Red Army This is how the Soviet army became popularly known, the largest army that ever existed. It was created by the Bolsheviks at the beginning of the Russian Civil War with the main objective of fighting the armies of the Whites, groups opposed to the Bolsheviks.
In 1941, the Red Army entered World War II after the territory of the Soviet Union was invaded by German troops. After losing several battles, the Red Army won the Battle of Stalingrad, considered one of the most important of the war. After the victory, he began the advance on the territory occupied by the Reich, which was only ended with victory, in 1945, when Berlin was taken from the Germans.
During the Cold War, the Red Army was one of the most important institutions in the Soviet Union, receiving a large part of the country's resources. In 1991, with the end of the USSR, it was extinguished.
Read too: Russian Revolution — details about the context of the emergence of the Red Army
Topics in this article
- 1 - Summary about the Red Army
- 2 - What was the Red Army?
- 3 - What is the origin of the Red Army?
- 4 - Red Army and White Army
- 5 - What are the functions of the Red Army?
- 6 - Red Army in World War II
- 7 - Leader of the Red Army
- 8 - Solved exercises on the Red Army
Summary about the Red Army
Red Army is what the army of the Soviet Union was known as, created in early 1918.
In his early years, he faced several groups opposed to the Bolshevik government, known as whites.
With Stalinism, army command began to be centralized in the figure of the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, a position held by Stalin until his death.
It was fundamental to the Allied victory in World War II.
During World War II, it became the largest army in history, with more than 14 million fighters.
In 1989, he was defeated in Afghanistan, an indication of the crisis the Soviet Union was going through.
Its high cost is considered one of the main reasons for the Soviet collapse in 1991.
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What was the Red Army?
Red Army It's like the ancient army of Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) became popularly known. After the Second World War, it became the largest on the planet, threatening American military sovereignty. In 1949, it began to have nuclear weapons in its arsenal, and, for many historians, this was the starting point of the Cold War.
What is the origin of the Red Army?
After the October Revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks ruled Russia, facing strong opposition from royalists, Cossacks, nobles, peasants and part of the former tsarist navy and army. Several of these groups armed themselves, began to fight the Bolsheviks and control some regions of the country. In January 1918, the Bolshevik government created the Army of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to combat these groups, which came to be known as whites.
In 1922 it was officially called the Army of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and, in 1946, the Soviet Army, becoming popular as the Red Army.. Anyone over 18 could enlist in the newly created army, but the candidate had to be approved by a committee formed by members of the Communist Party, thus guaranteeing the army's ideological alignment with the principles of the revolution Bolshevik.
Red Army and the White Army
Russia faced great difficulties in First World War (1914-1917), which caused a serious economic and political crisis. The tsar's authority came to be criticized by several political groups, mainly by the Bolsheviks, the most radical wing of the Communist Party of Russia.
In February 1917, a revolution occurred in Russia, known as the February Revolution of 1917, which brought the Mensheviks and sectors of the Russian bourgeoisie to power. The Russian Parliament, known as the Duma, began to govern the country in place of the tsar. During this government, the country remained in the world war and the economic crisis worsened. In October 1917, a new revolution occurred in Russia, known as the October Revolution of 1917, this time led by the Bolsheviks, who defended the implementation of the workers' dictatorship in Russia and socialism.
Soon after the October Revolution, several armed groups began to fight against the Bolsheviks, starting the Russian Civil War. The various groups opposing the Bolsheviks came to be called whites, or members of the White Army, although the White Army, in fact, never existed..
In March 1918, the Bolsheviks signed a peace treaty with Germany called the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Because of him, Russia left the First World War and handed over part of its former territory to the Germans. From that moment on, several Western nations and Japan began to support the whites, with the aim of making Russia return to the conflict.
After Germany's surrender, several countries began to support the whites, including Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Japan, among several other nations. These countries wanted to avoid the success of the October Revolution, as they believed it could stimulate new revolutions around the world.
In 1921, the last great armies of the Whites were defeated by the Red Army, the Bolshevik army, created in January 1918, thus ending the Russian Civil War (1918-1921). The number of deaths in the war generates debate among historians, but varies between six and 10 million people. Many members of the Whites, after the defeat, fled Russia in fear of reprisals. Around 200 of them came to live in Brazil, disembarking at the Port of Santos after leaving Crimea.
See too: Vladimir Lenin — the first Russian ruler after the October Revolution of 1917
What are the functions of the Red Army?
The Red Army He had a variety of roles over his many years of existence. In this sense, its first function was ensure the success of the October Revolution, defeating opposition groups.
It also had the role of secure possession of much of Slavic-majority Eastern Europe for the Soviet Union. In Ukraine, several groups tried to achieve independence from Russia, but were defeated, and, from 1922, Ukraine became part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Soviet Russia even tried to occupy Poland and bring socialism to Central Europe. The invasion gave rise to the Polish-Soviet War, which took place between 1919 and 1921. The conflict ended with Poland's victory, putting an end to Soviet expansion in Central Europe.
After the end of the Russian Civil War and the beginning of the Josef Stalin (1878-1953), the Soviet Union began a moment of isolationism. From 1922 onwards, the Red Army was reduced to approximately 800 thousand soldiers and began to have as its main function ensure control of the population of the Soviet Union.
In 1929 the Soviet Union went to war with China over border issues and control of the Chinese Eastern Railway. The brief conflict ended in victory for the Red Army.
In 1939, after the Non-Aggression Treaty signed between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, the Red Army invaded Poland together with Germany, taking control of the eastern part of it. About three months later, he advanced into the territory of Finland, encountering fierce resistance from the population of that country. In March 1940, the two countries signed a treaty in which Finland handed over part of its territory to the Soviets.
In 1941, Operation Barbarossa began, in which Germany broke the pact made with the Soviet Union and invaded its territory. After the end of Second World War (1939-1945), began to Cold War (1946-1981), political and ideological conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States. During this period, the Red Army had great importance, having the functions of defending the Soviet Union; guarantee territorial unity; and guarantee Soviet influence in several regions of the planet.
The last external conflict in which the Red Army participated was the 1979 Afghanistan War. To guarantee Soviet influence in the country, troops were sent to Afghanistan to face Muslim troops, supported by the United States. In 1989, Soviet troops left the country, being defeated in the conflict. Afghanistan is considered the “Vietnam of the Soviet Union”. The defeat in the war showed the world that the USSR was going through a serious crisis.
In 1991, with the end of the Soviet Union, the Red Army was disbanded. Ironically, he is considered one of the reasons that led the Soviet Union to the serious crisis that caused its end. Around 20% of the country's GDP, at the end of the 1980s, was allocated to the army, which compromised the Soviet State's ability to invest.
Red Army in World War II
In the late 1930s, On the eve of World War II, Stalin carried out the so-called Great Purge, in which people who did not align with Stalinism were sent to the gulags or murdered. It is estimated that approximately one million people were killed during the Great Purge. More than 30,000 members of the Red Army were murdered during this period and tens of thousands more were arrested. Many of those purged were Red Army officers, including generals and admirals..
In June 1941, when German troops began their attack on the Soviet Union, Stalin called on the people to participate in what he called the Great Patriotic War. At the beginning of the attack, the Germans had an advantage over the Red Army, mainly because of the inexperience of some of the generals, who took up their posts after the purges. Upon being informed about this, Stalin freed most of the imprisoned members of the Red Army, reinstating them to their old posts.
The German advance into Soviet territory ended in 1942, when troops were stopped in the vicinity of Stalingrad, starting the battle that was named after the city. About a million people died in it. In February 1943, around 300,000 Germans surrendered to the Red Army, this was the first major defeat of the German army since the start of the war in 1939.
The victory in Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943) It is considered the greatest feat of the Red Army. It marked an important change in the war, ending the German advance and beginning the continued advance of the Reds into Nazi territories. The Soviet advance only ended in 1945, when Berlin was conquered, and Germany surrendered.
During the conflict, the United States sent around 400,000 jeeps and trucks to the Soviet Union, around seven thousand tanks, 14 thousand planes, among various other equipment, as well as ammunition and millions of tons of foods. Historians generally argue that World War II was won because of the industrial production of Americans and Red Army soldiers..
During this global conflict, more than 34 million people fought for the Red Army, and around 10 million of them died in combat. Approximately 75% of German casualties in the war were caused by Soviet troops on the Eastern Front.
Red Army Leader
As it was an army that existed for decades, its form of leadership varied over the years. When it was created, enlistment was voluntary and officers were elected through the vote of all soldiers in the battalion. However, a Bolshevik decree in 1918 determined mandatory conscription for all men aged between 18 and 40. Elections for officer positions were also suspended in 1918.
Over time, control of the Red Army began to center on the figure of Stalin, who governed the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death in 1953. After his death, the centralized system of army command in the figure of the general secretary continued until the end of the USSR in 1991.
Solved exercises about the Red Army
Question 1
Read the propositions below related to the Red Army.
I. Despite numerical superiority, the Red Army was defeated by the Nazis in 1943, in the Battle of Stalingrad.
II. It was created in the context of the Russian Civil War to combat troops against the Bolshevik government, known as whites.
III. The command of the Red Army was always decentralized, with soldiers having considerable autonomy and the right to elect their superiors through voting. This system gained strength during Stalinism.
Which propositions are correct?
A) Only I
B) Only II
C) I and II
D) I and III
E) II and III
Resolution:
Alternative B
It was in the context of the civil war that the Red Army was created, with the aim of guaranteeing the victory of the 1917 Revolution. He won the Battle of Stalingrad, and his command was only decentralized in its first months of existence, soon moving to centralism in the figure of Stalin.
Question 2
(Mackenzie) The battle that took place in Stalingrad, during World War II, marked:
A) the consolidation of German positions in Russia, resulting from the rapid expansion of the Axis powers (Italy-Germany-Japan).
B) the neutralization of Stalin's army, forcing him to sign the German-Soviet Pact of non-aggression and neutrality.
C) the reversal of the military situation of World War II, beginning the Nazi retreat in Eastern Europe and the decline of the Third Reich.
D) the victory of the Blitzkrieg (lightning war), which consisted of massive attacks using armored cars, planes and ships.
E) the Allied landing on the beaches of Normandy — D-Day, which contained the German offensive, destroying for the first time the myth of the Wehrmacht's invincibility.
Resolution:
Alternative C
The Battle of Stalingrad, won by the Soviets, marked the end of the advance of the Third Reich. After the clash, the Soviets began advancing on the Axis troops. This advance only ended when Germany surrendered, after losing its capital, Berlin.
Image credit
[1]Oleg Dimitrov/Shutterstock
Sources
HOBSBAWM, Erick. Age of extremes. Companhia das Letras, São Paulo, 2015.
MARIE, Jean-Jacques. History of the Russian Civil War: 1917-1921. Editora Contexto, São Paulo, 2017.
REIS, Daniel Aarão. The revolution that changed the world. Companhia das Letras, São Paulo, 2017.
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
JUNIOR, Jair Messias Ferreira. "Red Army"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/exercito-vermelho.htm. Accessed on October 9, 2023.
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