Russian Civil War (White Victory)

The Russian Civil War (Гражданская война в России, Grazhdanskaya voyna v Rossii; November 1917 — October 1921) was a conflict that engulfed the former territories of the Russian Empire following the Russian Revolutions of 1917. Lasting from November 1917 to October 1921, the conflict saw the defeat of the Bolsheviks and the triumph of the Whites, resulting in the establishment of the Russian Democratic Republic.

The first year saw gains by the Bolsheviks, however, the Whites unified into a provisional, centralized government, and combined their armies into the Russian National Army in 1918. The Bolsheviks began losing ground, and their fall sped up with the intervention of nearby newly-formed countries (such as Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus, and others) as well pro-German armies. In the following years, the Whites made more gains, and the top leadership of the communists slowly dwindled. In 1921, the final Bolshevik remnants were defeated, and the Russian Democratic Republic was formed.

World War I
The European continent was vastly changed by the First World War. The Central Powers were defeated, though the Russian Empire was in no good state as well. The German and Austro-Hungarian invasion of the Empire was fairly successful (more so for the Germans), and the Germans got the Bolshevik revolutionaries of Vladimir Lenin to sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which essentially gave up all of Russia's Eastern European territories. Several independent states were formed from them already, including Ukraine and Belarus. It was a blow to the Russian patriots and nationalists, something which later caused many of them to go on the side of the White army.

Russian Revolution
The first Russian Revolution occurred in 1905, in which Tsar Nicholas II was forced to transform the Russian Empire from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional one. However, that ultimately proved to not be enough. The people's anger at the monarchy, House Romanov, built up, and as a result of poor leadership and heavy Russian losses during World War I, the second revolution (February Revolution) began. In Petrograd, thousands of people joined into the unorganized protest, lasting about a week. It saw the overthrow of the Imperial government, the Tsar, and the establishment of the Russian Republic; as a joint socialist and democratic institution. It shared power with the Petrograd Soviet, in an agreement called the Dual Power.

However, later another revolution occurred, the October Revolution. It saw the Bolsheviks overthrow the provisional Russian Republic, due to being discontent with it. They used an armed wing called the Red Guard, later organized into the Red Army. It mainly took place in Petrograd, though soon afterwards, Soviet power began to spread to other nearby cities. That caused the outbreak of the Russian Civil War, in November 1917.

Geography and chronology
The military operations during the civil war in European Russia were divided among the Southern Front, which was under command of General Denikin, Northwestern Front, under General Nikolai Yudenich, and Eastern Front, under Admiral Alexander Kolchak. Additional forces also provided help for the White Army, such as German forces, like the West Volunteer Army, and the national armies of Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and several other countries. Belarus contributed the most, deploying more than 48,000 troops to fight for the White forces.

Initial anti-Bolshevik uprisings
In October 1917, after the beginning of Lenin's revolution, an attempt was made to regain power by the provisional government of the Russian Republic. Alexander Kerensky gathered an army of about 700 supporters, south of Petrograd, in Pskov. They consisted of some soldiers, civilians, and young military school cadets. Kerensky appointed Pyotr Krasnov, a Don Cossack, to lead his forces. They rallied and captured the former residence of the House of Romanov, the imperial family. However, they were then defeated by the Red Guard at Pulkovo. Alexander Kerensky fled south, with several supporters, including Krasnov.

Around the country, among the first groups to resist were the Cossacks. The Don Cossacks of Aleksei Kaledin and the Siberian Cossacks of Grigory Semenov were among them. Leading Tsarist officers were also among the first to resist. Among them, there was Mikhail Alekseyev, who was the chief of staff of the Imperial Army during World War I. He began to organize a volunteer army near Tsaritsyn, a city on the Volga river. The general was also joined by Lavr Kornilov, Anton Denikin, and other former officers of the Tsarist government. At the beginning of December, Cossack units advanced from Tsaritsyn and captured Rostov. A second offensive was in the planning. Kerensky and some 300 other influential Russians made their way to Tsaritsyn during that time, for a conference called for by what remained of the provisional government.