Approach of White armies to all fronts and counterattack of the Red Army.
At the end of February 1919 the General Headquarters of the Red Army considered the primary goals - the struggle against incorporated forces of Entente and Voluntary army in Ukraine and against the incorporated forces of Finland, Estonia, Germany and Poland assisted by Entente on the Western front. It was supposed to conduct active operations in the Arkhangelsk direction in the north, seize Perm, Ekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk in the east with the purpose of opening access to Western Siberia and also to advance to Turkestan and the over Caspy area.
The General Headquarters of the armies of Entente considered, that " the restoration of the regime of order in Russia was a particularly national concern of the Russian people ". For the defeat of Bolshevism it was supposed to use " Russian forces ", armies of the great powers of Entente and neighboring to Russia states. At the same time it was considered, that " Russian forces at the present condition were powerless to provide revival of the country ".
The General Headquarters of the armies of Entente also skeptically estimated the opportunities of the armies of Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Estonia believing they " were unable to operate at present'. Concerning its armies Entente intended to limit with sending only the command structure, volunteers and military reserves. The Supreme Headquarters of Entente considered, that intervention against the Bolshevik's regime was possible only with the formation of a united interallied headquarters and " establishment of the status of belligerent states'.
Despite rather uncomplimentary estimation of the anti-Bolsheviks " Russian forces ", they made an attempt to strengthen their position in the spring of 1919. In the beginning of March the army of admiral Kolchak (the Siberian, Western, Ural, Orenburg armies and Southern army force) suddenly assumed the offensive. On the 14th of March they seized Ufa, broke down the resistance of the small 5-th army of the East front. On the 15th of April after stubborn fights the opponent seized Buguruslan and came out to the river Big Kinel. April 20 Admiral Kolchak demanded of his armies to continue vigorous pursuing of the East front armies, throwing them back to the south in steppes, and block their withdrawal over the Volga, capturing its major ferries.
On demand of CK RKP (B) fresh forces and troops were shifted to the East front from others. April 28 the Southern group of armies of the East front (formed in March) launched a counter-offensive. It inflicted a defeat to the Western army and occupied Buguruslan. Further the Turkestan and the 2nd armies crushed the Volga corps of general V.O.Kappel and seized Belebel. By the middle of May the front armies repulsed the attempts of the Orenburg and Ural armies to occupy Orenburg and Uralsk and to break the advance of the Southern group in the Ufa direction. In May - June the Turkestan army forced the river Belaya, seized Ufa and drove back the troops of the Western army to foothills of the Ural.
At the same time the Northern group of the East front armies (formed in March, 1919) with the forces of the 2nd army and the Volga military flotilla defeated the Siberian army, occupied Sarapul and Izhevsk. Forces of the 3rd army, combating with a part of forces of the Siberian army, came out to distant approaches to Perm. The strategic initiative in the east passed to the East front which armies started general approach on the 21st of June.In August 1919 the East front was divided on two fronts: the East and the Turkestan. In October forces of the East front seized Petropavlovsk and Ishim and in January, 1920 finished the defeat of armies of admiral Kolchak, who was arrested and executed. With an outlet to Baikal the further progress of the Soviet armies to the east was stopped to avoid war with Japan, which forces were still occupying a part of the territory of Siberia. Under decision of CK RKP (B) and the government of RSFSR in April, 1920 the buffer Far East republic was formed.
The Turkestan front under command of a Bolshevik, former voluntarist М.В. Frunze (1885-1925) defeated the Southern army of general G.A.Belov and in September united with the armies of the Turkestan republic. In November - December the Ural army of general В.С.Tolstoy was crushed and the Ural area was also occupied. At the end of December, 1919 the unit of forces of the Turkestan front, having forwarded on the left coast of the Amurdarya, intruded to the territory of Khivan khanate. On the 2nd of February 1920 the armies occupied Khiva. As a result Khivan khanate was liquidated and in April it was proclaimed the Khorezm National Soviet Republic. |
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