The Civil War Flashcards
When did the civil war begin and end?
October 1917-Octover 1922
Who were the Reds?
The Communists. Controlled by Lenin and led by Trotsky who was the leader of the Red Army.
Who were the Whites?
Counter-revolutionaries. Some people favoured a tsarist style rule whilst others were simply against communism and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. They recognised Kolchak as their supreme ruler.
What was the Chez Legion?
A unit made up of 40,000 Austro-Hungarian prisoners who opposed the Red Army as they wanted independence. It was their rebellion on 25th May 1918 that signalled the start of the Civil War.
Many other countries within the pre-1914 Russian Empire also wanted to build their own country.
Who were the Greens?
Opposed both Reds and Whites. They supported economic power being transferred to local groups of peasants. Led by Makhno.
How much of Russia was occupied by the Reds at the beginning of the Civil War?
1/5
Why did Britain and France originally support the Whites?
They wanted Russia to remain in the war against Germany and did not want them to become Communist.
They sent troops to Russia and provided the Whites with supplies.
British troops were stationed at the port of Murmansk and the French occupied Vladivostok.
What was the left-wing socialist revolutionaries involvement?
They abandoned their coalition with the Communists in March 1918 and were involved in the assassination attempt on Lenin.
What was the significance of War Communism in the Civil War?
Allowed the communists to be able to produce military supplies and through a nationalised industry. Lenin authorised the forcible collection of grain stocks from the peasants to feed the cities and the Red Army.
This caused some peasants to support the Greens and Whites but overall, war communism helped the Reds to win the war.
What were the Whites weaknesses during the Civil War?
- Lacked structure
- Spread out over large geographical areas
- Often failed to coordinate attacks e.g General Denikiens failed to co-ordinate attacks with Kolchak effectively and his forces were defeated.
- Lacked support from Russians because of their tsarist ways
- Failed to work effectively with the Greens
Name the two main foreign army leaders who supported the whites.
General Yudenich in Estonia and General Denikih in southern Russia
What were the Reds military strengths?
*Trotsky used officers who had fought for the Tsar-more experienced.
*The Red Army controlled important railway routes, making it easier to transport troops.
*The Red Army successfully defeated the White Army .
By 1920, only one White Army remained- led by General Wrangel in the Crimea- later defeated in 1920.
How did Red leadership help them win the war?
- Unified leadership under Lenin.
- Trotksy was a very effective leader of army- stopped General Yundencih from seizing control of Petrograd.
- Trotsky used an armoured train to visit areas under threat and lift morale. It is estimated that he travelled over 100,000km
- Lenin used Cheka to eliminate political opposition.
How did foreign intervention help the Reds to succeed?
- By the end of 1919, French, British and American troops had left Russia as WW1 was over.
- Foreign forces realised the whites would not win which weakened them further. At the beginning, Kolchak had the support of 30,000 foreign troops-by July 1919, The Red Army had defeated Kolchak`s forces.
- During 1919, Polish forces invaded the Ukraine. Lenin ordered an invasion of Poland and had been defeated by 1920. In April 1921, the Treaty of Riga was signed bring the Polish-Soviet War to and end.
