3. The Civil War 1918-21 Flashcards
(15 cards)
What signalled the start of the Civil War?
In May 1918, the Czech legions rebelled and in the summer, anti-communist armies were set up in Estonia, Siberia and Ukraine.
Who were the forces fighting in the Civil War?
The Reds - the Communist forces.
The Whites - Liberals, Tsarists or those who wanted a military dictatorship.
The Greens - Left SRs or Anarchist groups, fighting for the autonomy of peasants.
Nationalists also fought to free their homelands from Russian domination.
What geographical areas did the Reds control which aided them?
The Reds controlled the most densely populated areas, containing around 70 million, so they could recruit more. They also had Russia’s industrialised regions so they could produce the arms needed. And they had the main rail lines so they could transport goods to support their army. Trotsky used this to his advantage, constantly living on an armoured train to support areas under threat.
What geographical areas did the Whites control which hindered them?
They only had around a few factories and 20 million people in their areas, so less to recruit and less to produce. They controlled regions far from each other, with General Yudenich in the North East (Estonia), General Denikin in Southern Russia and Admiral Kolchak in the North (Siberia). This meant their forces were divided, they lacked a unified command structure and strategy and so they couldn’t co operate and co- ordinate efficiently.
What geographical areas did the Greens control which hindered them?
Makhno’s forces controlled a small area of Ukraine and so their resources were limited - in terms of both recruits and production.
How was the army reformed in March 1918?
. Democratic control was abolished.
. Trotsky, the leader of the new army, placed the former Tsarist Generals back in charge.
. Each battalion was put under dual command so the ex Tsarist Generals had to work with political commissars to avoid sabotage.
These reforms outraged Bolsheviks idealists who accused Lenin and Trotsky of betraying the principles of the revolution.
What was Trotsky’s role?
He was a very effective leader of the Reds, seen when he sent reinforcements to Petrograd and stopped Yudenich from seizing control. He also formed an alliance with the Greens to defeat the Whites in Ukraine and then turned on Makhno afterwards.
Why were the White’s in a weak political position?
They lacked popular support for a variety of reasons:
. Many Russians identified the Whites with Tsarism.
. Some believed they were unpatriotic as they worked with foreign invaders.
. The Whites fought to keep the empire together and they did not have the support of the local non-Russian populations who wanted independence.
. Whites promised to take land away from the peasants.
. They fought to end democracy which was not popular with workers and peasants.
How did the death of the Tsar hinder the Whites?
Tsar Nicholas was executed by the Cheka in July 1918 - this meant that the Whites no longer had a figurehead to unite around, and also the deaths of the entire Romanov family ended the possibility of the restoration of Tsarism.
What threat did the SRs pose and how did the Reds defeat them?
After winning the election for the Constituent Assembly, the SRs tried to set up their own gov in Samara in 1918. They had the support of the Czech region - 50,000 men. In September, the Reds began to attack and the SRs were unable to defend themselves. In 1922, the SR leaders were put on trial, accused of treason and sabotage where they were all sentenced to death.
Why did capitalist countries intervene during the Civil War?
Capitalist countries such as Britain, USA, France, Japan intervened in order to ensure that the munitions they had sent to Russia were not captured by the Germans. They also wanted to change the gov, hoping a new gov would re-enter WW1. France also invaded to put pressure on Russia to pay back its debts, Britain had Churchill in their cabinet and he wanted to fight to stop the spread of communism. Japan wanted to take over Siberia for their empire.
How did the foreign powers intervene militarily?
Allied troops occupied strategic ports such as Murmansk in the Arctic, Archangel on the White Sea and Odessa on the Black Sea. In 1918, British troops occupied part of Central Asia and in April, Japan captured the port of Vladivostok. Overall there were 200,000 foreign troops in Russia but they played a more defensive role - defending supply depots and ports from Red attacks, but they rarely engaged in attacks on Red territory.
How did the foreign powers intervene economically?
The British sent about £100 million worth of supplies to the Whites. The French also agreed to give loans of money on the grounds that the Whites would pay back French loans if they won the war. The USA gave $50 million in loans and $77 million in aid - including 250,000 rifles.
Why were the foreign powers unwilling to fight?
War weariness due to WW1 meant that the Allies were unwilling to support another, lengthy military campaign. Many foreign working class troops had sympathy for the Communists and their goals and so found it hard to fight for the Tsarists in Russia.
Why did the foreign intervention have little negative effect on the Communists?
The vast majority of British, US and French troops withdrew in late 1919 and once WW1 was over they stopped sending aid to the Whites. In fact, the foreign invasion helped fuel Red propaganda as they portrayed the intervention as an attack on the motherland, and that the Whites were unpatriotic.
