On the evening of 6th November 1917, Trotsky went to the Peter and Paul Fortress, this housed the majority of Russian arms, it is located on an island in the middle of the river Neva in Petrograd, he bribed the troops guarding the fortress and his troops were given access to powerful munitions. Later that night the Revolution began. The primary objectives were to take command of railway stations, post offices, telephone centres, banks, bridges, and the Engineers’ Palace (the military headquarters). This objective continued into the morning of the 7th, and on the evening of the 7th November 1917 Trotsky and his Red Guard stormed the Winter Palace and arrested the ministers of the provisional government. On the 8th November, an announcement was made that the provisional government had been overthrown. This helped the Bolsheviks because the organisation skills Trotsky supplied meant the Bolsheviks had support and weapons, if it hadn’t been for him, the Bolsheviks may never have overthrown the government. It also meant everything was perfectly set up for the Revolution
Trotsky was a skilled public speaker who managed to inspire his listeners to support him and his party. His speeches were inspirational to everyone who listened and it made many change their ideas about how Russia should be governed. He made his speeches with “skill and brilliance”. An eyewitness to these speeches, N Sukhanov said this about Trotsky, “…it seemed that he spoke everywhere simultaneously. Every worker and solider of Petrograd knew him and listened to him. His influence on the masses and leaders alike was overwhelming…” His message was likely to be successful in Russia at that time because the people wanted a settled government and a government that everyone had a part in, they wanted a workers government and Trotsky promised all this and explained his ideas about communism. Where everybody received an equal share of money enough to feed, clothe, and shelter a person. He told the public what they wanted to hear. His talents in this area were important because he gained support from the public with his words, they weren’t forced to obey him or follow him. It was his support of the public that made them support him and the Bolsheviks.
After the Bolsheviks gained power, Trotsky was made Commissar for War. In this job he had control over the Red Army. He made this army very successful. Trained from former tsarist officers, this army evolved from tired Red Guard veterans and raw recruits into a formidable army of three million men. He made political commissars. These reported on officers’ reliability and political correctness. No military order carried final authority unless it was approved by a political commissar. Trotsky tolerated no opposition within the Red Army, the tsarist officers’ families were locked up and if the office did anything wrong then they would all get killed. A death sentence was imposed for desertion or disloyalty or if the clothes that they wore were damaged or given away. The Red Army was a major factor in the in the power of the Bolsheviks because they stopped a huge amount of possible conflicts. Their “No Mercy” tactic showed the nation and the world that they did not mess around when it came to conflict. Trotsky took action when anyone challenged the Bolsheviks. In 1918 a civil war broke out between the Reds (Bolsheviks) and the Whites (Mensheviks and numerous other capatilist nations). Trotsky’s Red Army fought and defended the capital (Petrograd). Eventually the whites were destroyed and the USSR was founded in 1922. During the civil war ‘War Communism’ was introduced, this was the name given to the economic policy introduced to try to share the food in Russia. It caused extreme famine. Seven million people died. This led to an uprising. Sailors at the Kronstadt naval base led the uprising. Trotsky sent 60,000 of his Red Army officers to deal with the sailors. His troops put down the soldiers; Trotsky’s Red Army killed all of the thousands of sailors. This showed the strength of the Bolsheviks by brute force it showed how ruthless and strong the Red Army had become.
Overall I can see that Trotsky contributed to the Bolsheviks in a number of ways. I feel that his most important contribution was to the revolution because if it wasn’t for his planning then the Bolsheviks may never had got into power and if they did then they would have probably lost it quite quickly as his contribution to the red army was also important as they could defend themselves as well as attack. His speeches persuaded the people of Russia to support him and it caused lots of young men to join the Red Army. He trained the solders to the extremes and they became magnificent fighters. He had the power to do whatever he wanted and he used his army to gain it. Hi no nonsence attitude made the public feel scared but they supported him and the Bolsheviks. Leon Trotsky was a ruthless leader but made the Bolsheviks into a massive force.
