Unit/ Formation: Royal Marines
Location: Sevastopol
Period/ Conflict: Russian Intervention
Year: 1918
Date/s: 8th December 1918
On 8 December Royal Australian cruiser Brisbane embarked 345 Royal Marines at Chanak (Cannakale) and steamed, at 22 knots, to Sevastopol disembarking them on the 10th.
With the aid of a captured German chart the cruiser entered harbour avoiding a large defensive minefield before offloading the British troops who proceeded to restore order in the city.
Some desultory shots were fired at Brisbane but the marines landed safely.
One of Brisbane’s officers later wrote: “Our Marines were landed to police the city, and if ever a city needed policing, Sevastopol did. The rounding up of Bolsheviks and putting an end to their ghastly ways and filthy practices, and their habit of creating dirt and ruin of everything they touched was a large order …. It was with deep regret that the Brisbane received the order to Smyrna (Izmir) and leave others to attend to the business here”.
While the RAN ships were at Sevastopol they kept a landing party on stand by and small arms were available for immediate use. No attacks were made on the ship but occasional sniping kept the crews motivated.
Read More/ Web Link:: Semaphore: RAN in Southern Russia 1918-20