This would lead to a civil war that would last from February 1918 until November of 1920. The Reds emerged victorious from this war over the anti-Bolshevik Whites, a feat that would serve to contribute to the consolidation of Soviet power. This essay will examine several of the most notable reasons for this victory. Perhaps the most decisive factor in this war was a Red army that was vastly superior to the Whites in numbers as well as weaponry. The Reds relentlessly employed superior military technique, but also were able to win over a far greater number of people through their innovative and attractive land policies.
Explain why the opponents of the Tsars from 1855 to 1917 were more successful than those who opposed the Communist regime from 1917 to 1964. The opponents of the Tsars were more successful – as they achieved vastly more change – than those of the Communists for a number of reasons, not least because of the legal status of opposition, the strength of the regime, the nature of the opposition, the repression imposed by the leader of the day, and the unity and organisation of the opposition. Indeed, this question is being asked simply because the Romanov dynasty was ousted in February 1917; the Communists, on the other hand, were not. However, this question is slightly misleading: not all of the opponents of the Tsars were in fact successful – the Poles, the Peoples Will and the Narodniks all failed when attempting to attain change in Russia; indeed, it can be seen that, in reality, the only regime in which opposition was truly successful was that of Nicholas II. One reason why the opponents of the Tsars were more successful than those of the Communists was the fact that, under the Tsars, opposition attained a legal status.
Assess the reasons for the Bolshevik victory in the Russian civil war Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War of 1918 -1920 would not have been certain without the strong, determined and intelligent leadership provided by Trotsky and Lenin. The fact that the Bolsheviks were led by two individuals, who combined had tremendous political, social and military skills had a direct result on the outcome of the war. There were other significant contributing factors that led to the Bolshevik victory, in particular their supreme political policies that completely offered the Russian people what they wanted. For me the main reason why the Bolsheviks did so well and won was due to the Whites were incompetent, disorganised and highly inefficient. The success of the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War was due to Lenin, Trotsky and their combined political, social and military capabilities as they were experts.
A standard way that the Emperors used their power was for military purposes. Because Rome was a large and thriving empire; a strong army was needed for equally attacking and defending against opposition. Emperors could effortlessly find new recruits for enlistment to the Roman legions. This would provide the advantage of larger numbers of soldiers in a battle. This benefit allowed tactics such as the ‘wedge’ to be executed as more soldiers could reinforce the wedge from behind, which would consequently break the enemies’ formation (Roman Empire.net 2012).
The White Armies had outnumbered the Red Armies but the Red Army still managed to win the Civil war. How did that happen? The Bolsheviks had some advantages which led them to their success while the Whites who had some disadvantages had led them to their fall. One of the advantages of the Bolsheviks from the Whites is that they are united and disciplined by Lenin and Trotsky. Trotsky, who was in control of the Bolsheviks by that time, had magnificently handled them.
The railways, particularly the Trans-Siberian railway, also gave Eastern Russia a link to Europe and Western Russia a link to the Pacific Ocean, which made it easier to export Russian goods. Therefore the Russian governments’ investment in railways was extremely successful in promoting economic growth. The Russian government was also successful in improving Russia’s heavy industry through the introduction of tariffs on imports. This clearly helped Russian heavy industry to expand as steel production increase eightfold from 1880 to 1905 and petroleum production increased over 2500% during the same time period. These tariffs, introduced by Vyshnedgradsky and continued by Witte, both increased revenue for the government and made
To have power of the railway lines meant that they could send soldiers and artillery to any place in the battle area. Opponents of the Bolsheviks, known as the Whites, had some major disadvantages, although they had a large amount of supporters, they were scattered around the central area; they were often hundreds and hundreds of miles between each army. The geographical distance between the troops meant that communications between each other were extremely difficult and that is if they even wanted to communicate. Another reason why the Bolsheviks won the Civil War was because; they were united and had only one aim which was to stay in power so that they could build the new Socialist society. However many members on the side that was against the Bolsheviks had other ideas.
The main reasons for why the Reds won the Civil War the geographical factors affecting the war, support for the Bolsheviks and the Red Army and crucially were the leadership of Trotsky. The first reason why the Reds were able to win the Russian Civil War was down to the superior leadership skills of Trotsky compared to the Whites. Using strategic propaganda tactics and superb military leadership, he commanded the Red Army into victory. The first reason why the Reds had such a better leader was the way he chose and commanded his army. This was firstly by very strict military discipline.
They also had more troops than the Italians had 75,000 troops to Italy’s 30,000 troops. The revolutions in Italy only had a chance to success when Austria was busy concentrating on the revolutions back home. After the failure of the Austrian revolutions, the Austrian army had even more troops to use against the Italian army. Austria also had the advantage of the leadership of Radetzky who was a skilful general. The leadership of Radetzky was important to the Austrian army as his guidance was much better than that of Charles Albert’s.The Austrian army was also very well equipped with weapons while the Italian army was not.
Also writers, artists and musicians were made to produce works or realism glorifying soviet achievements. This appealed to patriotism and made the legacy of the Stalinist system strong[2]. Also the fact that Stalin succeeded in galvanising the nation meant the Stalinist system was well suited to the demands of total war as it was already centrally planned[3]. This advantage led to Stalin being a successful leader of the USSR in those years. Stalin’s economic strategies led to the successful growth of industrialism and modernisation of the USSR.