Quartered in Hell: The Story of the American North Russia Expeditionary Force 1918-1919

by Dennis Gordon, Hayes Otoupalik

Release Date: January, 1982

Edition: Paperback

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Heroes are made not born.

In this book, the face of war and political expediency are exposed like the Emperor in his "new" clothes. The photographs, diaries, reminiscences and letters of the soldiers who served in that Arctic backwater tell an authentic tale of unrelieved military mismanagement. Indelible images of suffering and death emerge that give credence to war as "Idiot's Delight." There's the young Russian girl bleeding to death from an arm torn from her body by a random shell burst. As her life flows away, she desperately clings to the hand of an American doughboy who shamelessly weeps. There's the two soldiers who have just finished their breakfasts and going on patrol. One saves part of his food and asks his partner why he hasn't saved any of his for later, to which his friend relies, "There might not be any later." The speaker is killed in battle two hours later. As the Americans abandon a position about to be overrun by Bolos, one of the rear guard hears loud prayers issuing from one of the bunkers. He finds a young soldier with both legs mangled by a shell burst. He stays with him and tries to comfort him before he died. And then, there's an account of the futile and pointless Battle of Armistace Day at Toulgas. This work is an account that can still draw tears of compassion.

Quartered in Hell

Dennis Gordon's "Quartered in Hell" is a must read for anyone interested American military history. This is not a dry account of the politics and battles that occurred during the American North Russian Expedition of 1918-1919. It is a collection of stories told by the men who fought in that remote and forgotten war. They recount how they survivied on the front lines battling the Bolsheviks, sub-zero weather, and the incompetent orders of their British commanders. Placed under the command of British generals who were considered not good enough for France the American troops found themselves forced to supplement their meager supplies through the use of the prevelant black market while these same commanders would dine and drink out of the supplies meant for the soldiers at the front .The stories detail life in the peasant villages which made up the soldiers home while on the front line, and show how the soldiers learned to respect these simple people whom they were sent to defend. With the signing of the Armistice in November of 1918 the troops found themselves wondering why they were still fighting and their counterparts in France were sent home. A bitterness can be felt from the letters as their mission dragged on and no answers were being provided. The addition of photographs taken at the time help in developing a picture of a war considered a sideshow at the time and all but forgotten today. A vivid account of life is given not only of life on the front but also the daily lives of the soldiers living in a foreign land. This book would make an excellent additon to anyones library who considers themselves a collector of American history.