Russian Civil War

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Revision as of 21:38, 2 January 2011

The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd and subsequently gained control throughout vast swathes of Russia.

The principal fighting occurred between the Bolshevik Red Army, often in temporary alliance with other leftist pro-revolutionary groups, and the forces of the White Army, the anti-Bolshevik forces who were prior to the Congress of Omsk only loosely-allied. Many foreign armies warred against the Red Army, notably the Entente Forces prior to their 1919 withdrawal (which did not include Japan), and the German forces after their victories over France and Italy, as well as many volunteer foreigners who fought on both sides of the Russian Civil War. Other nationalist and regional political groups also participated in the war, including the the Cossack nationalist armies, and warlords such as Roman Ungern von Sternberg.

Congress of Omsk

At the Congress of Omsk in April 1919, the White Generals agreed to form a united political front behind Alexander Kerensky and the remaining forces of the Provisional Government. The united White forces, joined by the Kingdom of Finland, made considerable gains, but the Red Army was still too strong and well placed, dominating the Russian industrial heartland and transportation networks. Among the White Generals, Anton Denikin was one of the first to rally to the proposed White unified command, whereas Petr Wrangel opposed Kerensky, even if he recognized the need of a united force, but in the end he had to obey and comply with the outcome of the congress.

1919 Offensive on Moscow

During the 1919 summer offensive on Moscow, Wrangel's forces, that had suffered deep losses after the fall of Tsaritsyn, could only defend the conquered places and were not able to support Denikin's efforts. Denikin led one final assault of the southern White forces in their final push to capture Moscow in the summer of 1919. For a time, it appeared that the White Army would succeed in its drive, but Leon Trotsky, as commander of Red Army forces, hastily concluded an agreement with Nestor Makhno's anarchist Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine or 'Black Army' for mutual support. Makhno duly turned his Black Army east and led his troops against Denikin's extended lines of supply, forcing him to retreat. Denikin's army was defeated at Orel in October 1919, some 400km south of Moscow. After the failure of his offensive of Moscow, Denikin became one of the advocates of a alliance with Germany.

The conquest of Petrograd

Despite the failure of the offensive on Moscow, the Soviet government was clearly beginning to lose the Civil War: Denikin's troops were still threatening Moscow from the south, and General Nikolay Yudenich's troops approached Petrograd from the west. Lenin decided that the defence of Moscow had the priority and left Petrograd to its fate. By October 22 Yudenich's troops were on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg, where Zinoviev (responsible for the defence of the city and in charge of the regional government) decided to surrender.

German Intervention

The tides definitely turned when the German empire, fearing the success of a dangerous ideology, decided to intervene on behalf of the White Forces in exchange for the recognition of the treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Wilhelm Groener was named head of German operations in Ukraine in 1920, when he joined with White Generals Denikin and Wrangel forces in order to wipe out Makhno's Anarchist Army, Bolshevik armies and other unrallied Ukrainian independentists. His action was determinant in reconquering Eastern Ukraine, however he didn't manage to make the Cossacks rally to White Russia, being themselves soon united in the Don-Kuban Union. Trotsky was unable to counter the constant progress of the united White armies and the German Expeditionary Corps throughout 1920, and was also unable to avoid the rise of secessionist factions throughout Russia.

The Battle of Tsaritsyn

Along with the forces of Denikin and Wrangel, Groener's Expeditionary Corps met the armies of Leon Trotsky and Mikhail Tukhachevsky in Tsaritsyn. After weeks of hard street fights, most of the Red Army was defeated there on February 2 1921, making the way to Moscow clear for the victorious White forces. Sent to Moscow to ensure the defence of the city against the White armies, Trotsky took advantage of the state of panic within the Soviet leaders to flee Russia by June.

End of the war

Wrangel was the first White General to enter Moscow in September 1921, soon followed by Denikin and Groener. There, General Groener accepted General Tukhachevsky's surrender on behalf of the German Empire. With the defeat of the Red Army, the White Forces won the civil war and a new Russian Republic was proclaimed in Moscow on October 12. Alexander Kerensky became the first President of the newborn Russian Federation. While this is the official conclusion to the Civil War according to Russian Federation historiography, nonetheless the skirmishes continued for several years. The last enclave of the Red Forces was the city of Arkhangelsk which the Bolsheviks had seized following the withdrawal of the Entente forces in 1919, where General Antonov-Ovseyenko capitulated in 17 June 1923.