-grandfather was part of the expedition.
December 29, 2013
Unvarnished look at a fascinating bit of history.
This is a great look at war. Confusion, contradictory goals, competing interests, decisions made from afar, and all coming together to bring death in deep snow and sub-zero cold for Johnny Doughboy from Michigan and Wisconsin. While others went home as heroes of WW I they suffered unbelievable hardship in north Russia, many never to return. A sad story well told.
This is a great look at war. Confusion, contradictory goals, competing interests, decisions made from afar, and all coming together to bring death in deep snow and sub-zero cold for Johnny Doughboy from Michigan and Wisconsin. While others went home as heroes of WW I they suffered unbelievable hardship in north Russia, many never to return. A sad story well told.
October 11, 2007
More military action by the United States that few people know about that could help us to understand the development of the Cold War.
January 3, 2013
A very informative and detailed account of a little-known piece of history between the US and Russia.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews