To What Extent Was The Communist Victory In The Civil War Dependent On The Skillfull Leadership Of Trotsky

Question 1

Skilful leadership

Answer 1

Reintro of ranks, saluting + pay diffentials
Death penalty Reintro- leads to fear ppl conforming
Exploits the military stocks of the old tsarist regime, conscripted thousands of ex-officers & former NCOs from the imperial army… no time to train, needed experience, Tsarist officers wld be squeezed like lemons + thrown away
Trotsky’s train- directed the war… covered over 65k miles
Had own printing press- used to pub daily broadsides + party newspaper

Question 2

Unity and Organisation

Answer 2

Reds were united in their aim to survive; they were ideologically committed- the whites weren’t
‘Do or die’ mentality
White generals operated independently and fought for different objectives
Reds had a unified command structure
Whites often had probs inside their armies. Oft fighting + squabbling bc groups had diff aims + beliefs. Particularly hard for the rev to co-op w/ supporters of the Tsar

Question 3

Location

Answer 3

Centralised power est during the early stages of the civil war when Moscow replaced Petrograd as Russia’s capital as pet was closer to the western frontier thus more susceptible to attack.
Symbolic change from a city that had been built to open Rus up to the w’ern world- to a regime which believed itself superior to that world
From Mosc, mil style of gov evolved… commanded the hub of communication + the armament factories
Whites were widely dispersed in less- developed parts. More ppl + resources
RA = control of railway lines which connected Petrograd + Moscow to rest of country- send soldiers + munitions quickly to any place

Question 4

Foreign support

Answer 4

Hostility to foreign support gave the reds a proper platform
Did not aid whites, help was insufficient, sporadic + withdrawn after peace in the West
National minorities were suspicious of the whites- slogan was ‘Russia one and indivisible’
Whites had sup of Britain, Fr, Japan and the USA- sent forces, didn’t directly intervene… but tired of war some of their soldiers were sympathetic to the opposition side

Question 5

Concl

Answer 5

Overall Trotsky’s leadership bc completely converted the RA + enforced unity and organisation through his policy.
For aid was poor, however did weaken the whites
location sig… more resources + ppl to exploit, railways imp… bc of Trotsky’s strong leadership which inspired the army, able to exploit