The Red Army

   The Red Army was the military machine of the Soviet Union and the Bolshevik Party. Created by Leon Trotsky from scratch in 1918 to combat the White armies, the Red's fought to defend the revolution. Initially the Red Army was formed entirely of volunteers. However, due to the support from western nations such as Britain, France and the United States for the White armies, conscription was adopted. During the Russian Civil War, the Red Army fought and eventually defeated the coalition of the White armies and the western powers over a three year period. The White armies that were defeated were made up of generals hoping to restore the monarchy and their own positions of power. These armies were not well coordinated and contributed much to their downfall. The Bolshevik Party consolidated power and the Russian revolution was won. Built within the structure of this fighting force was a cadre of political officers that enforced the party line, monitored morale, and reported back to the party on the conduct of officers. Included within the revolution itself was representation in the form of Soviets, or councils, of workers, peasant and soldiers. Officers could be heavily scrutinized and their conduct was always liable to be in question in the defense of those who the party was supposed to represent, the common soldier. These political officers could even question officers openly on the basis of party ideology. Throughout the entirety of the Great Patriotic War, Stalin used these political commissars to ruthless effect. Even the slightest suggestion of defeatism could result in execution. Special units were deployed behind the front line to forbid any soldiers from retreating. Anyone retreating would be machine-gunned by these squads. Before the war even started, tens of thousands of army officers including several of the highest generals were purged, executed for accusations of treason or sabotage or other various other false charges. After the war, the alliance the Soviets enjoyed with the west against Hitler's Nazi Germany broke down. The Cold War had begun. Throughout the decades of Soviet Russia, communist soldiers took part in proxy wars in countries like Korea and  larger scale involvement in nations like Afghanistan. During the Korean war, it became common knowledge among pilots of the United Nations, mainly American, that Soviet MIG's were being piloted by Russians along the Yalu River border between China and North Korea. This area became known as MIG alley and was not solely patrolled by Chinese and North Korean pilots. The Red Army's goal in Afghanistan was to support a communist party within the country. Casualties began to mount and the Red Army was ultimately unsuccessful, having to leave the country without victory. Over the course of communist power in Russia, the Red Army did what it was created to do. It challenged other powerful nations and capitalism from Eastern Europe to Far East Asia. The Red Army was the vanguard of the communist revolution from 1918 until the fall of communism in the early 1990's.




Sources

"Of Russian Origin: Red Army." Russiapedia. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

Simkin, John. "The Red Army." Spartacus Educational. 1 Sept. 1991. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.

Wilde, Robert. "The Russian Civil War." About.com. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.