Civil War Flashcards
what was the civil war?
for 3 years between 1918 and 1920, a bitter Civil war was fought between the Bolsheviks and their enemies. Following on immediately from the first world war, which had already brought Russia to her knees economically, it was fought in conditions of extreme hardship and deprivation. the overall death toll, including deaths from hunger and epidemics as well as those caused by military action, may have been as high as 10 million.
what was the outcome? why?
The Bolsheviks won the war largely due to the geographical advantages of the Red army, the lack of unity among opposition forces and weakness of white leadership and support however, Trotskys leadership was exceptional and drove the red army to fight on, winning them the war.
why was the support of the peasants crucial?
the support of the peasants was crucial since they supplied the main body of soldiers for both sides. they had very little love for either side and were just as likely to desert the red army as they were the white into which they had be conscripted.
why may the peasants prefer the reds tho?
However, Lenin had promised them the right to their own land as part of his “bread, peace and land” slogan to which he clung, where the white army sought out to restore the land to their former owners, Kolchak, an officer in the white army, even gave estates to landlords who had not owned them prior to revolution, making the peasants lean towards supporting the reds as it benefited them more
what does figes say? what does this show?
Figes states “white failure was of politics” highlighting that their ultimate downfall were their views as they were of unpopular opinion thus lost them a lot of support.
how is this further shown?
this is further shown when the whites lost all support from nationalist groups, white leaders wanted to restore the Russian empire with her pre-1917 borders which antagonised national groups (separatists) such as the Ukrainians who wanted more autonomy or independence, therefore did not support the Whites.
where did the whites get support
However, the White army did gain some support from foreign troops such as Britain and America in the form of provision of weapons and troops. \
what does Mawdsky say?
Although Mawdsky states “foreign intervention was often half-hearted and militarily ineffective” highlighting that although they were there to help, after just finishing a war, the troops were not interested in fighting in a war that didn’t actually affect them.
how did the Bolsheviks use this to their advantage?
The Bolsheviks also used this intervention as a tool for anti white propaganda, claiming hat the whites were merely dogs on the leash of foreign intervention and that is they fought for the reds, they fought for the protection of their country against a foreign takeover. this gained the reds a lot of support and volunteers for the army, making it a more formidable force for the defeat of the whites.
what area did the Bolsheviks hold? why was this helpful?
The Bolsheviks held the central area, which included petrograd and Moscow. they moved their capital to Moscow, at the hub of the railway network. this made it easier to transport men and munitions to the battle fronts.
what else did this area contain?
this area also contained the main armament factories in Russia, so the Bolsheviks could carry on producing war materials. much of the artillery, rifels and other military equipment of the old russian army fell into Bolshevik hands.
what does Mawdsky say?
Mawdsky cites the advantage of the “Aladdin’s cave” regarding the territory implying that the Bolsheviks got lucky and their territory gained equated to a cave of treasures.
how is this further highlighted? what does Pipes say?
this is further highlighted when the fact that the central areas were heavily populated, much more so than the White areas, therefore the Bolsheviks were able to conscript large numbers of people to fight, often vastly outnumbering their opponent leading to Pipes’ conclusion that the territory the Reds controlled were the cause of their victory, rather than leadership or motivation.
what was the whites territory like? what problem did this pose?
Whites were scattered around the edges of the central areas, separated by large distances, making communication difficult, especially moving men and weapons and coordinating the attacks of different white armies.
what was the result of not having telephone links?
as a result of having no telephone links, they had to use officers on horseback to convey messages making them easy to intercept and losing them the element of surprise and thus the war.
