Civil War Flashcards
Phase 1 of Civil War
Ø Early Resistance.
Ø Kerensky’s attempt to rally an army after the seizure of power failed in November 1917.
Ø Bolsheviks crushed resistance from Cossack armies in the Urals and the Don in the spring.
The Bolsheviks also managed to defeat the Volunteer army which had gathered under General Kornilov in Southern Russia. In April 1918, Lenin optimistically called this the end of the Civil war.
Phase 2
Ø War with the SRs.
Ø May 1918, Czech Legion, travelling to Vladivostok for shipping to Europe, rebelled + turned against Bolsheviks.
Ø The 40,000 Czechs were captured members of the Austro-Hungarian army. -Before the treaty of Brest-Litovsk, they had fought in the Russian army, trying to win independence for Czech lands.
Ø After Brest-Litovsk Treaty, arrangements were made for them to leave Russia and join allied armies in Europe.
Ø They soon became a focus point for opponents to the regime, especially SR who had been denied posts in the Soviet government.
Ø The Czechs travelled along the Trans-Siberian towards Moscow.
Ø The Red Army sent to confront them collapsed and fled.
Ø July, NII and his family were killed.
Ø August- Trotsky arrived by train at Svyazshk- there retreating Red officers and one in 10 of soldiers were shot on Trotsky’s orders.
Ø September- Directory government was set up at Ufa, backed by Czechs, SRs and other anti-Bolshevik groups.- Red forces counter-attacked the Directory’s forces and forced the White armies back beyond the Ural mountains.
Phase 3
Ø War with the Whites.
Ø From December 1918 until the election of Baron Wrangel form the Crimea in 1920, the Reds fought the Whites = traditional conservative forces in Russia: landowners, businessmen, army officers.
Ø March 1919, Kolchak’s army (he had made himself military dictator in Nov 1918) began to advance west along Trans-Siberian.
Ø April, Trotsky’s forces forced them to retreat.
Ø May 1919, General Denikin with an army of Cossacks and others began to advance on Moscow from south.
Ø August, Red army forced to abandon Kiev.
Ø October, Yudenich began to advance towards Petrograd from Estonia but defeated outside Petrograd. Denikin’s forces defeated at Orel and forced to retreat.
Ø In winter, Red armies advance on all fronts.
Ø Jan,1920, Kolchak abdicates
Ø February, Estonia signs peace deal with Sovnarkom.
Ø April, Polish army attacked Russia with initial success.
Ø June, Red army counter-attacked Poles + advanced towards Warsaw. -Lenin talks of socialism in Europe ‘on the point of Russian bayonets’. Denikin’s successor, Wrangel, advanced in the south but is quickly pushed back into Crimea.
Ø Polish counter-attack in August forces Red retreat- October 1920, Treaty of Riga ended Russo-Polish War.
Ø November, last White forces left southern Russia pursued by Russia.
Phase 4
Ø War with the Greens
Ø Movement of peasants who resented Bolshevik policies.
Ø They demanded greater autonomy from Moscow.
Ø Some were lead by anarchists e.g. Makhno in Ukraine + Antonov in Tambov.
Ø Ended in 1921.
