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White armies and
their leaders
British,
French,
Americans
Foreign Intervention
General
Yudenich
General
Wrangel
General
Miller
General
Denikin
Americans
French
Admiral
Kolchak
British
British
Czech
Legion
During the Russian civil war it became Multi national conflict ending
with parts of Russia controlled by foreign countries. These allied forces
remained from the recent European conflicts for the First World War.
14 Nations held operations within Russia, many backed the pro-Tsarist,
anti Bolshevik and the White Army. The allies withdrew troops in 1920
however the Japanese stood their ground until 1922 and a full
withdrawal in 1925. The allied forces although openly backing the anti
Bolsheviks movement with equipment and troops did not fail to
successfully defeat the ‘Red Army’. Even Winston Churchill strongly
disagreed with the Bolshevik rule ‘Kill the Bolshee, kiss the Hun’. This
backing led Lenin to believe that the West would take any chance to
abolish communism. After the allies withdrew the whites soon fell
short to the superlatively structured ‘Red army’.
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The white army were the opponents of the ‘Red army’ during the civil
war. They were lead by prominent politicians and mostly by former
tsarist officers. Following their arrival after the October Revolution, the
Whites created the Russian civil war. Their army consisted of anti
Bolsheviks, including the foreign intervention of 14 countries. They
surrounded the red army however, the Bolsheviks where well
organised, with internal lines of communication. After the withdrawal
of the foreign fractions the whites were left hopeless against the might
of the red army. They soon fell short to the communists and conceded
to the Red Army.
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The Internal Lines of Communication granted well
structured
movement of troops, well organised
boarders and well coordinated military. The lines
meant that orders, food or equipment could easily be
transported across the region. This coupled with the
requisition of grain led to an unstoppable ‘Red Army’.
The Bolsheviks controlled most of central Russia
Including most big cities. This meant that with the
nationalisation of factories under war communism
they could manufacture their own supplies and send
shorter distances than their White opponents. With
the increase in production and a stricter army the reds
became an immovable object and an unstoppable
force.
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The Bolshevik Party where the only ones who could for definite say
that they were fighting for Russia because they were individual and
did not have any outside support. They supposedly fought for a
better future for Russia however, due to future famine and
oppressive communism it is hard to see their point. The Bolsheviks
used the card to gain supporters and with the support of the
peasant population they built a strong high ground. The Bolsheviks
did not have clashed beliefs like their opponents furthermore
leading them to be a united cause rather than a coalition force.
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The whites had the upper hand in numbers However, they were
massively disunited furthermore, many groups hated their comrades.
This situation was worsened by the fact they used foreign intervention
to gain numbers when in fact it split their forces even more. European
forces occupied some of Russia to support the Whites. These soldiers
were thousands of miles from home, in a foreign country were no one
speaks their language. Separate parties united to create the whites
when in ideology terms each was different to the other, fashioning a
un-settled and un-agreed faction.
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The Red Army cultivated a large public following because of their
ideologies for the future of Russia. This occurred because of the
Whites and Greens plans for Russia, in the long term the capitalists’
would retake what the peasants had tried so hard to achieve. As a
result of this they joined the Reds who promised communism. This
public support was also gathered through the Red Armies use of the
patriotic card to appeal to the Russian people.
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The Trans Siberian Railway was is important for the transport of troops,
supplies and food. The railway was occupied by both sides. This
granted the easy and quick movement of nearly anything to the
frontlines. With the reds being compact it was more useful to use on
the other hand however, the whites and greens could use the line to
transport equipment across the whole of Russia. Foreign countries such
as Japan could give equipment to the front lines from the far east of
Russia to the west. This transportation however, was fairly slow unless
in this case you were the reds and would only need to transport it a
fraction of the distance. The Trans Siberian railway was very useful
however In my opinion will not have made the biggest impact on the
result of the civil war however, you may argue it was vital to supply the
Russian people and its armies.
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During the civil war the ‘’secret’’ Bolshevik army (the Checka) seized
massive amount of grain from peasants to feed ‘The Red Army’. This
caused the first man made famine in history furthermore resulting in
many cases of cannibalism throughout Bolshevik territory. The
situation became so bad for the peasant that there were reports of
sausages containing human flesh. The food seized went to fuelling the
army, this meant the ‘Red Army’ became the best feed also, increasing
the strength of the soldiers and keeping them from dying of
malnutrition. This came at a cost however, after the war due to the lack
of seed to grow food a widespread famine occurred across Russia. This
led to many losing faith in Bolshevik rule. The seizing of grain became
a crucial factor in the success of ‘The Red Army’ but on the other hand,
it led to huge suffering and the lose of life.
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Yevgeny Miller was a Russian General
born in 1876 and died in 1939. Miller was
the leader of the anti communist White
Army during and after the civil war of
1917-1922. during his campaign he
strongly opposed democratization of the
army and was arrested by his own
soldiers after he ordered them to remove
red armbands. Miller was supported by
the Entente, Mostly British. After a
unsuccessful advance in the summer of
1919, the Entente withdrew their troops
leaving miller to face the red army alone.
In 1920 he was evacuated to Norway and
exiled from Russia. He later died in the
Russian Capital Moscow in 1939 after
being smuggled back into Russia.
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Denikin was a general of the white
movement during the Russian Civil War. He
became one of the foremost General of the
white army. After Anton gained leadership of
the anti Bolshevik Volunteer army in 1918.
After failing to overcome the Red army he
withdrew his Soldiers back in the face of a
communist counter-offensive. He gathered
his men for a final push for Moscow.
Although it was expected for him to achieve
his goal it did not materialize and he was
defeated in Orel 1919, 400 miles south of
Moscow. Denikin then turned his attention
to executing the innocent, it was estimated
that 100,000 Jews were slaughtered under his
‘White Terror’. He later died in 1947.
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After Wrangel’s intervention in the First
World War he resigned from his post as an
officer of the Russian Army. In 1918 he
joined the ranks of the Anti Bolshevik
volunteer army, under control by Denikin.
Wrangel was given the command of the 1st
Cavalry Division and the rank of Major
General of the White Movement. He was
then later promoted to lieutenant General,
and his division was promoted to a corps.
He gained a reputation of being a
advanced and thoroughly skilled general.
He was nicknamed ‘the Black Baron’ in
Red Army Propaganda. Following the
defeats in the early 1920s Wrangel lost half
of his army he ordered a mass evacuation.
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Yudenich was a proclaimed leader of the
White army. He had gone from a decorated
military background to the white movement
after he develop a strong disagreement with
the Bolshevik party. Yudenich met with
many foreign diplomats and secured many
allies in his war effort. He also sought for
funding of his army due to lack of
equipment. After a failed attempt attacking
weekly reinforced Petrograd his movement
began to collapse. His many eventually
retreated and he was arrested whilst
attempting to flee Russia. Yudenich was
then imprisioned. After mcuh diplomatic
pressuring he was freed.
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He began as a naval officer however he
became the supreme ruler of the
revolutionary anti-communist white army.
After enlisting for the British army he was
put to use try to topple Vladimir Lenin and
the Bolsheviks
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