In August 1918 the 339th regiment of the U.S. Army-- roughly 5,000 soldiers, most hailing from Michigan-- headed to Archangel, Russia, a vital port city 1,000 miles northeast of Moscow. There, in the frozen subarctic "The Polar Bear Expedition" was sent to fight the Red Army and aid anti-Bolshevik forces in hopes of re-opening the Eastern Front against Germany. Nelson recreates this harrowing, dramatic military operation: subzero temperatures made machine guns and light artillery inoperable, and in the blinding ice and snow, sentries suffered from frostbite while guarding against Bolos camouflaged by their white uniforms. -- adapted from jacket

Maps on endpapers.

The march to intervention -- Over where -- To Russia. With angst -- We're here because we're here -- Archangel -- Upriver -- The romance of Company A -- The strangest fighting mission ever undertaken -- The bridge -- Onega -- Storm clouds -- Friends and comrades -- Verst 445 -- Armistice Day : part 1 -- Armistice Day : part 2 -- The Pinega -- The lonesome death of Francis Cuff -- Medicine men -- A Thanksgiving of sorts -- Better than no war at all -- K means Kodish -- The sad case of Sergeant Young -- The devil comes to Nijni Gora -- Flight -- Vistafka -- To what end -- Why did we go to Russia -- The Ballad of Bolshiozerski -- The Gulag Amerikanski -- A return to Russia.