Where Did the Red Army Come From?

Red Army Soldiers Firing a Salute

The disintegration of the Imperial Army opened the way for the Bolshevik takeover of power.  Soldiers refusing to recognise the authority of their officers had deserted, mutinied, and formed committees to demand radical reforms and an end to the war. After the February Revolution in 1917, the officers blamed the Provisional Government for this collapse and did not intervene when Vladimir Lenin's (1870–1924) Bolsheviks overthrew it in October 1917. Many soldiers had reason to believe that the Bolsheviks would support their calls for demobilisation. However, the new government soon found itself facing internal and external threats for which it required an armed force to defend itself.

The Bolsheviks distrusted regular standing armies, which they associated with the social privilege and repression of the old regime. As socialists, they preferred a citizens’ militia made up of class-conscious proletarians. Therefore, in January 1918, the Bolsheviks first sought to build a voluntary army using the Red Guards—the politicized units of armed workers—as a core. Recruitment was to be based on political loyalty and social class.  However, only 20,000 volunteers answered the call up instead of the 300,000 hoped for. When hostilities with Germany resumed following the breakdown of the Brest-Litovsk peace talks, the new force was defeated at Narva in February 1918, forcing the Soviet government to sign a humiliating peace treaty.

Trotsky

Following this failure, Leon Trotsky (1879–1940), the newly appointed commissar for war, oversaw a series of measures to create a regular army in the spring of 1918. These efforts continued following the outbreak of the civil war. Trotsky’s leadership during the civil war secured a Bolshevik victory and contributed to the successful consolidation of the communist government within Russia. As domestic and international counter-revolutionary forces began to unite against the Bolshevik government, newly appointed Commissar of War Trotsky transformed the peoples militia into the indomitable Red Army. Ignoring the heavy criticism of fellow party members, Trotsky implemented a series of military measures typical of the former tsarist regime. His reintroduction of ranks and abolishment of soldiers committees restored a strict hierarchical structure within the army and ensured the maintenance of Red discipline necessary to achieve Bolshevik victory. 

Recognizing that he lacked the tactical skills necessary to command the Reds, Trotsky recommissioned former tsarist officers to train his new army into a formidable fighting force. He ensured the loyalty of these troops by attaching political commissars to each army unit and reinstating heavy penalties for soldier desertion. Thus, the Red Army’s devotion to the Bolshevik cause can be attributed to the centralized and committed leadership of Trotsky. Within his propaganda train, Trotsky would travel from front to front providing supplies to the Red Army and boosting soldier morale with his inspirational oratory, making him a "symbol of victory and unifying factor at the fronts." The dedication and energy of Trotsky within his role as commissar of war ensured the Red Army victory over the Whites and the successful continuation of Bolshevik rule within Russia.

The Red Army Disarms a Contingent of the Czeck Legion

The debate over the regular army also influenced measures to ensure party control over the army and raise the revolutionary consciousness of its rank and file. The position of commissar was introduced to ensure the political loyalty of commanders (in particular, of military specialists) and to strengthen their authority over the troops. Orders from commanders required the countersignature of a commissar. The Bolsheviks mobilized Communist party members into the army to bolster its resolve. They created special forces units (chony), largely autonomous elite units of local party workers that often operated alongside secret police (Cheka) troops. A Political Administration of the Red Army (PUR) was founded to supervise the commissars and coordinate the party work in the army.

The move toward a mass army in 1919 created enormous supply problems. In a vicious circle, the lack of supplies led to large-scale desertion and the need for further conscription, which in turn further strained supplies. Punitive measures alone proved ineffective. The Bolsheviks employed amnesties and introduced welfare support for the families of Red Army men to tackle the problem. There was particular suspicion towards the former Tsarist officers like Alexei Brusilov. These deserted no more often than did other Red commanders. However, the impact of their disloyalty was often great as they included graduates of the General Staff Academy in important positions. Some even managed to set up secret organisations within the Red Army to help the Whites.

Artillerymen of the New Red Army, 1918

Despite these difficulties, the Bolsheviks forged the Red Army into a tool capable of maintaining its power in Russia and keeping most of the former Empire’s territory under its control. At its height in October 1920, it was, on paper, 5.5 million strong, although only about 700,000 of these were active fighters. Certainly, the failings of its opponents, who, indeed, faced many of the same problems, helped it triumph. However, the creation of the Red Army also demonstrated the Bolsheviks’ superior state-building abilities. Combatting desertion, for example, required the establishment of a documentary regime to determine who had been called up. The support given to the families of Red Army men redefined the relationship between the soldier and the state, transforming military service into a contract between the two.

Thus, the creation of the Red Army in the midst of the Civil War had far-reaching consequences for the emergent Soviet state. It also had fateful repercussions for the ruling party and the army itself, militarising the former and subjecting the latter to extensive party control. In the party, military service became a central marker of political loyalty, a wartime ethos of sacrifice and obedience emerged, and even the language of politics acquired a distinctively military tone.

Source: Christopher Gilley, University of Hamburg in 1914-1918 Online; Tsfx.com.au