The White’s military weaknesses had also helped to contribute to the success of the Bolsheviks. Several White leasers had treated their soldiers with contempt. This led to a high rate of desertation in the White army, and low levels of morale and furthermore contributed to the downfall of the Whites in the Civil War. The Whites generals were also disunited as they were suspicious of each other’s motives and so made it harder for them to communicate amongst each other to come up with clear tactics. The Whites also often operated as individual armies, which made it easier for the Bolsheviks who were able to overcome them with their coordinated army.
The Bolshevik’s propaganda coup further assisted the Bolsheviks victory. The Bolsheviks presented themselves as defenders of Russian soil against the foreign forces and therefore gained a lot of support from the Russian people when Britain, France and the USA intervened in the Civil War. The foreign intervention had raised the support for the Reds as the peasants were against fighting for the countries that wanted to bring Russia back into WW1, and so supported the Bolsheviks. This added to the strong Red Army as their increased support and morale within their troops had in turn brought more resources such as food and weapons.
The White’s weaknesses are further highlighted through the geographical distances between their army. The Reds, who occupied the central regions of Russia, were easily able to overpower the dispersed Whites. The Bolsheviks held the central areas, including Moscow and Petrograd and were in control of the railway network making it easier to transport men and munitions to the battlefronts. The central areas were much more heavily populated than the White-held areas and so the Bolsheviks were able to build up a very strong army, largely outnumbering their opponents.
Trotsky’s leadership was undoubtedly a crucial factor that enabled the Bolsheviks to win the Civil War. However, it was not the only factor that explains the success of the Reds. The geographical positioning of the Reds gave them a huge advantage as they were surrounding the Whites, they were able to close in on them and used their strong forces to their advantage. Furthermore, the unpopularity of the foreign powers and the surrounding regions of Russia weren’t heavily populated, the Bolsheviks were able to overpower the Whites who were particularly vulnerable and unorganized, and also lacked the strong leadership that Trotsky provided to the Reds. The White’s military weaknesses also played a fundamental part in the Red’s success, as their disorganisation and lack of discipline was arguably the most important factor. This had allowed Trotsky to lead his army into success as they strongly outnumbered their opponents and displayed professionalism and organisation. This had also led to the White’s inability to communicate with one another due to the lack of trust between the generals. Had the White’s army not been so weak, they would have been able to use the support from the foreign powers to their advantage and to rally up support and build up a stronger army to overpower the Reds. Consequently, the White’s army had been so weak, that the Bolsheviks were easily able to overcome the little threat they opposed.
