The Russian Civil War: The Maelstrom
The Situation in Western Russia, March 18th, 1917
As Charles LeRoulle’s tiny troop of mercenaries made their way through the harsh Russian winter towards the fortress city of Tobolsk, the White Movement continued to grow in size and strength. By the time they reached the outskirts of the city of Tsaritsyn on the 19th of February, the Bukharan and Khivan Sultanates of Turkestan declared themselves independent and went to war with the Soviets. The revolters were popularly known as the Basmachi, and their revolt was characterized by a split between the Islamists, many of whom were motivated by the calls for jihad against the irreligious Bolsheviks emanating from the mosques of Turkestan and the Pan-Turkists, who desired a union of all of the Turkic peoples of the Middle East and Central Asia. The Basmachi were also virulently anti-Russian, seeing the Russians who had settled the major cities of the region as interlopers and desiring to throw them out of the region entirely. This was bad news for the local Russians and for the LeRoulle expedition, but it was great news for the White Movement. Even more good news arrived in the form of Ismail Enver, better known as Enver Pasha, formerly one of the highest officials in the Ottoman Empire. Enver had arrived to fight for the cause of Panturkism, and he desired to unite Turkestan with the Ottoman Empire to create a union of the Turkish people, but more importantly he brought volunteers and supplies to the outnumbered rebels.
Admiral Alexsander Kolchak, now leader of the White Movement in Eastern Russia
And soon two more groups joined the battle against the Red Beast. On the Twenty Fourth, the exiled Admiral Alexsander Kolchak made his triumphant return to Russia, declaring a new government in Vladivostok, colloquially termed the “Ufa Directory”, he was an incredibly popular figure in Russia and indeed, Kerensky had sent him into what was virtual exile in the United States for this reason. But Kolchak had been useful, giving the United States significant expertise in the lay of the land in the Dardanelles, experience which would soon pay off. This relationship with the United States would also be useful for Kolchak. Immediately after his declaration, Secretary of State Lodge sent him a telegram informing him that “…all possible aid will be given to you and your forces until the Bolshevik government of Russia is destroyed.” And Lodge intended to make good on that promise, since Wilson had fully committed himself to destroying the Bolsheviks, a full two divisions of Russian exiles had been trained and equipped with modern artillery units. As Kolchak set about forming a Provisional Council, the gears were already in motion to dispatch these forces as well as copious amounts of cash, ammunition, uniforms, weapons and provisions to Vladivostok. Only four days later Lodge dispatched an emissary and a team of Western Union Telegraph men, their objective was to land in the friendly port of Dalian in Manchuria, cross the border to the capital of Mongolia in Urga and establish an American Embassy there and to link the embassy to the greater world via telegraph cable. But the emissary had a secret objective. At that point, Republican Chinese forces were stationed throughout Mongolia and they fully intended to integrate Mongolia into China. But Lodge, Wilson and House were in agreement that the new strongman in China, Yuan Shikai, was likely to be hostile to American business interests. An independent Mongolia would be an asset in dealing with both the troublesome strongman in Peking and in defeating the Bolsheviks in Siberia. The ambassador carried a secret letter to the Bogd Khan stating in effect that the United States would support any effort to reassert her independence. On the Fifteenth of March, the emissary arrived and only two days later he had an audience with the Bogd Khan, but he was bluntly informed that the Mongols possessed no forces with which to expel the Chinese or to fight the Bolsheviks, but this was soon to change.
General Evgeny Miller, leader of the Arkhangelsk Government
But the Volunteers Movement’s fortunes had begun to slip and by March 10th Yudenich and his forces had been evacuated from the Gdov pocket to the Baltic Cost, from which they departed for Rostov, and Wrangel’s forces in Odessa had made a daring nighttime escape, arriving in Rostov a mere two days later. The Volunteers Army now huddled in Rostov, but their situation was not what it seemed, they vastly outnumbered the paltry Soviet forces near them, they were commanded by some of the best generals in the Russian army and they were supplied with massive amounts of American-made supplies and weapons. In many ways, the collapse of the Odessa and Gdov pockets was a blessing as it allowed the concentration of the Volunteers Army’s forces in a single base of operations and clarified the chain of command, with Denikin firmly at the top. And on the Thirteenth of March, General Evgeny Miller and his loyalist White forces in the North revolted, forming what would come to be known as the Archangelsk Government. Miller was supported by British and French forces that had intervened in the North in order to keep vital military supplies from falling into Soviet hands. The Soviets now faced four distinct enemies, and the civil war would only continue to get messier.
@Jape: Allied? Hmm, maybe/maybe not.
@Mr. Santiago: I don't want to interfere with the natural cycle of Italy getting destroyed. And yeah, the greatest enemies of the AEF are cirrhosis, the clap and jilted husbands.
@Agent Larkin: Am I it?
@Kurty and Undead-Hippie: Yup, basically.
@Hyo: PASTA!
@Nathan: Wilson Wah of Wahgle blubbuh
@History Buff: I would do that if I cared about Italy, but I don't so I won't.