White and Red Army. Reasons for the Bolshevik victory. Major victories of the Red Army
"Red Movement"
The Red Movement relied on the support of the bulk of the working class and the poorest peasantry. Social basis The white movement included officers, bureaucrats, nobility, bourgeoisie, and individual representatives of workers and peasants. The party that expressed the position of the Reds were the Bolsheviks. The party composition of the white movement is heterogeneous: Black Hundred-monarchist, liberal, socialist parties. The program goals of the red movement: the preservation and establishment of Soviet power throughout Russia, the suppression of anti-Soviet forces, the strengthening of the dictatorship of the proletariat as a condition for building a socialist society.
The Bolsheviks won a military-political victory: the resistance of the White Army was suppressed, Soviet power was established throughout the country, including in most national regions, conditions were created for strengthening the dictatorship of the proletariat and the implementation of socialist transformations. The price of this victory was huge human losses (more than 15 million people killed, died of hunger and disease), mass emigration (more than 2.5 million people), economic devastation, the tragedy of entire social groups (officers, Cossacks, intelligentsia, nobility, clergy and etc.), society’s addiction to violence and terror, the rupture of historical and spiritual traditions, the split into reds and whites.
"Green movement"
The “green” movement is the third force in the Civil War. In Russia there were many opponents of both whites and reds. These were participants in the rebel, so-called “green” movement.
The largest manifestation of the “green” movement was the work of the anarchist Nestor Makhno (1888-1934). The movement headed by Makhno (the total number is variable - from 500 to 35,000 people) came out under the slogans of a “powerless state”, “free councils”, and waged an armed struggle against everyone - the German interventionists, Petliura, Denikin, Wrangel, Soviet power. Makhno dreamed of creating an independent state in steppe Ukraine with its capital in the village of Gulyai-Polye (now Gulyai-Polye, Zaporozhye region). Initially, Makhno collaborated with the Reds and helped defeat Wrangel’s army. Then his movement was liquidated by the Red Army. Makhno with a group of surviving associates managed to hide abroad in 1921 and died in France.
Peasant uprisings covered areas of Tambov, Bryansk, Samara, Simbirsk, Yaroslavl, Smolensk, Kostroma, Vyatka, Novgorod, Penza and Tver provinces. In 1919-1922 In the area of the village of Ankuvo, Ivanovo Territory, the so-called “Ankovo gang” operated - a detachment of “greens” led by E. Skorodumov (Yushku) and V. Stulov. The detachment consisted of peasant deserters who evaded conscription into the Red Army. The “Ankovskaya gang” destroyed food detachments, raided the city of Yuryev-Polsky, and robbed the treasury. The gang was defeated by regular units of the Red Army.
Assessment by domestic and foreign historians of the causes of the civil war
The outstanding philosopher of the 20th century, Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell (who was sober and critical of the Bolsheviks), having spent five weeks in 1920 at the height of the civil war in Russia, described and comprehended what he had to see: “The main thing that the Bolsheviks succeeded , is to ignite hope... Even under existing conditions in Russia one can still feel the influence of the life-giving spirit of communism, the spirit of creative hope, the search for means to destroy injustice, tyranny, greed, everything that hinders the growth of the human spirit, the desire to replace personal competition with joint action , the relationship between master and slave is free cooperation.”
“The spirit of creative hope” (B. Russell) helped the fighting workers and peasants, despite incredible hardships (including due to the regime of “war communism”), hunger, cold, epidemics, they found the strength to withstand the trials of those harsh years and victoriously end the civil war.
Civil War in Russia had a number distinctive features with internal confrontations that occurred in other states during this period. The civil war began virtually immediately after the establishment of Bolshevik power and lasted for five years.
Features of the Civil War in Russia
Military battles brought the people of Russia not only psychological suffering, but also large-scale human losses. The theater of military operations did not go beyond Russian state, there was also no front line in the civil confrontation.
The cruelty of the Civil War lay in the fact that the warring parties did not seek a compromise solution, but the complete physical destruction of each other. There were no prisoners in this confrontation: captured opponents were immediately shot.
The number of victims of the fratricidal war was several times higher than the number of Russian soldiers killed on the fronts of the First World War. The peoples of Russia were actually in two warring camps, one of which supported communist ideology, the second tried to eliminate the Bolsheviks and recreate the monarchy.
Both sides did not tolerate the political neutrality of people who refused to take part in hostilities; they were sent to the front by force, and those who were especially principled were shot.
Composition of the anti-Bolshevik White Army
The main driving force of the white army were retired officers imperial army, who had previously sworn an oath of allegiance to the imperial house and could not go against their own honor by recognizing Bolshevik power. The ideology of socialist equality was also alien to the wealthy sections of the population, who foresaw the future predatory policies of the Bolsheviks.
The large, middle bourgeoisie and landowners became the main source of income for the activities of the anti-Bolshevik army. Representatives of the clergy also joined the right, who could not accept the fact of the unpunished murder of “God’s anointed,” Nicholas II.
With the introduction of war communism, the ranks of the whites were replenished with peasants and workers dissatisfied with state policy, who had previously sided with the Bolsheviks.
At the beginning of the revolution, the White Army had a high chance of overthrowing the communist Bolsheviks: close ties with major industrialists, rich experience in suppressing revolutionary uprisings and the undeniable influence of the church on the people were impressive advantages of the monarchists.
The defeat of the White Guards is still quite understandable; the officers and commanders-in-chief placed their main emphasis on a professional army, without accelerating the mobilization of peasants and workers, who were ultimately “intercepted” by the Red Army, thus increasing its numbers.
Composition of the Red Guards
Unlike the White Guards, the Red Army did not arise chaotically, but as a result of many years of development by the Bolsheviks. It was based on the class principle, access of the noble class to the ranks of the Reds was closed, commanders were elected among ordinary workers, who represented the majority in the Red Army.
Initially, the army of the left forces was staffed by volunteers, soldiers who took part in the First World War, the poorest representatives of peasants and workers. There were no professional commanders in the ranks of the Red Army, so the Bolsheviks created special military courses where they trained future leadership personnel.
Thanks to this, the army was replenished with the most talented commissars and generals S. Budyonny, V. Blucher, G. Zhukov, I. Konev. Former generals of the tsarist army V. Egoryev, D. Parsky, P. Sytin also went over to the side of the Reds.
History of the Red Army
See main article History of the Red Army
Personnel
In general, the military ranks of junior command personnel (sergeants and foremen) of the Red Army correspond to the tsarist non-commissioned officer ranks, the ranks of junior officers - chief officer (the statutory address in the tsarist army is “your honor”), senior officers, from major to colonel - headquarters officers (the statutory address in the tsarist army is “your honor”), senior officers, from major general to marshal - general (“your excellency”).
A more detailed correspondence of ranks can only be established approximately, due to the fact that the very number of military ranks varies. Thus, the rank of lieutenant approximately corresponds to the lieutenant, and the tsarist rank of captain approximately corresponds to the Soviet military rank major.
It should also be noted that the insignia of the Red Army of the 1943 model was also not an exact copy of the tsarist ones, although they were created on their basis. Thus, the rank of colonel in the tsarist army was designated by shoulder straps with two longitudinal stripes and without stars; in the Red Army - two longitudinal stripes, and three medium-sized stars, arranged in a triangle.
Repressions 1937-1938
Battle Banner
Battle banner of one of the units of the Red Army during the civil war:
The imperialist army is a weapon of oppression, the Red Army is a weapon of liberation.
For each unit or formation of the Red Army, its Battle Banner is sacred. It serves as the main symbol of the unit, and the embodiment of its military glory. In case of loss of the Battle Banner military unit is subject to disbandment, and those directly responsible for such disgrace are subject to trial. A separate guard post is established to guard the Battle Banner. Each serviceman, passing by the banner, is obliged to give it military salute. On especially solemn occasions, the troops carry out a ritual of solemnly carrying out the Battle Banner. To be included in the banner group directly conducting the ritual is considered a great honor, which is awarded only to the most honored officers and warrant officers.
Oath
It is mandatory for recruits in any army in the world to take an oath. In the Red Army, this ritual is usually carried out a month after conscription, after the young soldier has completed the course. Before being sworn in, soldiers are prohibited from being entrusted with weapons; There are a number of other restrictions. On the day of the oath, a soldier receives weapons for the first time; he breaks ranks, approaches the commander of his unit, and reads a solemn oath before the formation. The oath is traditionally considered an important holiday, and is accompanied by the ceremonial carrying out of the Battle Banner.
The text of the oath was changed several times; the first option sounded like this:
I, a citizen of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, joining the ranks of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, take the oath and solemnly swear to be an honest, brave, disciplined, vigilant fighter, to strictly preserve military and state secret, unquestioningly carry out all military regulations and orders of commanders, commissars and superiors.
I swear to conscientiously study military affairs, protect military property in every possible way, and until my last breath be devoted to my people, my Soviet Motherland and the workers' and peasants' government.
I am always ready, by order of the workers' and peasants' government, to defend my Motherland - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and, as a warrior of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, I swear to defend it courageously, skillfully, with dignity and honor, not sparing my blood and life itself to achieve complete victory over the enemy.
If, out of malicious intent, I violate this solemn oath of mine, then may I suffer the severe punishment of Soviet law, the general hatred and contempt of the working people.
Late version
I, a citizen of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, joining the ranks Armed Forces, I take the oath and solemnly swear to be an honest, brave, disciplined, vigilant warrior, to strictly maintain military and state secrets, to unquestioningly carry out all military regulations and orders of commanders and superiors.
I swear to conscientiously study military affairs, to protect military and national property in every possible way, and to be devoted to my people, my Soviet Motherland and the Soviet government until my last breath.
I am always ready, by order of the Soviet government, to defend my Motherland - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and, as a warrior of the Armed Forces, I swear to defend it courageously, skillfully, with dignity and honor, not sparing my blood and life itself to achieve complete victory over enemy.
If I violate this solemn oath of mine, then may I suffer the severe punishment of Soviet law, the general hatred and contempt of the Soviet people.
Modern version
I (last name, first name, patronymic) solemnly swear allegiance to my Motherland - the Russian Federation.
I swear to sacredly observe its Constitution and laws, to strictly comply with the requirements of military regulations, orders of commanders and superiors.
I swear to fulfill my military duty with dignity, to courageously defend the freedom, independence and constitutional system of Russia, the people and the Fatherland.
Chronology
- 1918 Stage I of the civil war - “democratic”
- 1918, June Nationalization Decree
- 1919, January Introduction of surplus appropriation
- 1919 Fight against A.V. Kolchak, A.I. Denikin, Yudenich
- 1920 Soviet-Polish War
- 1920 Fight against P.N. Wrangel
- 1920, November End of the civil war on European territory
- 1922, October End of the Civil War Far East
Civil war and military intervention
Civil War- “armed struggle between various groups population, which was based on deep social, national and political contradictions, went through various stages and phases with the active intervention of foreign forces...” (Academician Yu.A. Polyakov).
In modern historical science there is no single definition of the concept of “civil war”. IN encyclopedic dictionary we read: “Civil war is an organized armed struggle for power between classes, social groups, most acute form class struggle." This definition actually repeats Lenin’s famous saying that civil war is the most acute form of class struggle.
Currently given various definitions, but their essence mainly comes down to the definition of the Civil War as a large-scale armed confrontation, in which, undoubtedly, the issue of power was decided. Bolshevik takeover state power in Russia and the subsequent dispersal of the Constituent Assembly can be considered the beginning of an armed confrontation in Russia. The first shots were heard in the south of Russia, in the Cossack regions, already in the autumn of 1917.
General Alekseev, the last chief of staff of the tsarist army, begins to form the Volunteer Army on the Don, but by the beginning of 1918 it amounted to no more than 3,000 officers and cadets.
As A.I. wrote Denikin in “Essays on Russian Troubles,” “the white movement grew spontaneously and inevitably.”
In the first months of the victory of Soviet power, armed clashes were local in nature; all opponents of the new government gradually determined their strategy and tactics.
This confrontation took on a truly front-line, large-scale character in the spring of 1918. Let us highlight three main stages in the development of armed confrontation in Russia, based primarily on taking into account the alignment of political forces and the peculiarities of the formation of fronts.
The first stage begins in the spring of 1918 when the military-political confrontation becomes global, large-scale military operations begin. The defining feature of this stage is its so-called “democratic” character, when representatives of socialist parties emerged as independent anti-Bolshevik camps with slogans of return political power Constituent Assembly and restoration of the gains of the February Revolution. It is this camp that is chronologically ahead of the White Guard camp in its organizational design.
At the end of 1918 the second stage begins- confrontation between whites and reds. Until the beginning of 1920, one of the main political opponents of the Bolsheviks was the white movement with the slogans of “non-decision political system"and the liquidation of Soviet power. This direction threatened not only the October, but also the February conquests. Their main political force was the Cadets Party, and the army was formed by generals and officers of the former tsarist army. The Whites were united by hatred of the Soviet regime and the Bolsheviks, and the desire to preserve a united and indivisible Russia.
The final stage of the Civil War begins in 1920. events of the Soviet-Polish war and the fight against P. N. Wrangel. Wrangel's defeat at the end of 1920 marked the end of the Civil War, but anti-Soviet armed protests continued in many regions of Soviet Russia during the years of the New Economic Policy
Nationwide scale armed struggle has acquired from spring 1918 and turned into the greatest disaster, the tragedy of the entire Russian people. In this war there were no right and wrong, no winners and losers. 1918 - 1920 — in these years, the military issue was of decisive importance for the fate of the Soviet government and the bloc of anti-Bolshevik forces opposing it. This period ended with the liquidation in November 1920 of the last white front in the European part of Russia (in Crimea). In general, the country emerged from the state of civil war in the fall of 1922 after the remnants of white formations and foreign (Japanese) military units were expelled from the territory of the Russian Far East.
A feature of the civil war in Russia was its close intertwining with anti-Soviet military intervention Entente powers. It was the main factor in prolonging and aggravating the bloody “Russian Troubles.”
So, in the periodization of the civil war and intervention, three stages are quite clearly distinguished. The first of them covers the time from spring to autumn 1918; the second - from the autumn of 1918 to the end of 1919; and the third - from the spring of 1920 to the end of 1920.
The first stage of the civil war (spring - autumn 1918)
In the first months of the establishment of Soviet power in Russia, armed clashes were local in nature; all opponents of the new government gradually determined their strategy and tactics. The armed struggle acquired a nationwide scale in the spring of 1918. Back in January 1918, Romania, taking advantage of the weakness of the Soviet government, captured Bessarabia. In March - April 1918, the first contingents of troops from England, France, the USA and Japan appeared on Russian territory (in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, in Vladivostok, in Central Asia). They were small and could not significantly influence the military and political situation in the country. “War communism”
At the same time, the enemy of the Entente - Germany - occupied the Baltic states, part of Belarus, Transcaucasia and the North Caucasus. The Germans actually dominated Ukraine: they overthrew the bourgeois-democratic Verkhovna Rada, whose help they used during the occupation of Ukrainian lands, and in April 1918 they put Hetman P.P. in power. Skoropadsky.
Under these conditions, the Supreme Council of the Entente decided to use the 45,000th Czechoslovak Corps, which was (in agreement with Moscow) under his subordination. It consisted of captured Slavic soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army and followed railway to Vladivostok for subsequent transfer to France.
According to the agreement concluded on March 26, 1918 with the Soviet government, the Czechoslovak legionnaires were to advance “not as a combat unit, but as a group of citizens equipped with weapons to repel armed attacks by counter-revolutionaries.” However, during their movement, their conflicts with local authorities became more frequent. Since the Czechs and Slovaks had more military weapons than provided for in the agreement, the authorities decided to confiscate them. On May 26 in Chelyabinsk, conflicts escalated into real battles, and legionnaires occupied the city. Their armed uprising was immediately supported by the military missions of the Entente in Russia and anti-Bolshevik forces. As a result, in the Volga region, the Urals, Siberia and the Far East - wherever there were trains with Czechoslovak legionnaires - Soviet power was overthrown. At the same time, in many provinces of Russia, peasants, dissatisfied with the food policy of the Bolsheviks, rebelled (according to official data, there were at least 130 large anti-Soviet peasant uprisings alone).
Socialist parties(mainly right-wing Social Revolutionaries), relying on interventionist landings, the Czechoslovak Corps and peasant rebel detachments, formed a number of governments Komuch (Committee of Members of the Constituent Assembly) in Samara, the Supreme Administration of the Northern Region in Arkhangelsk, the West Siberian Commissariat in Novonikolaevsk (now Novosibirsk), The Provisional Siberian Government in Tomsk, the Trans-Caspian Provisional Government in Ashgabat, etc. In their activities they tried to compose “ democratic alternative”both the Bolshevik dictatorship and the bourgeois-monarchist counter-revolution. Their programs included demands for the convening of the Constituent Assembly, the restoration of the political rights of all citizens without exception, freedom of trade and the abandonment of strict state regulation of the economic activities of peasants while maintaining a number of important provisions of the Soviet Decree on Land, the establishment of a “social partnership” of workers and capitalists during the denationalization of industrial enterprises and etc.
Thus, the performance of the Czechoslavak corps gave impetus to the formation of a front that bore the so-called “democratic coloring” and was mainly Socialist-Revolutionary. It was this front, and not the white movement, that was decisive at the initial stage of the Civil War.
In the summer of 1918, all opposition forces became a real threat to the Bolshevik government, which controlled only the territory of the center of Russia. The territory controlled by Komuch included the Volga region and part of the Urals. Bolshevik power was also overthrown in Siberia, where the regional government of the Siberian Duma was formed. The breakaway parts of the empire - Transcaucasia, Central Asia, the Baltic states - had their own national governments. Ukraine was captured by the Germans, Don and Kuban by Krasnov and Denikin.
On August 30, 1918, a terrorist group killed the chairman of the Petrograd Cheka, Uritsky, and the right-wing Socialist Revolutionary Kaplan seriously wounded Lenin. The threat of loss of political power from the ruling Bolshevik party became catastrophically real.
In September 1918, a meeting of representatives of a number of anti-Bolshevik governments of democratic and social orientation was held in Ufa. Under pressure from the Czechoslovaks, who threatened to open the front to the Bolsheviks, they established a unified All-Russian government - the Ufa Directory, headed by the leaders of the Socialist Revolutionaries N.D. Avksentiev and V.M. Zenzinov. Soon the directorate settled in Omsk, where the famous polar explorer and scientist, former commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral A.V., was invited to the post of Minister of War. Kolchak.
The right, bourgeois-monarchist wing of the camp opposing the Bolsheviks as a whole had not yet recovered at that time from the defeat of its first post-October armed attack on them (which largely explained the “democratic coloring” of the initial stage of the civil war on the part of anti-Soviet forces). White Volunteer Army, which after the death of General L.G. Kornilov in April 1918 was headed by General A.I. Denikin, operated on a limited territory of the Don and Kuban. Only the Cossack army of Ataman P.N. Krasnov managed to advance to Tsaritsyn and cut off the grain-producing regions of the North Caucasus from the central regions of Russia, and Ataman A.I. Dutov - to capture Orenburg.
By the end of the summer of 1918, the position of Soviet power had become critical. Almost three quarters of the territory of the former Russian Empire was under the control of various anti-Bolshevik forces, as well as the occupying Austro-German troops.
Soon, however, a turning point occurs on the main front (Eastern). Soviet troops under the command of I.I. Vatsetis and S.S. Kamenev went on the offensive there in September 1918. Kazan fell first, then Simbirsk, and Samara in October. By winter the Reds approached the Urals. The attempts of General P.N. were also repelled. Krasnov to take possession of Tsaritsyn, undertaken in July and September 1918.
From October 1918, the Southern front became the main front. In the South of Russia, the Volunteer Army of General A.I. Denikin captured Kuban, and the Don Cossack Army of Ataman P.N. Krasnova tried to take Tsaritsyn and cut the Volga.
The Soviet government launched active measures to protect its power. In 1918, a transition was made to universal conscription, widespread mobilization was launched. The Constitution adopted in July 1918 established discipline in the army and introduced the institution of military commissars.
The Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) was allocated as part of the Central Committee to quickly resolve problems of a military and political nature. It included: V.I. Lenin - Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars; L.B. Krestinsky - Secretary of the Party Central Committee; I.V. Stalin - People's Commissar for Nationalities; L.D. Trotsky - Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs. Candidates for membership were N.I. Bukharin - editor of the newspaper “Pravda”, G.E. Zinoviev - Chairman of the Petrograd Soviet, M.I. Kalinin is the chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.
The Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, headed by L.D., worked under the direct control of the Party Central Committee. Trotsky. The Institute of Military Commissars was introduced in the spring of 1918; one of its important tasks was to control the activities of military specialists - former officers. Already at the end of 1918, there were about 7 thousand commissars in the Soviet armed forces. About 30% of former generals and officers of the old army during the civil war took the side of the Red Army.
This was determined by two main factors:
- acting on the side of the Bolshevik government for ideological reasons;
- The policy of attracting “military specialists”—former tsarist officers—to the Red Army was carried out by L.D. Trotsky using repressive methods.
War communism
In 1918, the Bolsheviks introduced a system of emergency measures, economic and political, known as “ policy of war communism”. Main acts this policy became Decree of May 13, 1918 g., giving broad powers to the People's Commissariat for Food (People's Commissariat for Food), and Decree of June 28, 1918 on nationalization.
The main provisions of this policy:
- nationalization of all industry;
- centralization of economic management;
- ban on private trade;
- curtailment of commodity-money relations;
- food allocation;
- equalization system of remuneration for workers and employees;
- payment in kind for workers and employees;
- free utilities;
- universal labor conscription.
June 11, 1918 were created committees(committees of the poor), which were supposed to seize surplus agricultural products from wealthy peasants. Their actions were supported by units of the prodarmiya (food army), consisting of Bolsheviks and workers. From January 1919, the search for surpluses was replaced by a centralized and planned system of surplus appropriation (Chrestomathy T8 No. 5).
Each region and county had to hand over a set amount of grain and other products (potatoes, honey, butter, eggs, milk). When the delivery quota was met, the village residents received a receipt for the right to purchase industrial goods (fabric, sugar, salt, matches, kerosene).
June 28, 1918 the state has started nationalization of enterprises with capital over 500 rubles. Back in December 1917, when the VSNKh (Supreme Council of the National Economy) was created, he began nationalization. But the nationalization of labor was not widespread (by March 1918, no more than 80 enterprises were nationalized). This was primarily a repressive measure against entrepreneurs who resisted workers' control. It was now government policy. By November 1, 1919, 2,500 enterprises had been nationalized. In November 1920, a decree was issued that extended nationalization to all enterprises with more than 10 or 5 workers, but using a mechanical engine.
Decree of November 21, 1918 was installed monopoly on domestic trade. Soviet power replaced trade with state distribution. Citizens received products through the People's Commissariat for Food using cards, of which, for example, in Petrograd in 1919 there were 33 types: bread, dairy, shoe, etc. The population was divided into three categories:
workers and scientists and artists equated to them;
employees;
former exploiters.
Due to the lack of food, even the wealthiest received only ¼ of the prescribed ration.
In such conditions, the “black market” flourished. The government fought against bag smugglers, prohibiting them from traveling by train.
IN social sphere The policy of “war communism” was based on the principle “he who does not work, neither shall he eat.” In 1918, labor conscription was introduced for representatives of the former exploiting classes, and in 1920, universal labor conscription.
In the political sphere“War communism” meant the undivided dictatorship of the RCP (b). The activities of other parties (cadets, mensheviks, right and left socialist revolutionaries) were prohibited.
The consequences of the policy of “war communism” were deepening economic devastation and a reduction in production in industry and agriculture. However, it was precisely this policy that largely allowed the Bolsheviks to mobilize all resources and win the Civil War.
The Bolsheviks assigned a special role to mass terror in the victory over the class enemy. On September 2, 1918, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee adopted a resolution proclaiming the beginning of “mass terror against the bourgeoisie and its agents.” Head of the Cheka F.E. Dzherzhinsky said: “We are terrorizing the enemies of Soviet power.” The policy of mass terror took on a state character. Execution on the spot became commonplace.
The second stage of the civil war (autumn 1918 - end of 1919)
From November 1918, the front-line war entered the stage of confrontation between the Reds and the Whites. The year 1919 was decisive for the Bolsheviks; a reliable and constantly growing Red Army was created. But their opponents, actively supported by their former allies, united among themselves. The international situation has also changed significantly. Germany and its allies in the world war laid down their arms before the Entente in November. Revolutions took place in Germany and Austria-Hungary. Leadership of the RSFSR November 13, 1918 canceled, and the new governments of these countries were forced to evacuate their troops from Russia. In Poland, the Baltic states, Belarus, and Ukraine, bourgeois-national governments arose, which immediately took the side of the Entente.
The defeat of Germany freed up significant combat contingents of the Entente and at the same time opened up for it a convenient and short road to Moscow from the southern regions. Under these conditions, the Entente leadership prevailed in the intention to defeat Soviet Russia using its own armies.
In the spring of 1919, the Supreme Council of the Entente developed a plan for the next military campaign. (Chrestomathy T8 No. 8) As noted in one of his secret documents, the intervention was to be “expressed in combined military actions of Russian anti-Bolshevik forces and the armies of neighboring allied states.” At the end of November 1918, a joint Anglo-French squadron of 32 pennants (12 battleships, 10 cruisers and 10 destroyers) appeared off the Black Sea coast of Russia. English troops landed in Batum and Novorossiysk, and French troops landed in Odessa and Sevastopol. The total number of interventionist combat forces concentrated in the south of Russia was increased by February 1919 to 130 thousand people. The Entente contingents in the Far East and Siberia (up to 150 thousand people), as well as in the North (up to 20 thousand people) increased significantly.
In Siberia, on November 18, 1918, Admiral A.V. came to power. Kolchak. . He put an end to the chaotic actions of the anti-Bolshevik coalition.
Having dispersed the Directory, he proclaimed himself the Supreme Ruler of Russia (the rest of the leaders of the white movement soon declared their submission to him). Admiral Kolchak in March 1919 began to advance on a broad front from the Urals to the Volga. The main bases of his army were Siberia, the Urals, the Orenburg province and the Ural region. In the north, from January 1919, General E.K. began to play a leading role. Miller, in the north-west - General N.N. Yudenich. In the south, the dictatorship of the commander of the Volunteer Army A.I. is strengthening. Denikin, who in January 1919 subjugated the Don Army of General P.N. Krasnov and created the united Armed Forces of southern Russia.
In March 1919, the well-armed 300,000-strong army of A.V. Kolchak launched an offensive from the east, intending to unite with Denikin’s forces for a joint attack on Moscow. Having captured Ufa, Kolchak’s troops fought their way to Simbirsk, Samara, Votkinsk, but were soon stopped by the Red Army. At the end of April, Soviet troops under the command of S.S. Kamenev and M.V. The Frunzes went on the offensive and advanced deep into Siberia in the summer. By the beginning of 1920, the Kolchakites were completely defeated, and the admiral himself was arrested and executed by verdict of the Irkutsk Revolutionary Committee.
In the summer of 1919, the center of the armed struggle moved to the Southern Front. (Reader T8 No. 7) July 3, General A.I. Denikin issued his famous “Moscow directive”, and his army of 150 thousand people began an offensive along the entire 700-km front from Kyiv to Tsaritsyn. The White Front included such important centers as Voronezh, Orel, Kyiv. In this space of 1 million square meters. km with a population of up to 50 million people there were 18 provinces and regions. By mid-autumn, Denikin's army captured Kursk and Orel. But by the end of October, the troops of the Southern Front (commander A.I. Egorov) defeated the white regiments, and then began to press them along the entire front line. The remnants of Denikin’s army, headed by General P.N. in April 1920. Wrangel, strengthened in Crimea.
The final stage of the civil war (spring - autumn 1920)
At the beginning of 1920, as a result of military operations, the outcome of the front-line Civil War was actually decided in favor of the Bolshevik government. At the final stage, the main military operations were associated with the Soviet-Polish war and the fight against Wrangel’s army.
Significantly aggravated the nature of the civil war Soviet-Polish war. Head of Polish State Marshal J. Pilsudski hatched a plan to create “ Greater Poland within the borders of 1772” from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, including a large part of Lithuanian, Belarusian and Ukrainian lands, including those never controlled by Warsaw. The Polish national government was supported by the Entente countries, who sought to create a “sanitary bloc” of Eastern European countries between Bolshevik Russia and Western countries. On April 17, Pilsudski gave the order to attack Kiev and signed an agreement with Ataman Petliura, Poland recognized the Directory headed by Petliura as the supreme authority of Ukraine. On May 7, Kyiv was captured. The victory was achieved unusually easily, because the Soviet troops withdrew without serious resistance.
But already on May 14, a successful counter-offensive began by the troops of the Western Front (commander M.N. Tukhachevsky), on May 26 - the Southwestern Front (commander A.I. Egorov). In mid-July they reached the borders of Poland. On June 12, Soviet troops occupied Kyiv. The speed of a victory can only be compared with the speed of a previously suffered defeat.
On July 12, British Foreign Secretary Lord D. Curzon sent a note to the Soviet government - in fact, an ultimatum from the Entente demanding to stop the Red Army's advance on Poland. As a truce, the so-called “ Curzon line”, which passed mainly along the ethnic border of the settlement of Poles.
The Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), clearly overestimating own strength and underestimating the enemy’s strength, set a new strategic task for the main command of the Red Army: to continue the revolutionary war. IN AND. Lenin believed that the victorious entry of the Red Army into Poland would cause uprisings of the Polish working class and revolutionary uprisings in Germany. For this purpose, the Soviet government of Poland was quickly formed - the Provisional Revolutionary Committee consisting of F.E. Dzerzhinsky, F.M. Kona, Yu.Yu. Markhlevsky and others.
This attempt ended in disaster. The troops of the Western Front were defeated near Warsaw in August 1920.
In October, the warring parties concluded a truce, and in March 1921, a peace treaty. Under its terms, a significant part of the lands in western Ukraine and Belarus went to Poland.
At the height of the Soviet-Polish war, General P.N. took active action in the south. Wrangel. Using harsh measures, including public executions of demoralized officers, and relying on the support of France, the general turned Denikin's scattered divisions into a disciplined and combat-ready Russian army. In June 1920, troops were landed from the Crimea on the Don and Kuban, and the main forces of the Wrangel troops were sent to the Donbass. On October 3, the Russian army began its offensive in the northwestern direction towards Kakhovka.
The offensive of Wrangel’s troops was repulsed, and during the operation of the army of the Southern Front under the command of M.V., which began on October 28. The Frunzes completely captured Crimea. On November 14 - 16, 1920, an armada of ships flying the St. Andrew's flag left the shores of the peninsula, taking broken white regiments and tens of thousands of civilian refugees to a foreign land. Thus P.N. Wrangel saved them from the merciless red terror that fell on Crimea immediately after the evacuation of the whites.
In the European part of Russia, after the capture of Crimea, it was liquidated last white front. The military issue ceased to be the main one for Moscow, but fighting on the outskirts of the country continued for many months.
The Red Army, having defeated Kolchak, reached Transbaikalia in the spring of 1920. The Far East was at this time in the hands of Japan. To avoid a collision with it, the government of Soviet Russia promoted the formation in April 1920 of a formally independent “buffer” state - the Far Eastern Republic (FER) with its capital in Chita. Soon, the army of the Far East began military operations against the White Guards, supported by the Japanese, and in October 1922 occupied Vladivostok, completely clearing the Far East of Whites and interventionists. After this, a decision was made to liquidate the Far Eastern Republic and incorporate it into the RSFSR.
The Civil War became the biggest drama of the twentieth century and the greatest tragedy in Russia. The armed struggle that unfolded across the expanses of the country was carried out with extreme tension of the opponents' forces, was accompanied by mass terror (both white and red), and was distinguished by exceptional mutual bitterness. Here is an excerpt from the memoirs of a participant in the Civil War, talking about soldiers of the Caucasian Front: “Well, why, son, isn’t it scary for a Russian to beat a Russian?” - the comrades ask the recruit. “At first it’s really kind of awkward,” he answers, “and then, if your heart gets hot, then no, nothing.” These words contain the merciless truth about the fratricidal war, into which almost the entire population of the country was drawn.
The fighting parties clearly understood that the struggle could only have a fatal outcome for one of the parties. That is why the civil war in Russia became a great tragedy for all its political camps, movements and parties.
“Reds” (the Bolsheviks and their supporters) believed that they were defending not only Soviet power in Russia, but also “the world revolution and the ideas of socialism.”
In the political struggle against Soviet power, two political movements were consolidated:
- democratic counter-revolution with slogans of returning political power to the Constituent Assembly and restoring the gains of the February (1917) Revolution (many Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks advocated the establishment of Soviet power in Russia, but without the Bolsheviks (“For Soviets without Bolsheviks”));
- white movement with the slogans of “non-decision of the state system” and the elimination of Soviet power. This direction threatened not only the October, but also the February conquests. The counter-revolutionary white movement was not homogeneous. It included monarchists and liberal republicans, supporters of the Constituent Assembly and supporters of the military dictatorship. Among the “Whites” there were also differences in foreign policy guidelines: some hoped for the support of Germany (Ataman Krasnov), others hoped for the help of the Entente powers (Denikin, Kolchak, Yudenich). The “Whites” were united by hatred of the Soviet regime and the Bolsheviks, and the desire to preserve a united and indivisible Russia. They did not have a unified political program; the military in the leadership of the “white movement” relegated politicians to the background. There was also no clear coordination of actions between the main “white” groups. The leaders of the Russian counter-revolution competed and fought with each other.
In the anti-Soviet anti-Bolshevik camp, some of the political opponents of the Soviets acted under a single Socialist Revolutionary-White Guard flag, while others acted only under the White Guard.
Bolsheviks had a stronger social base than their opponents. They received strong support from urban workers and the rural poor. The position of the main peasant mass was not stable and unambiguous; only the poorest part of the peasants consistently followed the Bolsheviks. The peasants' hesitation had its reasons: the “Reds” gave the land, but then introduced surplus appropriation, which caused strong discontent in the village. However, the return of the previous order was also unacceptable for the peasantry: the victory of the “whites” threatened the return of the land to the landowners and severe punishments for the destruction of the landowners’ estates.
The Socialist Revolutionaries and anarchists rushed to take advantage of the hesitations of the peasants. They managed to involve a significant part of the peasantry in the armed struggle, both against the whites and against the reds.
For both warring sides, it was also important what position the Russian officers would take in the conditions of the civil war. Approximately 40% of the officers of the tsarist army joined the “ white movement”, 30% sided with the Soviet regime, 30% avoided participating in the civil war.
The Russian Civil War worsened armed intervention foreign powers. The interventionists carried out active military operations on the territory of the former Russian Empire, occupied some of its regions, helped incite the civil war in the country and contributed to its prolongation. The intervention turned out to be an important factor in the “revolutionary all-Russian unrest” and increased the number of victims.
At the first stage of the Civil War of 1917 - 1922/23, two powerful opposing forces took shape - “red” and “white”. The first represented the Bolshevik camp, whose goal was a radical change in the existing system and the construction of a socialist regime, the second - the anti-Bolshevik camp, striving for a return to the order of the pre-revolutionary period.
The period between the February and October revolutions is the time of formation and development of the Bolshevik regime, the stage of accumulation of forces. The main tasks of the Bolsheviks before the start of hostilities in the Civil War: the formation of a social support, transformations in the country that would allow them to gain a foothold at the top of power in the country, and the defense of the achievements of the February Revolution.
The Bolsheviks' methods in strengthening power were effective. First of all, this concerns propaganda among the population - the slogans of the Bolsheviks were relevant and helped to quickly form the social support of the “Reds”.
The first armed detachments of the “reds” began to appear on preparatory stage– from March to October 1917. The main driving force behind such detachments were workers from industrial regions- this was the main force of the Bolsheviks, which helped them come to power during the October Revolution. At the time of the revolutionary events, the detachment numbered about 200,000 people.
The stage of the establishment of Bolshevik power required the protection of what was achieved during the revolution - for this, at the end of December 1917, the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission was created, headed by F. Dzerzhinsky. On January 15, 1918, the Cheka adopted a Decree on the creation of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and on January 29, the Red Fleet was created.
Analyzing the actions of the Bolsheviks, historians do not come to unanimous opinion about their goals and motivation:
The most common opinion is that the “Reds” initially planned a large-scale Civil War, which would be a logical continuation of the revolution. Fighting, whose goal was to promote the ideas of revolution, would consolidate the power of the Bolsheviks and spread socialism throughout the world. During the war, the Bolsheviks planned to destroy the bourgeoisie as a class. Thus, based on this, the ultimate goal of the “reds” is world revolution.
V. Galin is considered one of the fans of the second concept. This version is radically different from the first - according to historians, the Bolsheviks had no intention of turning the revolution into a Civil War. The goal of the Bolsheviks was to seize power, which they succeeded in during the revolution. But continuation of hostilities was not included in the plans. Arguments of fans of this concept: the transformations that the “Reds” planned demanded peace in the country; at the first stage of the struggle, the “Reds” were tolerant of other political forces. A turning point regarding political opponents occurred when in 1918 there was a threat of losing power in the state. By 1918, the “Reds” had a strong, professionally trained enemy - the White Army. Its backbone was the military of the Russian Empire. By 1918, the fight against this enemy became purposeful, the army of the “Reds” acquired a pronounced structure.
At the first stage of the war, the actions of the Red Army were not successful. Why?
Recruitment into the army was carried out on a voluntary basis, which led to decentralization and disunity. The army was created spontaneously, without a specific structure - this led to a low level of discipline and problems in management big amount volunteers. The chaotic army was characterized by high level combat effectiveness. Only in 1918, when Bolshevik power was under threat, did the “Reds” decide to recruit troops according to the mobilization principle. From June 1918, they began to mobilize the military of the tsarist army.
The second reason is closely related to the first - the chaotic, unprofessional army of the “Reds” was opposed by organized, professional military men who, at the time of the Civil War, participated in more than one battle. The “Whites”, with a high level of patriotism, were united not only by professionalism, but also by an idea - the White movement stood for a united and indivisible Russia, for order in the state.
Most characteristic The Red Army is homogeneous. First of all, this concerns class origin. Unlike the “whites,” whose army included professional soldiers, workers, and peasants, the “reds” accepted only proletarians and peasants into their ranks. The bourgeoisie was subject to destruction, so an important task was to prevent hostile elements from joining the Red Army.
In parallel with military operations, the Bolsheviks implemented a political and economic program. The Bolsheviks pursued a policy of “red terror” against hostile social classes. In the economic sphere, “war communism” was introduced - a set of measures in domestic policy Bolsheviks throughout the Civil War.
The Reds' biggest wins:
- 1918 – 1919 – establishment of Bolshevik power in the territory of Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia.
- Beginning of 1919 - The Red Army launches a counteroffensive, defeating Krasnov’s “white” army.
- Spring-summer 1919 - Kolchak’s troops fell under the attacks of the “Reds”.
- Beginning of 1920 - the “Reds” ousted the “Whites” from the northern cities of Russia.
- February-March 1920 - defeat of the remaining forces of Denikin’s Volunteer Army.
- November 1920 - the “Reds” ousted the “Whites” from Crimea.
- By the end of 1920, the “Reds” were opposed by disparate groups of the White Army. The civil war ended with the victory of the Bolsheviks.
