Vladivostok and Nikolsk-Ussuriski in the north. Units were placed along the railway as far west as Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude. Unlike his Allied counterparts, General Graves believed their mission in Siberia was to provide protection for American-supplied property and to help the Czechoslovak Legion evacuate Russia, and that it did not include fighting against the Bolsheviks. Repeatedly calling for restraint, Graves often clashed with commanders of British, French, and Japanese forces, who also had troops in the region and who wanted him to take a more active part in the military intervention in Siberia. To operate the Trans-Siberian Railroad, the Russian Railway Service Corps was formed of US personnel. The experience in Siberia for the soldiers was miserable. Problems with fuel, ammunition, supplies, and food were widespread. Horses accustomed to temperate climates were unable to function in sub-zero Russia. Water-cooled machine guns froze and became useless. The last American soldiers left Siberia on April 1, 1920. During their 19 months in Siberia, 189 soldiers of the force died from all causes. As a comparison, the smaller American North Russia Expeditionary Force experienced 235 deaths from all causes during their nine months of fighting near Arkhangelsk. American socialist author Upton Sinclair, in his novel Oil!, references the AEF in Siberia and ascribes capitalist motives as the primary driver of the Allied intervention. Results By every measure, President Wilson's interventions in Russia failed. The Eastern Front had not been reestablished, the war supplies stockpiled in Russian ports had not been saved, and no popular, progressive, non-Communist government had been established. The Japanese continued to meddle in Siberian affairs for another two years in a futile effort to carve out a puppet state. Even the successful extrication of the Czech Legion had little to do with Graves' small expedition. In the words of Chief of Staff Peyton C. March, the expeditions in Russia had been little more than “a military crime”. See also American Expeditionary Force, North Russia North Russia intervention Siberian intervention Evgenevka incident – Armed standoff between American and Japanese forces Notes Robert L. Willett, "Russian Sideshow" (Washington, D.C., Brassey's Inc., 2003), p. 166 Robert L. Willett, "Russian Sideshow" (Washington, D.C., Brassey's Inc., 2003), pp. 166–167, 170 Guarding the Railroad, Taming the Cossacks The U.S. Army in Russia, 1918–1920, Smith, Gibson Bell Robert L. Willett, "Russian Sideshow" (Washington, D.C., Brassey's Inc., 2003), p. 267 U.S. Army Counterinsurgency and Contingency Operations Doctrine, 1860-1941