Russian Civil War

November 7, 1917 – June 16, 1923

Multi-party conflict in the former Russian Empire from 1917 to 1922, sparked by the Bolsheviks' overthrow of the Provisional Government in the October Revolution. The two largest combatants were the Red Army under Vladimir Lenin and the anti-Bolshevik White forces, along with nationalist and peasant movements; the Bolshevik victory led to the creation of the Soviet Union in 1922.

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Battles 5

July 1, 1918 – January 1, 1920
Battle of Tsaritsyn Joseph Stalin, Semyon Budyonny, Anton Denikin
August 12–25, 1920
Battle of Warsaw (1920) Mikhail Tukhachevsky, Józef Piłsudski
August 19, 1920
Tambov Rebellion Mikhail Tukhachevsky
November 7–17, 1920
Siege of Perekop (1920) Mikhail Frunze, Semyon Budyonny, Pyotr Wrangel
March 1–18, 1921
Kronstadt rebellion Mikhail Tukhachevsky, Leon Trotsky

Battle sites 10

Key commanders

Reds 9

Yakov Sverdlov Chairman of the VTsIK, Soviet head of state; organized the party and state apparatus, 1917-1919 · 1885–1919 Felix Dzerzhinsky Chairman of the Cheka, Directed the Red Terror and the suppression of counter-revolution · 1877–1926 Mikhail Tukhachevsky Red Army commander, Commanded the 5th Army in the recapture of Siberia from Kolchak · 1893–1937 Semyon Budyonny Commander of the 1st Cavalry Army, Led the Red cavalry against Denikin and Wrangel · 1883–1973 Mikhail Frunze Red Army commander, Defeated Kolchak on the Eastern Front and Wrangel in Crimea · 1885–1925 Joseph Stalin Political commissar, Lenin's plenipotentiary in South Russia; clashed with Trotsky over the use of former tsarist officers · 1878–1953 Nestor Makhno Otaman of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine, Makhnovist units fought alongside the Reds against Wrangel under the October 1920 Starobilsk agreement · 1888–1934 Leon Trotsky People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, Ordered the suppression and directed operations · 1879–1940 Vladimir Lenin Leader of the Bolsheviks, Head of the Soviet government; directed the Red war effort · 1870–1924

Whites 5

Lavr Kornilov Commander of the Volunteer Army, Co-founded the Volunteer Army; killed at Ekaterinodar, April 1918 · 1870–1918 Anton Denikin Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of South Russia, Led the 1919 advance on Moscow · 1872–1947 Alexander Kolchak Supreme Ruler of Russia, Headed the White government at Omsk, November 1918 - January 1920 · 1874–1920 Pyotr Wrangel Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, Last White commander in South Russia; evacuated Crimea in November 1920 · 1878–1928 Nikolai Yudenich Commander of the Northwestern Army, Led the October 1919 offensive on Petrograd · 1862–1933

Other 6

Rodion Malinovsky · 1898–1967 Semyon Timoshenko · 1895–1970 Kliment Voroshilov · 1881–1969 Józef Piłsudski · 1867–1935 Hideki Tojo · 1884–1948 Nestor Makhno Otaman of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine, Anarchist leader; allied with the Reds against the Whites at times and fought the Reds at others · 1888–1934