Amber Order of Battle The Red Army in WWII

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Название: Amber Order of Battle The Red Army in WWII

Автор: David Porter

Издательство: Amber Books

ISBN 978-1-906626-52-5

Год издания: 2009

Язык: английский

Страниц: 192

Формат: PDF

Размер: 51 Mb

The Red Army was founded on 23 February 1918 to protect Lenin's new government against the rapidly growing threat from the anti-Communist White Armies. Its initial organization was largely the work of Leon Trotsky, People's Commissar for War from 1918 to 1924. His ruthlessness mobilized a force of 5.5 million men, although many of these had very little equipment or training and front-line strength rarely exceeded 580,000. In its early years, the Red Army was

engaged in constant fighting against both the White forces in the Civil War (1918-22) and the Polish Army in the Russo-Polish War (1919-21). Despite a humiliating defeat by Poland, victory in the Civil War ensured the survival of the Communist regime, but it had cost the Red Army an estimated one million casualties. The Red Army's desperate need for access to Western military technology was met by a secret annex to the Treaty of Rapallo, signed in 1922, by which the Soviet government authorized the establishment of German military and aviation bases within Russia. These were to be used for research and development (R&D) and training with weapons banned under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. In return, Germany would allow the Red Army to monitor all research and tests, besides sharing industrial and military technology.