The Russian Civil War lasted 3 years (1918-1921). After the Bolsheviks had gained power in 1917, it angered many Russians. These people were willing to accept the Provisional Government, but the Bolsheviks had taken over after the October Revolution in 1917. Many people strongly refused a one-party government. After the Constituent Assembly and the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk were revealed, organisation for resistance to the Bolsheviks had started. The Whites were the Reds main opposition. The Whites were made up of groups in Russia who could provide military opposition like ex-Tsarist officers, moderate socialists, nationalists and the Czech Legion. The Reds were a combination of Bolsheviks who had fought in the 1917 October Revolution and social militants. In 1921, the Reds had defeated the Whites and the Bolsheviks had their secure hold of Russia. The role of Trotsky was a very important factor as to why the Reds won the Civil War. However, there were many other factors which lead the Reds to win such as; Terror by the Secret Police (Cheka), geography, the organisation and superior resources of the Red Army and foreign intervention.
Trotsky had organised the October Revolution in 1917 and became chairman of the Petrograd Soviet and played a lead role in organising the Red Guards, this made it clear that he was the most able leader for the Bolsheviks. Trotsky was once the leader of the Mensheviks, but after the failed July Days, he became closer to Lenin and realised that the strong leadership from the Bolsheviks is what the people of Russia needed to seize power. Trotsky travelled, by the HQ which was a heavily armed train, along the front line using his quality as an excellent speaker to an advantage by giving motivational speeches to the troops. Trotsky had a completely free hand in military matters. Trotsky, however was a politician not a military commander. Other military leaders such as S.S. Kamenev were more important in commanding the troops, historian Evan Mawdsley believes that from July 1919 Kamenev: “led the whole Red Army to victory". Trotsky insisted that around 50 thousand ex-Tsarist officers were to be drafted back into the army. Historian Isaac Deutschre believes that Trotsky was able to: “conjure an army out of an apparent void” as the Reds went from having no men to 3-5 million soldiers. Many of these people joined voluntary; however for the majority; their families were taken hostage to ensure their full cooperation. To create such a large army, Trotsky used conscription to add troops to the army. Most of the army was made up of peasants who had been conscripted into the army. The Red Army was very strict. The death penalty became introduced again to use against soldiers who left the army, threw their weapons away or who failed to follow instructions. Any deserters were shot in the back of the head. Trotsky’s ability to give speeches provided the army with a reason and belief as to what they were fighting for which resulted in majority of the troops staying loyal.
The Cheka played a very important role in the Reds win. After the Tsar’s death, the Okhrana was abolished and the Peoples Militias had temporary order. The Bolsheviks lacked the control they needed to rule Russia. The Cheka was set up to try and achieve control. It was a small establishment to deal with threats given to the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks, after the 1917 Revolution in October, faced opposition from the Whites. This opposition began to grow in 1918 and so did the size of the Cheka. The Cheka didn’t work by the law, it had its own; they investigated whoever they wanted and arrested anyone, carrying them out on their own accord. The Cheka didn’t need proof of guilt for punishment to be given. Some of the Cheka’s very first executions were other political party leaders. In 1918, The Commissariat of Justice demanded to know of an arrest before it happened. However, Lenin managed to make changes to the demand which was the Cheka only had to notify the Commissariat of an execution/arrest after it had happened. The arrests and executions became known as Red Terror. With this alteration the Cheka were able to; persecute, torture and execute thousands of suspected spies, counter-revolutionaries and others who they believed to be enemies of the state. There was persecution of individual people who opposed the Reds as well as large groups of people. This helped to eradicate opposition or reduces the opposition due to fear. Dzerzhinsky never denied that the Cheka’s ways were brutal as he said: “we stand for organised terror, terror being absolutely indispensable in the current revolutionary conditions”. Some of the Cheka killings were carried out to terrorise the public rather than political reasons. An example of this was when Chekists (Cheka agents) started shooting in a Moscow circus after a clown act started to make fun of Lenin and the Bolsheviks. Another example is when Lenin ordered 100 men to be hanged: “and make sure that the hanging takes place in full view of the people”. The Cheka was a very important role as to why the Reds won the Civil War, as they eradicated any opposition to the Reds and due to the fear that they caused in Russia this reduced opposition.
The Reds controlled a surprisingly small amount of Russia during the Civil War, however they controlled the two main cities, Moscow and Petrograd and controlled more than 80% of the Russian population. Since the Reds had majority of their land together and the major industrial centres they had access to factories to supply weapons and receive them quickly due to their control of the railways. This meant that they could transport troops and supplies quickly in large numbers to areas which needed them. Having the two cities in their control the Reds had supplies that the Whites were unable to have and keep. The Whites were split into several different armies as they were spread out all across Russia. This meant that they had several leaders fighting for control and this caused no cooperation between the various armies as they ach fought independently. The leaders of the Reds had far better control and cooperation as they were able to communicate easier than the Whites.
The Red Army was very well organized compared to the Whites. They were also better equipped which resulted in them being able to crush any opposition that came from the Whites. The Red Army had ex-officers fighting among them. Trotsky was criticised for this tactic but argued that the Civil War would be impossible to win without the use of trained officers. Trotsky believed that if a soldier was good in combat he was promoted. Due to the reintroduction of discipline, if a soldier failed to carry out orders, disobeyed or left the army, they paid the price. The leadership of Lenin and Trotsky was a huge advantage to the Red Army. Trotsky was able to keep majority of the troops loyal and gave motivated them to fight, which is what the Whites lacked. The Reds had co-ordinated military action and had Commissars (an official in the Communist Party) which helped them to win the Civil War. Once the Whites had established their defensive lines they were able to exhaust the attacks from the Whites until they surrendered. As the Reds land was all together unlike the Whites, it was easier for the Reds to defend, they had major industrial centres in their land, this gave the Reds access to factories for weapons and they were able to receive them quickly.
By 1920 there were around 250,000 foreign troops in Russia. These troops mainly came from America and Commonwealth countries, small number of troops came from countries such as Latvia. The foreign troops supported the Whites and provided them with troops and weapons. However, the help that the Whites received was not as great as they thought. The foreign powers were unable to provide large number of troops due to WW1 finishing, their main way of supporting the Whites was through money and weapons. The Whites receivin
g help was a propaganda opportunity for the Reds, one of the most famous posters was "The dogs of the Entente: Denikin, Kolchak, Yudenich". The foreign troops were disorganised and they faced difficult conditions on the ground such as the poor relationship with the local population. However, they did help prolong the Civil War as it was a serious threat to the Bolsheviks in the North.
In conclusion the Reds won the Civil War for many reasons which include, the role of Trotsky, Terror by the Secret Police (Cheka), geography, the organisation and superior resources of the Red Army and foreign intervention.