Potential topic 2 question: How important were unity and organisation to the Red victory in the Civil War in the years 1918 to 1921?

Question 1

Potential factors for this essay question

Answer 1

1) Unity and Organisation :
1-Dominated central, unified areas and industrially developed areas of central Russia
2-

Question 2

Factors can use

Answer 2

1. Unity and org
2. Geographical factors
3. Support
4. Military strength (however unity and org vital to this strength)
5. Red Terror
6. Propoganda

Question 3

Factors involved in unity and organisation

Answer 3

1. Unified territory
2. Unified aim
3. Trotsky-unified command structure
4. Moved from capital-

Question 4

Intro

Answer 4

• Can’t be denied unity and org played a major role in Red victory, as it contributed an array of tactical advantages.
• Eg: geographical position of Reds and the Bols single unified command structure.
• Nevertheless, Red victory did not stem from such unity and organisation alone, but was actually due to an amalgamation of factors, many of which proved so efficient due to the comparative weakness of the whites, such as the Red’s superior military strength and greater support from the general population.
• Likely that Unity and organisation was one of, if not the principal, reason for Red victory and should be viewed as such.

Question 5

Para 1 (unity and organisation in geographical terms)

Answer 5

1) The Reds dominated unified, central territory such as Petrograd and Moscow and Lenin even established Moscow as the new capital as a means of establishing a centre for the Red’s war effort
2) The moving of the capital to Moscow exemplifies the importance of organisation to the Red’s war effort as it allowed the Bols full control of the hub of the railway network, thus allowing for the Red’s to have a keen advantage over the Whites due to the greater ease with which they could transport men, munitions and other war resources to the front. This makes abundantly clear the importance of Red domination of central, unified territory as not only could they easily feed and reinforce the war effort, but the control of the railway also allowed for greater military planning and co-operation as Moscow was an administrative centre in which the war effort could be assessed and coordinated.
3) Moreover, Moscow contained the main industrial and armament factories of Russia. This exacerbates the vitality of the Red’s geographical position as it allowed for the organised, systematic production of munitions and other war materials on a mass scale, whilst the whites were lacking in such opportunities and lacked organisation with respect to production, thus allowing for the Reds to dominate in battles in terms of available resources.
4) Much of the artillery, rifles and other military equipment of the Old Russian army (Tsar’s army) fell into Bolshevik hands as a result of their geographic position. This emphasises the ability of Lenin and his men to capitalise on their geographical resources and the advantages it presented as a means of increasing military strength and stability in a period of chaos due to the Civil War.
5) Additionally, the fact that the Reds held key central areas, in comparison to the whites who were scattered around the edge of such central areas (with makeshift capitals at Omsk and Archangel) greatly enhanced the Red’s strength as the Reds, unlike the Whites, had telephone lines as a means of rapid communication, whilst the whites had to risky and time-consuming methods such as men on horseback as a means of conveying messages between White armies. Consequently, the Whites failed to launch coordinated attacks, whilst the organised communication system of the Reds allowed for the cooperation of armies, as well as swift reinforcing when necessary, thus massively increasing difficulty for the Whites in trying to defeat Red armies.
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