Page "Alexander Kolchak" Paragraph 15

At the time of the revolution in November 1917, he was in Japan and then Manchuria.

Kolchak was a supporter of the Provisional Government and returned to Russia, through Vladivostok, in 1918.

Kolchak was an absolute supporter of the Allied cause against Imperial Germany and regarded Russia's immediate withdrawal from the conflict as dishonorable.

Upon hearing of the October Revolution, Kolchak offered to enlist in the British Army to continue the struggle.

Initially, the British were inclined to accept Kolchak ’ s offer, and there were plans to send Kolchak to Mesopotamia ( modern Iraq ).

Ultimately, the British Foreign Office decided that Kolchak could do more for the Allied cause by toppling Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks and bringing Russia back into the war on the Allied side.

Reluctantly, Kolchak accepted the British suggestions and with a heavy sense of foreboding, he returned to Russia.

Arriving in Omsk, Siberia, en route to enlisting with the Volunteer Army, he agreed to become a minister in the ( White ) Siberian Regional Government.

Joining a fourteen man cabinet, he was a prestige figure ; the government hoped to play on the respect he had with the Allies, especially the head of the British military mission, General Alfred Knox.