The Whites fought on one long front with limited co-operation between forces. They were well supplied with Tsarist officers but found it hard to recruit conscripts, particularly as the peasants thought their land would be taken again if the Whites got into power. The Whites had support from Russia’s allies in the War. Britain, France, the USA, and Japan all sent soldiers, arms and money to the Whites. However the support given was little and made no real impact on the outcome of the war. This support also dried up after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. One effect of allied intervention was to make the Bolsheviks look like good patriots against foreign interference.
In contrast the Red Army had Trotsky as their leader, along with a cohesive base in his train. He organised the recruiting of 50000 ex-Tsarist officers, and ensured their loyalty by pairing them with political commissars and threatening their families. He introduced strict discipline, with the death penalty for desertion. His unflagging spirit kept morale high at a time when other Bolshevik leaders were unconvinced about their chances of winning, coupled with frequent visits to the fronts in order to galvanise the troops. He also ensured that the Red Army was kept well fed and equipped. Unlike the White Armies the Red Army had one aim- to survive the Civil War and come out victorious. The Reds had greater ease of communication since they had control of Petrograd and Moscow, from which the railway network radiated.
The economy was geared for war by War communism. This was seen as a harsh measure, as it ignored the human issues- many peasants starved, but was successful since the Red Army and workers were fed. Nationalisation of the industries and farms let grain and goods be requisitioned for the use of the Red Army or the industry in towns. Seeing as the Bolsheviks could have total control of their industry and that the Whites had no hope of this, their winning on this point was inevitable.
Overall the Bolsheviks had more coherent military tactics, highly effective organisation and better still they had the support of the people since they were the best guarantors of the peoples hopes as promised at the time of the revolution.
The lack of unity and co-operation between the different White Generals led to a weakness that was apparent from the beginning of the war. Although the Whites were supplied with help from the Allies this help was insufficient to make a major impact on the war, and was removed early on.
Trotsky was the organisational driving force behind the entire Red Army something the Whites lacked. He also provided a cohesive base again something that the Whites did not have. Further to this the Whites lacked control the ability to control industry and agriculture in the areas that they had control of, whereas the Reds could not only implement such policies, they could also enforce them. Finally the Reds had the common support of the majority of the people, along with being seen as less of a threat to their position than the various White groups were.
From all of these reasons it can be deduced that not only were the Reds better prepared and better able to deal with a war, but also that it was inevitable that the Whites would lose.
