Eastern Front of the Russian Civil War

Eastern Front
Part of theRussian Civil War
American soldiersmarching inVladivostokin 1918,Japanese soldiersstand at attention on the left.
Date May 14, 1918–June 16, 1923 Location Volga,Ural,Siberia,Far East,Mongolia Result Bolshevikvictory collapse ofWhiteandanti-SovietResistance.
Belligerents
White Movement: Russian State Priamur Government (1921–1922) Siberian Army Don Army Komuch (June-November 1918) Mongolia (May–August 1921) Right SRs Allied Powers: Japan United States United Kingdom Canada France Italy Czechoslovakia Poland Romania China Green Ukraine Buryat-Mongolia Mongolia Left SRs (After March 1918) Anarchists	Bolsheviks: Russian SFSR Far Eastern Republic Mongolian People's Party Left SRs
Commanders and leaders
Alexander Kolchak Grigory Semyonov Mikhail Diterikhs Vladimir Kappel Vasily Boldyrev Alexander Dutov† Mikhail Pleshkov R. Ungern-Sternberg Anatoly Pepelyayev Mikhail Korobeinikov Viktorin Molchanov Radola Gajda Stanislav Čeček Sergei Wojciechowski Jan Syrový Kikuzo Otani Yui Mitsue William S. Graves George E. Stewart Edmund Ironside Alfred Knox Maurice Janin Yuri Hlushko-Mova Boris Khreschatitsky Bogd Khan	Leon Trotsky Jukums Vācietis Sergey Kamenev Mikhail Muravyov† Mikhail Tukhachevsky Mikhail Frunze Aleksandr Samoylo Pavel Lebedev Vasily Blyukher Hayk Bzhishkyan Reingold Berzin Fyodor Raskolnikov Ivan Smirnov Yakov Tryapitsyn Mikhail Velikanov Sergey Lazo Vasily Chapayev† Filipp Goloshchekin Mirsaid Sultan-Galiev Ivan Strod A. Krasnoshchyokov Damdin Sükhbaatar Khorloogiin Choibalsan Dambyn Chagdarjav Soliin Danzan Dogsomyn Bodoo
Strength
Total:740,000 White Army:420,000 Siberian Army:80,000 Czechoslovak Legion:42,000 People's Army of Komuch:10,000 IrregularsandBandits:50,000 Allied Expeditionary Force:140,000 Green Ukraine:5,000	Total:600,000 Red Army:5 Field Armies
Casualties and losses
250,000-400,000	150,000-300,000

TheRussian Civil Warspread to the east in May 1918, with a series of revolts along the route of theTrans-Siberian Railway,on the part of theCzechoslovak Legionand officers of the Russian Army. Provisional anti-Bolsheviklocal governments were formed in many parts ofSiberiaand other eastern regions during that summer. TheRed Armymounted a counter-offensive in the autumn of 1918. Throughout the winter and spring of 1918/1919, the White Army had dominance over this front. In the summer of 1919, and from then onwards, the Red Army defeated theWhitecommanderAleksandr Kolchak.The White Army collapsed in the East as well as on other fronts throughout the winter of 1919/1920. Smaller-scale conflicts in the region went on until as late as 1923.

Chronology of Revolts and Offensives

Main articles:Revolt of the Czechoslovak Legion,Spring offensive of the White Army,andEastern Front counteroffensive

In May 1918, soldiers of theCzechoslovak Legionrevolted against theBolsheviksinChelyabinsk.The revolt was triggered by Trotsky's order to local Bolshevik commanders to disarm the Czechslovaks (in violation of previous agreements) following a confrontation between the Czechslovaks travelling Eastwards and a train full of Austro-Hungarian former POW's travelling Westwards. The Czechslovak Legion was formed out of Czech and Slovak POWs of the Austro-Hungarian army who volunteered to fight against the empire ruling their homeland. Consequently, The Legion was trying to evacuate to theWestern Frontto continue the fight against theCentral powers,but after theTreaty of Brest-Litovskin March, the Bolsheviks no longer supported this move.The revolt quickly spread acrossSiberia,because the Czechoslovaks used theTrans-Siberian Railwayto move their troops east quickly and because they were supported by local uprisings instigated by Russian army officers. When the uprising reachedYekaterinburg,the former Tsar and his family who were being held there by the Bolsheviks wereexecutedto prevent their release by the Whites. By the end of August,Vladivostokwas in Czechoslovak hands.

On January 24, the Red 4th army captured Uralsk.

Provisional White governments

In the power vacuum left by the departure of the Bolsheviks multipleWhite Movementgovernments were established, most importantlyKOMUCHatSamaraand theProvisional Siberian Government.KOMUCH quickly ordered a general mobilisation, butits troopswere small and badly trained. The Czechoslovaks allied with KOMUCH and advanced to the west,taking Kazan,where they captured the tsar's gold reserves which had been moved east for safekeeping.

InPetrograd,Leninhad called upon factory workers to be dispatched to the Eastern Front.

See also

• Far Eastern Front in the Russian Civil War

References

• Bullock, David (2008).The Russian Civil War 1918–22.Osprey Publishing.ISBN978-1-84603-271-4.