Why were the reds able to win the civil war?

Trotsky’s involvement in the civil war was particularly vital for the red success. His leadership capabilities meant that the army remained motivated, empowered, and allowed them to fight united by a common cause. Trotsky travelled by train to each battlefront in order to inspire his troops and give them the determination to carry on. He also provided them with chocolate on occasion. This demonstrates how Trotsky played a key part because his involvement in the war would have proved to the soldiers, and onlookers, how committed the communists were to the Russian people. It helped win the war as he treated the soldiers with respect, evoking their devotion to both Trotsky and the Bolshevik cause. He also used brutality within the army in order to keep them loyal. He reintroduced corporal punishments and therefore deterred potential deserters from leaving the army. Additionally, the army gradually grew in number until at its peak it reached five million people. Therefore, with a great size and access to the railway systems it was possible for the army to strategically place squadrons in different areas and fight the white armies on two fronts. This is a further example of how Trotsky was a tactician vital to the success of the red army. Without Trotsky, the army would not have been mobilised so effectively and efficaciously. He united the soldiers by giving them hope of a bright future with strong leaders, inspiring them with motivational words, and devoting them to the Bolshevik cause. This unity was in turn exemplified by the law enacted by Lenin: factions were not allowed within the party. Thus, the Bolsheviks had no internal competition and could focus purely on the external opponents. This is why Trotsky and the red army were the main reason for the red success in the civil war. Trotsky concocted a strong army with his knowledge in military tactics and his fierce, motivational leadership. You cannot win a war without a strong army. The whites however, had a very weak army. Despite it being quite large in size, it was split into three sections with three different leaders. This caused factions within the army and meant that they did not fight as one unit but three individual ones. Moreover, the three different leaders Kolchek, Yudenick and Denikin all had different agendas. One wanted the reinstatement of the Royal family and others wanted a more diplomatic democracy based government. Nonetheless, this variation in aims caused a lack of motivation within the white army- with no common cause, they were less like an army and more like a group of rebels who were fighting against the same people. Realistically the only thing that united the armies was the Bolsheviks as they all had a common enemy. Other than that, they were three armies with the same name. This made red success more plausible as the opposing force was divided and unmotivated. White failure was also highlighted by their reliance on foreign aid. One of the strengths of the Bolsheviks was their control over the area between Moscow and Petrograd- the focal point of the majority of train lines. This meant that the reds were well organised and could transport resources easily. However, because the reds had control over the trains, the white army had a very limited recourse supply and no means by which to transport those resources around the country. Thus, when foreign aid was sent to them by Britain and France it was very often intercepted by the red army before it could even reach its intended destination. This meant that the soldiers were not fed properly and had few resources with which to fight, leading to further demotivation and increased desertions. The white army began to deplete. Furthermore, the reds used propaganda to highlight their opponent’s reliance on foreign aid as a negative. They claimed it showed the weakness of the whites and their inability to provide food and weapons for their troops on their own. This helped the reds win the civil war as it demotivated the white soldiers. They had little food, little determination, and poor leadership. Furthermore, when Trotsky and some of his red soldiers murdered the Tsarist royal family many whites who wanted the Tsars reinstated had no aim or direction any longer. Therefore, the weakness of the white army was a significant factor leading to the results of the civil war as it meant that the Bolsheviks had ineffective opposition and could gain power quickly and legitimately- as Lenin had planned. However, it was not as important as the role of Trotsky and the red army because if the red army had not been tactically deployed and managed they would have been thwarted by the white army’s superior size. When Trotsky murdered the Romanovs he also exterminated many of the whites hopes for a return to autocracy and thus their motivation to fight in the army. The actions of the Bolsheviks contributed to the failure of the whites making it the most important factor in winning the war.