Courtesy Photo | Maj. Gen. William S. Graves with the American Expeditionary Forces staff in Siberia.... read more read more
by Lori S. Stewart, USAICoE Command Historian
On 17 February 1920, Maj. Benjamin B. McCroskey, a U.S. Army Military Intelligence Division (MID) officer, faced arrest by a commander in the American Expeditionary Forces Siberia (AEFS). Sent as an observer but hindered in fulfilling his orders, McCroskey’s experience pointed to larger issues in intelligence collection in a troubled Russia.
In 1917, Russia suffered two revolutions that ended its monarchy and its participation in World War I and spawned a number of counter-revolutionary forces that set Russia on the path to communism. The United States committed troops to Russia the next year to support their attempts “at self-government or self-defense” but without appearing to recognize, politically, any one side. In August 1918, 10,000 soldiers arrived to form the AEFS under the command of Maj. Gen. William S. Graves. During the next eighteen months, Graves adopted a strict non-intervention policy, instead focusing on protecting millions of dollars’ worth of American war material given to Russia to fight Germany but which now lay abandoned along the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
MID Chief Brig. Gen. Marlborough Churchill recognized the importance of witnessing unfolding events in Russia to guide future American foreign policy. He appointed forty-year-old Maj. Benjamin McCroskey, a seasoned intelligence officer and expert in Asian culture, to serve as a military observer in Siberia. McCroskey was to report directly to Consul General Ernst H. Harris in Omsk to observe Admiral Alexander Kolchak’s counter-revolutionary forces. Major McCroskey arrived in Siberia on 12 December 1919, but not long after his arrival in Omsk, Admiral Kolchak’s government collapsed. Harris gave McCroskey new orders to travel as an observer with Gen. Grigory Semenov, a Cossack altaman to whom Kolchak had passed control of his remaining forces.
Meanwhile, General Graves had ordered Col. Charles H. Morris, commander of the 27th Infantry, to begin evacuating all American forces from Siberia as the military situation there worsened. On 17 February 1920, as Semenov’s supply train moved westward, Colonel Morrow’s troops ordered it to stop. Questioning McCroskey, Morrow refused to allow the intelligence officer to continue with Semenov. McCroskey vehemently argued he was under different orders than the rest of AEFS, leading Morrow to place him under guard.
Both McCroskey and Morrow quickly elevated the matter to the War Department, firing off conflicting telegrams to the MID. Morrow argued that McCroskey’s attachment to Semenov ran counter to his orders not to intervene in Russian affairs. McCroskey argued that Morrow’s judgement was clouded by anger over the deaths of two of his soldiers by Semenov’s troops. The Army chief of staff ordered an official investigation and General Graves assigned the duty to Maj. Homer H. Slaughter, another MID officer who had been in Siberia as an observer since August 1918. Major Slaughter’s hasty inquiry concluded Morrow had acted correctly but also recommended McCroskey not face disciplinary actions. Unable to complete his mission, McCroskey returned to the United States where he requested a court of inquiry to clear his name. The MID, feeling it best to call no further attention to the event, denied his request.
The MID believed the McCroskey affair, although an isolated incident, highlighted deeper issues about intelligence operations in Siberia. General Graves maintained tight control over his intelligence personnel and required all reports to match his personal views. More importantly, conflicting objectives hindered MID’s attempts to collect information of strategic importance to future United States operations in the region.
| Date Taken: | 02.17.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 02.17.2022 14:38 |
| Story ID: | 414867 |
| Location: | FORT HUACHUCA, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 70 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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