Klow's Kollection

The Red Army

When Lenin and other Bolshevik leaders were consolidating their power bases after the Revolution, one of many problems came into light: how to convert the Red Guards, a military form of council or soviets formed in many Russian cities to act as the military of the Bolsheviks. Transforming them into a regular military would be difficult in light of the egalitarian nature of Bolshevik/Marxist theories. Simply put, officers and soldiers in traditional armies were social classes that the Revolution hoped to eliminate. (Bullock: 31-33) Lenin and most of the Bolshevik leadership found that this was not possible.

The White forces had more military professionalism particularly in the higher ranks. Many Red Army officers were drawn from Red Guard leaders and former Czarist non commissioned officers who had little practical command experience. To bolster their professionalism, the architect of the Red Army, Leon Trotsky, utilized former Czarist officers as 'specialists' who would advise the Red Army on military and technical matters. Extra rations and higher levels of responsibility were rewarded. Given the danger of using former Czarist officers and to quell any potential resistance, Trotsky also appointed commissars to insure political loyalties. Families of these specialists were recorded as a way of ensuring political correctness to the Bolshevik cause. Their lives would be forfeit as were their families; loyalty to the Red Army was paramount above all else.

Little time was available to fully organize the Red Army as the White forces began their campaigns to retake Russia from the Bolsheviks.

The Russian Civil War: 1918-22 by David Bullock, Osprey Publishing 2008.

Kornilov's Revolt: Catalyst of the Russian Civil War

In my mind, one event lit the fuse that began the Russian Civil War. This was when newly appointed Russian Army Commander-in-Chief General Lavr Kornilov (pictured) marched against his own boss: Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky.

Kerensky had hoped the General's supposed air of military confidence would restore order to Russia's foundering war effort despite Kornilov's harsh disciplinary methods including hanging and shooting soldiers for the slightest hint of cowardice. Kornilov's hard line views would eventually lock horns with Kerensky's seemingly 'moderate' and conciliatory policies as well as the perceived willingness to compromise with the Bolsheviks.(Lincoln: 41-42)

Determined to restore order and "purge the city and government of disloyal elements and save Russia," General Kornilov led a military coup with other Russian generals at his side including Denikin, Lukomsky, Romanovsky, and Markov. (Bullock: 16) Kerensky realized he had made a mistake in appointing Kornilov as Russian Army Commander. In a panic, the Prime Minister made an even larger blunder: he armed the Petrograd Soviets in an attempt to stop Kornilov. While the coup failed as Kornilov's forces dispersed and scattered, Kornilov and his supporting generals were arrested and imprisoned. The arrests caused the Russian Army's morale (what little there was) to completely evaporate. Riots and chaos ensued as soldiers surrendered and fled east en masse looting the countryside as they went. The Soviet leadership saw this as the right time to proceed with the Revolution Lenin envisioned. The Petrograd Soviets Kerensky armed to stop Kornilov now turned their guns against the Prime Minister and his already weakened government. After Kerensky fled, the Bolsheviks seized power almost effortlessly despite Soviet propaganda to the contrary.

As for the imprisoned Generals, they would eventually escape before Red forces could take them away no doubt to be executed. Kornilov, Denekin, and Markov among others would form the core of the White Army's leadership in the West along with Admiral Aleksandar Kolchak in the East.

In an attempt to restore order and maintain Russia's military commitment to the Allies, Kerensky had further weakened the rotting timbers of the Russian govenment, allowing the Soviets to seize control. This would result in a Russia torn by civil war, a war that would shatter the lives of millions as well as signal the beginning of the animosity between the Western powers and the Soviet Union when Allied forces, including American and British, would land on Russian soil to support the White forces against the Soviet Union and the newly formed Red Army.

Picture of Kornilov from Wikipedia search: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kornilov_Lavr_1917.jpeg

Books:

Red Victory: A History of the Russian Civil War by W. Bruce Lincoln, Simon and Schuster, 1989.

The Russian Civil War: 1918-21 by David Bullock, Osprey Publishing, 2008.

The Russian White Army: a quick comment

As I was reading further into the Russian Civil War, I was intrigued by the White faction's war aims: to win a military victory above all other considerations especially political. According to the Osprey Publishing book The Russian Civil War: 1918-22 by David Bullock, the Whites failed to exploit the discontent of many Russians who had yet to choice sides. The White Russian leaders treated this as a military coup against the Bolshevik Party. This comes as little surprise since the majority of the Whites were Czarist Army officers who were vigorously opposed to everything the Bolsheviks stood for: "anti-religion, anti-property, anti-business, and anti-Russian." (Bullock: 21) Despite early battlefield success, the White lacked the popular support of most Russians as well as the political cunning the Bolshevik leadership had in the form of Lenin and Trotsky.

Just my thoughts as I continue my project. More detailed postings on this and other aspects of the Russian Civil War to come in a couple of days...

Red Bears, White Bears

I have been reading and taking notes on Russia during WW 1 up to the Russian Civil War, a result of the Russian Revolution. Now I believe I am ready to proceed with my big project. I will be making a series of posts on various aspects of this tragic period. I think it will be easier both for me and you all that I divide this into neat digestible chunks.

The first series of blogs will highlight the decline of the Russian Army after their last great 1916 offensive, including comments on earlier attempts to reform their military after the Russo-Japanese War. The series will move on to the state of the Army during the Revolution and on to analysis of the Russian Civil War, a subject not really studyed as much in the States as I believe it should be.

I decided to make this its own category as it will take quite sometime to get it right. So let the blogging commence once again...