White armies Flashcards
(40 cards)
Causes of the Civil War: how did opposition to the Bolsheviks cause the Civil War? (Three key points)
1) All-Russian Committee of Salvation (and Kerensky) organised the Junker Mutiny - led to 200 deaths
2) Moscow garrison was pro-Kerensky - attacked Bolshevik officials
3) Dissolution of the Constituent Assembly ended any hope of ousting the Bolsheviks by democratic means
Causes of the Civil War: how did the First World War cause the Civil War? (Three key points)
1) Food shortages led to rising prices - bread rations down to 50g by March 1918
2) Treaty of Brest-Litovsk perceived as anti-patriotic - Bolsheviks not acting in the best interests of the Russian people
3) Treaty of Brest-Litovsk had a catastrophic impact on food shortages - loss of 1/3 of agricultural land (including Ukraine - largest grain-producing area) and 1 million workers migrated to the countryside in the 6 months after the Bolsheviks took power (80% reduction in the number of Petrograd ironworkers)
Causes of the Civil War: how did Bolshevik actions and policy cause the Civil War? (Three key points)
1) Decrees - favoured workers, peasants and soldiers at the expense of landowners and officers
2) Suppression of opposition - Cheka, ban on parties and Decree on the Press
3) Dissolution of the Constituent Assembly - caused liberal anger (led to liberal officers joining the White armies, like Denikin and Alekseev)
What was the significance of the colour white for the White armies?
It was also the colour of the Romanov army
What was the background of the leading White generals, Alekseev, Kornilov and Denikin?
Alekseev and Denikin were from serf families
Kornilov was the son of a poor Cossack
Where did the “Volunteer Army”, as it was first called, settle before the Civil War began?
The Don region
What FOUR things did the Volunteer Army promise to the Russian people?
1) Restoration of civil rights
2) Freedom of speech and of the press
3) Denationalisation of industry
4) A Constituent Assembly to determine the will of the people on the form of government and the land question
How many fighters had joined the Volunteer Army by the end of January 1918?
3,000
How did the Volunteer Army boost its numbers after January 1918?
Conscripted peasants and Cossacks
Who funded the Volunteer Army?
The bourgeoisie, the Don government, Britain and France
At the start of the Civil War, how many shells did the Volunteer artillery have?
Only 600
How did the Volunteers respond to being encircled by Bolshevik troops by February 1918?
Went on the Ice March, retreating from the Don towards the Kuban, for a whole month
What was the significance of the storming of Krasnodar by the Bolsheviks in April 1918?
They killed Kornilov - probably the Whites’ most competent general
Who replaced Kornilov as leader of the Whites?
Denikin
What was Denikin’s initial plan when he took over leadership of the Whites?
Create a base in the Kuban (which was good for grain and oil), then capture Moscow
How did Denikin and Alekseev disagree about the nature of the Whites?
Alekseev wanted the Volunteer Army to adopt the monarchist standard - Denikin rejected (he said the army could not decide for the people) - lack of ideological unity
Who commanded the Whites in Siberia? What was this person’s background?
Admiral Kolchak
Defended Port Arthur in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 - received the Golden Sabre for his efforts
What did Kolchak declare on 18 November 1918? What was the problem with this?
He was Supreme Ruler of the Russian state and Commander-in-Chief - but the Bolsheviks ruled Russia and Denikin was Commander-in-Chief of the Whites
What was Kolchak’s leadership style of the Whites like?
Strict - he shot peasants, workers and soldiers for insubordination, and closed down inconvenient newspapers
When did Denikin recognise Kolchak’s status as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army?
June 1919 - six months after Kolchak claimed this title
How did Kolchak create an army of 400,000 soldiers?
He mobilised 18-43 year olds with at least four years’ education
What was the importance of Tsaritsyn in the Civil War?
An important port and commercial centre, known to the Bolsheviks as the “Red Verdun” - it would never be surrendered
Controlled by the Reds between November 1917 and June 1919
Who were the three White armies operating in the Don by May 1919?
The Volunteer Army, the Don Cossack Army, and the Caucasian Army
Who commanded the Volunteer Army in May 1919?
General Mai-Maevsky - an exceptional general but an alcoholic
