Military change under Lenin

The sides of the civil war

Bolsheviks- sailors, workers, enlisted peasants, . Whites - Tsarists, liberals, SR’s, British, Japanese (in Siberia), Nationalists, USA, French, Bourgeoisie. Greens - Anarchists and nationalist movements in the republics and eastern Russia.

Impact of war on the people

200,000 foreign troops became involved. 2 million civilians were killed and 3 million active troops were killed.

Geographical factors for Bolshevik success

The Bolsheviks held to central area and moved their capital to Moscow at the hub of the railway line making movement of troops and supplies easier. White areas were sparsely populated and disconnected making communication impossible and movement slow mostly being done on foot.

Unity and Organisation

The Bolsheviks reversed the abolishment of military discipline and refined the red army into a well organised force. The whites could not agree if they were fighting for Monarchism, Republicanism, or the Constituent assembly nor their stance on minorities. This meant Generals would often not work with others and there was a lack of trust between the ranks.

Leadership in the civil war

Trotsky was great leader personally going to the front to rally his troops and using armoured trains to reach the battlefield before White troops on horseback. The death penalty was common for those that broke discipline. White leaders were incompetent and reminded soldiers of the Russia of old leading to many desertions. Indiscipline and corruption were massive as equipment was sold on the black market and officer lived in brothels.

Support during the civil war

The Whites had foreign support but it was half hearted and ineffective. The Whites lost support from the Republics as nationalism was on the rise and they were not in support of it. The Whites also failed to use propaganda to build support. The Reds were not perfect as war communism was so harsh on the people but they offered the peasants, workers, and minorities what they wanted and used propaganda effectively to ensure the continuation of this support.

Baltic and Finnish wars of independence 1918-22

With help from foreign governments such as the British, nationalist forces gained independence in all three Baltic states and Finland. These were losses for the Bolsheviks as they no longer controlled the entire area once controlled by the Russian empire. The Baltic states would be regained two decades later, but Finland would retain it’s independence from this war onwards.

Soviet-Polish war 1919-21

During the Civil war the new state of Poland expanded eastwards into Russia making gains over unprotected land as the red army was busy. Following the civil war the red army forced this incursion back and tried to take Warsaw to fulfill the dream of spreading Communism but failed and they were forced to a peace deal in 1921. This was the last European conflict to be fought entirely on horseback.

Re-organization under NEP

Mass mobilization (peaked at 5 million soldiers by 1920).Introduction of political commissars to ensure ideological loyalty. Post-Civil War Reorganization (1921-1924) Red Army downsized to 600,000 by 1924 due to economic strain. New Military Doctrine blended traditional warfare with revolutionary tactics. Emphasis on worker-peasant composition and ideological training. Industrialisation of the military began. This had made massive progress during the civil war as all industry had been focused on the war effort.