Red Army, Army of the Soviet Union. Formed in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917, its first civilian leader was Leon Trotsky, who proved a brilliant strategist and administrator. Formed of workers and peasants, it initially lacked an officers’ corps, and Trotsky was forced to mobilize officers of the former imperial army until a new, politically reliable corps could be trained. The Communist Party placed commissars in all army units to ensure political orthodoxy. Joseph Stalin purged the military leadership in 1937, leaving the army demoralized and unprepared for the German surprise attack in 1941. It recovered sufficiently by 1945 to have forces numbering more than 11 million, surpassed in strength only by the U.S. Army. In 1946 it was renamed the Soviet Army. In 1960 the commissars’ duties were transferred to army officers. See also Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Red Army Article
Red Army summary
Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Red Army.
army Summary
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Russo-Polish War, (1919–20), military conflict between Soviet Russia and Poland. It was the result of the German defeat in World War I, Polish nationalism sparked by the re-creation of an independent Polish state, and the Bolsheviks’ determination to carry the gains they had achieved during the
World War II Summary
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