5. The evacuation of Shenkursk was a defeat for the Allies
On January 24, the defenders who had withdrawn before the Russians from the south were within the defensive positions of Shenkursk, and by the end of that day were surrounded by the pursuing Red Army. Ordered to withdraw, Captain Odjard evacuated his wounded men by sled along a logging trail which led to the north. Those wounded who could walk, which included Captain Odjard, evacuated along the same route, and the remaining troops followed, prepared to fight a delaying action should the Red Army attack. The evacuation began at midnight, with the troops at Shenkursk itself joining in the general withdrawal. The Russians meanwhile consolidated their positions preparing for an attack on Shenkursk.
In the early morning of January 25 the retreating Allies were still plodding through the snow when they heard the opening shots of the Russian artillery bombardment of Shenkursk. The retreat had been accomplished without the Russian’s becoming aware of it and by the time the Red Army realized that the Allies had abandoned the village they were too far away to attack. The Red Army victory ensured that the Allies would be unable to unite with a White Army force which was advancing to the west from Siberia, and put the Allied intervention on the defensive, a condition in which it would remain for the rest of its period in Russia.