The civil war Flashcards
what years were the civil war
1918-21
who were the whit army
forces ranged against the bolshevik ‘red’ consisiting of both right and left wing groupings, ex-tsarist supporters, moderates, liberals, SRs and Mensheviks
where did general denikin lead his army
leader of the whites from the south
where did admiral kolchak lead his army
leader of the whites from serbia (heading west)
where did general yudenich lead his army
leader of the whites from estonia (heading east)
who were the reds
the bolsheviks (communist party after 1918)
who were the greens
national minorities fighting for their independence
where did the Bolsheviks control
Petrograd and Moscow
where did the whites thraitain the reds from
all directions
where was the war mainly fought
east and south of russia
what happened in the summer of 1918
Denikin attacked Don region, red resistance prevented him from linking up with other white armies
what happened in summer of 1919
denikin began another offensive which got dangerously close to Moscow but trotsky forced his army towards crimea
what happened in autumn 1919
kolchak was in retreat and got shot in 1920
what was situation by the end of 1920
Bolsheviks had most geographical advances and superior orginisation
what was the treaty of riga
where poland, estonia, latvia and lithuania gained independence
what did trotsky do during the civil war
-boosted morale of troops
-skilful organiser of propaganda
-directed the war from a train
-used 50 000 tsarist army officers to train more recruits
-attached political commissars to army units
-made red army a professional force
what were the whites weaknesses
-fought separate detachments and had no uniting leader
-they were too far spread to join forces
-they relied too much from foreign resources
What was the role of the cheka and red terror
-cheka sought to remove political opposition
-authorised to shoot deserters
-seized grain from peasants (causing cannibalism)
-cheka recorded killings was 13 000 but estimated to be around 500 000
main areas of war communism
-reorganising the economy
-gov took control of all aspects of economic life
-high levels of food production
-grain requisitioning was introduced
-rationing was in place, soldiers had the most rations
-conscription was introduced for factories or war
-kept red army supplied
