Not only did the Bolsheviks control people in the cities but to some extent, also in the countryside – The Red army’s control over the Peasants was a major factor that helped them win the Civil War. One way in which the Bolsheviks gained control was by their policy of ‘War communism’. This required peasants to give up their food which was sent to the red army. Army squads also forced peasants to join the army as well. Although this produced mass opposition towards the Bolsheviks amongst the countryside, the Bolsheviks got what they wanted, - food and more troops to defeat the opposing forces. Therefore the Bolsheviks ruthlessness and control over the people were the reason as to why the communists succeeded.
However, the Bolshevik’s control over more people and their access to more weapons were not the only factors as to why they won the Civil war. Another major contributing factor was the failure of the Whites to mobilise and sustain mass support. Although the Bolsheviks had mass opposition, the Whites didn’t use this to their advantage especially within the peasantry. Instead, they went to the other extreme whereby they tried to take away their rights and used brutality against them. As a result no support was given to the White army from the peasants – something they needed to get over the military strength of the communists. The whites also didn’t gain any support from the different nationalities that were within the Russian empire wanting independence.
The Whites could have gained support by granting them independence; however they didn’t have any intention in doing this at all. So, although it didn’t stop the nationalities from fighting the Bolsheviks, it did prevent them from being one united force against the Communists and resulted in different forces fighting with different loyalties. Therefore, a major that lead to Bolshevik victory was Whites inability to gain mass support and not so much Bolshevik control over more people and access to more weapons.
Not only were there different ideologies between the nationalities and the Whites but also within the white army itself. The White army was disunited with many different groups within it fighting the Bolsheviks for different reasons. These included, Tsarists, Social Revolutionaries and liberals. This lack of unity made it difficult to gain any support of ordinary Russians as the different loyalties were very different. For example, some wanted the Tsar back (monarchists) while others wanted to see the return of the Provisional Government. In contrast, the red army were united in a common cause in which they had shared interests. The outcome was that the Red army was devoted, all aiming for one purpose making the Bolsheviks as a whole more likely to gain support and win the Civil War. Therefore, ideological factors major reasons as to why the red army won and not so much the ‘objective’ ones.
The red army was not only devoted because of their shared loyalties but also because of their harsh, disciplined leadership particularly at the battle fronts by Trotsky. He provided an effective leader who understood the sort of fighting that was needed in the Civil War. He was able to inspire the Reds and was able to persuade Lenin to stay when he was planning to run away. As a result of Trotsky the red army managed to stick together and put forward a united front. Trotsky was also the main cause of enthusiasm amongst the troops with the red army. For example, he used ‘Commissars’, which were soviet officials that were attached to the red army. They made sure that the troops understood what they were fighting for. – If the troops were unenthusiastic, they were shot. Therefore the red army was constantly filled with good morale that was essential in gaining victory in the Civil War.
Trotsky also used propaganda throughout his leadership in which he kept pointing out that the reds were defenders of the revolution in 1917 through political speeches. This was successful as the 1917 revolution was supported and encouraged by the majority of the Russian population. Trotsky as a result gained more support which kept the momentum going within the Red army. Due to this, it was great leadership from Leon Trotsky and devotion of the Bolsheviks that determined their victory. Therefore, the Bolshevik’s control over more people and access over more weapons were only minor reasons as to why the communists saw victory at the end of the civil war.
Although the Bolshevik’s control over more people and access to more were factors that did contribute to communist victory, there are other factors that overshadow these. For example, the disunity and general mistakes within the White army contributed greatly towards Bolshevik success. However, the most important factor was the leadership of the red army mainly from Leon Trotsky. Without Trotsky, the army would be less devoted and enthusiastic. He made good use of propaganda to gain more support and terror that got the troops in order through the policies like ‘war communism’ and the use of ‘Commissars’. It was Trotsky that enabled the red army to crush the White army and grant communist victory.
