Spare a thought for the soldiers killed AFTER Armistice. Yes, incredibly due to poor communication methods at the end of the First World War, the news of the ceasefire took time to circulate to far reaching places in the world.

We think then of the 12 brave Scots, who were killed in hostilities AFTER the 11th November 1918, where news hadn’t yet reached far off Russia. One such man killed in post Armistice fighting was a Blantyre man, Mr Robert Nimmo, remembered on the Auchentibber Memorial. How cheated and angry his family must have felt knowing that this should have been prevented.

As peace was declared on 11th November 1918, a hastily assembled battalion of Scots was involved in a bloody battle in Northern Russia. The Royal Scots 2/10th Battalion were part of an Allied force comprising of Americans, Canadians, Australians, French and Italians sent to fight the Bolsheviks.

In what became known as the Battle of Armistice Day, Soviet forces wearing white smocks as Camouflage against the snow attacked the village of Tulgas on the Dvina River.

Robert Nimmo of Auchentibber, died 1918

The Garrison was defended by American and Canadian troops, along with a reserve force of around 35 Royal Scots and they were outnumbered by around 5 to 1 by the Red Army. The battle was going badly before the men of the 2/10th Battalion launched a bayonet charge and repelled the attackers after some fierce hand to hand combat.

30 Allied soldiers including 12 Royal Scots and 500 Bolsheviks were killed that day. Robert Nimmo of Auchentibber, High Blantyre was one of the Royal Scots.

Remarkably most of the men of the 2/10th had been deemed unfit for service on the Western Front and had been on Garrison duty at home, before being sent to Russia.

Battle details courtesy of Sunday Express.

Featuring Blantyre Project Social Media with permission. Strictly not for use by others on or offline, our visitors said,

Jim Canning Part of the “White Army” trying to get the Bolsheviks out of power?

Blantyre Project I have to admit Jim, until this story was written up, I had no idea Western Allies fought as far East as Northern Russia during WW1. They were a long, long way from home.

Jim Canning Think originally the plan was to keep the Germans from getting Russian arms after they signed a ceasefire with the Red Army. Some say it had British backing to get the Russian Aristocracy back in power.