The British North Russia Squadron was a

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

based at

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') ...

from 1917 to 1919.

History

The squadron was formed as part of an initiative by the

Entente Powers The Triple Entente (from French '' entente'' meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well a ...

to keep the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. One goal was to protect the large stockpiles of Allied material that had begun stockpiling at the ice-free port at

. Russia's continued involvement in the war was challenged externally by German advances into the East and internally by a strong antipathy to the war amongst the Russian population. This later factor had led to support for the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

and had resulted in the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

. The squadron would remain in Russia throughout most of the Allied

North Russia Intervention The North Russia intervention, also known as the Northern Russian expedition, the Archangel campaign, and the Murman deployment, was part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War after the October Revolution. The intervention brought ...

, though it served no real role in this. The squadron was originally placed under the command of Rear Admiral Thomas Kemp with the Canopus-class predreadnought as his flagship. This battleship had been refitted, with some guns being removed to allow for more accommodation for marines. There was also the cruiser , a

depot ship A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing and ...

, an armed boarding vessel and a variety of trawlers and drifters which had been converted to function as

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s. In October 1918 Rear-Admiral John F.E. Green became senior British naval officer in northern Russia, relieving Admiral Kemp, who returned home. Rear-Admiral Green did not object to the withdrawal of American ships from Murmansk after July 1918, as the U.S. naval ships had been logistically dependent on the British, to whom they had been a burden. The squadron returned to England in September 1919, shortly after the ratification of peace with Germany, with the signing of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

Admiral commanding

Post holders included:

References

* * Royal Navy squadrons Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War I Military in the Arctic Military units and formations established in 1917 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War Military units and formations of the Russian Civil War {{UK-navy-stub