history · 13 February 1918 · 107 years ago
British Rear Admiral T. W. Kemp, commanding the Murmansk Squadron, fearing a German attack northwards towards the vital Allied supply ports of Archangel and Murmansk (both held by the Bolsheviks) signaled the Admiralty to send 6,000 troops to northern Russia to form a defensive garrison. It was two weeks before he received a negative reply-there were no troops available and Kemp was expressly forbidden to engage in military action to protect the ports.
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