the hospital still alive, under the care of Melochofski's mistress. November 13 saw repeated Bolshevik attacks on the bridge, all unsuccessful. The Bolshevik forces continued their bombardment, averaging one shell every 15 seconds, a heavy bombardment even by the standards of the western front of World War I. The Allied commanders decided that their only hope for victory was a counterattack. In the early morning of November 14, the American forces, led by Lieutenant John Cudahy advanced stealthily to the woods near Upper Tulgas, where the Bolshevik troops were encamped. The Americans attacked, making as much noise as possible to make it seem like they had been reinforced. They drove the Bolsheviks back and captured a building full of small arms ammunition; when they set this on fire the sound of the exploding rifle ammunition seems to have convinced the Bolsheviks that they were outnumbered. When Cudahy's troops reached Upper Tulgas, the few Bolshevik snipers left surrendered. That same day, temperatures dropped and the Dvina River began to freeze over, forcing the Bolshevik gunboats to retreat back up the river, and the Bolshevik infantry began to retreat. The troops in the north, near Lower Tulgas, had difficulty finding their way back; many were later captured or found dead. Aftermath The Allies had successfully beaten off the Bolshevik attack, inflicting heavy casualties on them. There were at least three civilian casualties; during the battle the house of the village priest was hit, and the priest and his two children were killed. The Allied officers decided that Upper Tulgas, which had been used as cover for Bolshevik snipers, was a threat to the main garrison. There was also a rumor that the villagers of Upper Tulgas had been too hospitable to the Bolshevik troops. The Allies gave the villagers three hours to evacuate, and then burned Upper Tulgas to the ground. See also North Russia Campaign Australian contribution to the Allied Intervention in Russia 1918–1919 References Wright, Damien. "Churchill's Secret War with Lenin: British and Commonwealth Military Intervention in the Russian Civil War, 1918-20", Solihull, UK, 2017 1918 in Russia Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War Battles of the Russian Civil War involving the United States Battles of the Russian Civil War involving the United Kingdom November 1918 events Royal Scots