“The Bolsheviks won the civil war due to the mistakes of their opponents”. This statement is true to a certain extent. The leaders of the white forces like Kolchak, Denikin, Wrangel and Yudenich couldn’t often agree. This left the white’s very disorganised and unprepared which meant that they weren’t ready to attempt to overthrow the Bolshevik’s. the white leaders were also often drunk. This meant that they were setting a bad example to their troops. This also gave the Bolshevik’s an advantage over their rivals as this made it easier for them to defeat the whites.
The whites were made up of different political groups who all had different aims and intentions. This created tension in the white camp and also led to the whites becoming disunited. They were a coalition of different enemies of the Bolsheviks who all hated each other. They were disunited and their armies were thousands of miles apart. Generals Yudenich and Denikin attacked Russia from the west whereas Admiral Kolchak attacked from the east. This led to a lack of leadership in the camp as well as a lack of trust amongst different groups. This meant that Trotsky could co-ordinate his forces much better, and fight his enemies one at a time without having to deal with all of them at once.
The whites also received support from Britain, France and USA who sent troops and money to help out. This created even more disunity and tension as these countries came in with their own aims and intentions. After 1918 foreign intervention became half hearted. This left the whites significantly weaker without the much needed foreign support.
The whites were in a poor geographical area. The whites were scattered around the edges of the Bolshevik area which was Moscow and Petrograd. With the whites being spread around Russia they were separated by long distances. This led to the white’s lack of effective communication and transport links. This meant that the white army forces had to largely fight independently of one another. This gave the Bolshevik’s an advantage as the whites couldn’t get the supplies that they needed like food and weapons which left them weak in places. This also meant that the whites found it hard to communicate with each other about co-ordinating the attacks of different white armies.
The whites lacked support. The whites lost crucial peasant support by making it clear that land would be restored to its former owners. The whites also requisitioned grain and mistreated the peasants. This meant that they Bolshevik’s gained support from this.
“The Bolsheviks won the civil war due to the mistakes of their opponents”. This statement isn’t true to a certain extent. The Bolshevik’s won the civil due their own efforts. The Bolshevik’s introduced War Communism. The Bolsheviks nationalised the factories, and introduced military discipline. Strikes were made illegal. They introduced rationing and forced the peasants to give food to the government. This put the whole nation on a war alert, and gave the Bolshevik armies the supplies that they needed.
The Bolshevik’s had what they needed to win the war. The British, French and American armies were fighting thousands of miles from home, at the end of a long supply line. The Bolsheviks had control of the main cities of Moscow and Petrograd with their factories, control of the railways, an army of 50,000 men with very strict army discipline and controlled the lines of communication. This gave them the advantage in the war over the whites.
The Bolshevik’s were well organised and had an inspirational leader in Leon Trotsky. “Lenin the architect, Trotsky the engineer”. The role of Trotsky helped the Bolshevik’s in their success in the civil war. Trotsky was appointed commissar for war in 1919. He organised the red army. He ensured that the red army was fed and armed. He directed the war on most of the major fronts visiting troops and commanders to galvanise forces. They had one aim which was “to complete the Bolshevik takeover of Russia. This meant that the Bolshevik’s were able to spread their message easier because it was simple. The reds had no foreign support. This kept all the troops together and unity in the camp. The Bolshevik soldiers were enthusiastic. Many were keen Communists fighting for a better world, while others just hated foreigners invading Russia.
The Bolshevik’s used terror to deal with “counter-revolution, sabotage and speculation”. The Bolshevik’s set up the Cheka, which was the secret police. It was used to help out in the civil war against the whites. The Cheka undertook mass arrests and executions, particularly in areas which had been held by the whites. The Cheka murdered more than 7000 Whites. Terror united all the Bolsheviks and made them keen to win the war.
In conclusion the statement “The Bolsheviks won the civil war due to the mistakes of their opponents” is true to a certain extent because the Bolshevik’s won the civil war due to their opponent’s failures and mistakes. But the Bolsheviks also won the civil war due to their own efforts.
