Russia's+Civil+War+(1918-1921)

Why did the Communists (Reds) win the Russian Civil War? 1. The Whites lacked political unity or unified leadership They were weakened by the fact that they had diverse aims; some wanted to restore the tsar, others to set up a moderate republic or a military dictatorship. The murder of the royal family at Ekaterinburg in July 1918 removed the possibility that the Whites might rally around them. 2 .  **  The Whites never co-ordinated their attacks  ** The White commanders, their forces spread out over thousands of miles, failed to link up, the nearer to Moscow they got, the more strained their lines of communication became. 3. The Communists were more united and had better leadership In contrast to the Whites, the Communist Party was united behind Lenin and had a shared ideology (Marxism). Lenin and Trotsky were very effective leaders; they were ruthless and pragmatic. Lenin was able to push through controversial yet necessary policies such as reintroducing one-man management into the factories and employing ex-tsarist officers in the Red Army. 4. The Communists controlled a more coherent and compact area The Communists were defending a central region well served by railways and their lines of communication were much shorter than those of the Whites. The Reds controlled the great industrial centres of Moscow and Petrograd. 5 .  **  Trotsky, as War Commissar, formed the Red Army and made it into a  **disciplined force .