The civil war The rebellion of the Czech legions on 25th may 1918 signaled the start of the civil war The Reds (Trotsky) were the defenders of Lenin The whites (Admiral K0lchak) were a loose collection of Anti-red forces, most who wanted to return to a Tsarist regime The Greens opposed the Reds and the Whites and wanted an altertive radical government (Transfer economic power the peasants) Nationalists fought for independence e.g. Ukrainians Sovereign states including Japan sent troops to fight alongside the whites However from the beginning it was obvious the Reds would win as they occupied 1/5th of RussiaCausesAllied forces intervention (Britain, France and Japan) Britain and France wanted Russia to remain in the war against Germany and did not want to see a communist regime in Russia They supplied the Whites with supplies and the French occupied Odessa and sent troops to fight alongside The Japanese wanted to increase their territory and influence

Nationalist movements The Czech legion was created in 10917 out of Austro Hungarian prisoners who now fought for the allies in the hope of creating a new country once Austro Hungary had been defeated (40, 000) Many different nationalities such as the Finns wanted their own country

White Armies Wanted the Tsar to return Or wanted a democratic rule

Green armies Lenin authorized the forcible seizure of grain stock in the country so peasants supported the Greens

Left SRs Opposed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and attempted to assassinate Lenin

Reasons for VictoryRed Leadership They had a unified leadership under Lenin Trotsky was a very effective leader e.g. he sent reinforcements to Petrograd to prevent General Yudenish for seizing control Trotsky enforced strict discipline and used political officers to ensure loyalty Trotsky used an armored train to visit and support areas under threat Cheka was used to eliminate political oppositionRed military strengths Trotsky used officers that fought for the Tsar so they had military experience The Red Army controlled important railway routes so making it easier to transport troops The Red Army successfully defeated the White army and prevented them working together. The last White Army was located in Crimea.War communism War communism describes economic policies the communists introduced during the civll war to help achieve victory The communists controlled industrial centers Industry was nationalized and factories were converted to produce military supplies and equipment Included a policy of requisitioning food from peasants to ensure the industrial workers and the Red Army were supplied with foodWar communism allowed the Bolsheviks to maintain war supplies essential for winning the war.White weaknesses They lacked unified command structure and strategy They were spread out over a large geographical area They often failed to coordinate attacks. General Dedikens forces were concentrated in south-east Russia and failed to work with Kolchak effectively leading to his defeat. They lacked support from many Russians who identified the whites with former Tsarist supporters or foreign invaders. The whites failed to work with the Greens (Led by Makhno).Foreign forces They stopped supporting the Whites after the armistice had been signed with Germany They initially provided 30, 00 troops to the whites but pulled out, weakening the whites. Lenin ordered the invasion of Poland where it wad defeated