Russian Civil War

The Russian Civil war engulfed the Russian Empire following the revolutions of 1917 and before the armistice that ended the Great War. The two largest and most well known factions were the White Army, a coalition of Nationalists and Czarists, and the Red Army, a coalition of communist groups, particularly the Soviets. There was also a Black Army composed of Ukrainian anarcho-communists, and a Green Army. The Green Army was a non-aligned, non-ideological group that opposed all parties and sought primarily to protect the peasantry from the other Armies.

First Phase
For the first three years of the war, none of the respective armies were well organized or had an efficient or unified command structure. The White Army had a few experienced military commanders, but were plagued by disunity and lack of common goals. The Red Army had some capable commanders but their command structure was initially hampered, and even crippled by their communist ideology. Many saw the distinction between Officers and Enlisted soldiers as simply another class system that should be turned on it's head.

Leon Trotsky would prove instrumental in turning the Red Army into a capable fighting force with a viable command structure. He recognized that military necessity and practicality must supersede the ideological foibles of the purists. Ironically, Trotsky would be forced to flee the Red Army shortly after he whipped it into shape.

In 1920 Lenin, whose health had been declining precipitously, died. There were several theories regarding the cause, ranging from syphilis, to suicide, to poisoning. Stalin had positioned himself well and took up the reigns of the Soviets and the Red Army. Trotsky fled to France rather than remain and face inevitable assassination at the hands of Stalin's agents.

In 1918 the White Army had four major factions. The eastern army lead by Alexander Kolchak, the Army of the Don lead by Alexey Kaledin, the southern / Crimean army lead by Anton Denikin, and Nikolai Yudenich leading an army in the north west. White Army offensives during 1919 met with some initial success but ultimately proved failures. By 1920, Yudenich and the north western army had been defeated and disbanded, Anton Denikin had been forced to resign after his failed offensives in 1919 and was replaced by Pyotr Wrangel.

The Red Army was had made significant advances against the southern White Army while Denikin remained in command. They continued to press hard when Pyotr Wrangel took over command, but Lenin's sudden death and the resulting turmoil in the Red Army high command gave Wrangel the breathing room he needed. Upon taking command Wrangel immediately reversed Denikin's antagonistic policies towards the Ukrainians, Belarussians, and Jewish populations. This helped to shore up the flagging diplomatic support of the Allied Powers, particularly the British and Americans. It also relieved pressure due to attacks by the Black Army.

Second Phase
By 1920 the Red Army was a well organized and determined fighting force. Stalin, however, was still insecure in his takeover and as a result turmoil and uncertainty continued in the Red Army leadership into 1921. After the White Army offensives of 1919 and the Red Army counter attacks, both sides spent much of 1920 consolidating.

Pyotr Wrangel was able to orchestrate a merger of the Army of the Don with his Crimean Army creating a unified southern force. The major task that remained was to break through and link up with Kolchak's Siberian army.

Kolchak's forces had pushed hard into the north eastern Red territories, but ultimately had been forced back. Kolchak himself had been an Admiral and though he was a popular figure and well respected, he was not gifted as a general or a political Administrator. Kolchak was particularly well liked by the western allies who were so necessary to the White Army cause.

In late 1921 Pyotr Wrangel was able to break through Red Army lines in the south Urals and Caucuses and link up with Kolchak. The two were able to come to an agreement under which Kolchak would serve as Head of State for a restored Imperial Russia while Wrangel would take over day to day administrative control.

During the period from 1921 to 1923, the Red Army steadily pressured the now united White Army in the south. During this same period, the Ukraine descended further into Chaos as Black and Green Army forces regularly clashed, along with Ukrainian nationalist militias. Through out this period the White Army had little activity in Ukraine as they were focusing their efforts on opposing Red Army advances in the Caucuses and the Don region. The Red Army sought to take advantage of the absence of the White army and seize the Ukraine as well as Polish territory, both agriculturally rich.

This would prove to be a misstep for the Red Army as it galvanized both Black and Green army forces against them, as well as sparking off a war with the newly formed Republic of Poland in 1923.

The Red Army suffered defeat in Poland and their offensive in Ukraine proved to be pyrrhic and short-lived victory. From 1923 until 1925 the Red Army slowly lost the gains they had made and by 1925 the war had settled into a stagnant stalemate with neither side able to make significant gains.

Third Phase
In 1925 and 1926 the Red Army and White Army each launched costly campaigns that ultimately failed to achieve any lasting results. The frontlines passed back and forth multiple times over the same regions, reducing towns and cities to rubble, and laying waste to the countryside.

From 1927 to 1929 the fighting gradually began to die down as hope of lasting victory began to fade on both sides, and neither side could sustain the cost of continued war. Both the Red Army and White Army risked complete collapse and general uprising if the war continued on much longer. As a result a cease-fire agreement was signed between the Red Army and the White Army. This defacto established two Russian states, Soviet Russia and Imperial Russia, though technically each refuses to officially recognize the other as a legitimate state.