Trotsky leads the Revolutionary Military Council of...

Trotsky announces “neither war nor peace” at Brest-Litovsk

10 Februari 1918

Trotsky ended negotiations without signing Germany’s terms and declared that Soviet Russia would demobilize but not continue fighting. German forces soon resumed their advance, exposing the risks of...

Trotsky explains the Soviet government’s withdrawal from Brest-Litovsk

1 Maart 1918

After refusing to sign the imposed terms and Germany resumed its advance, Trotsky defended the decision to accept a harsh treaty as necessary to preserve the new Soviet government. This was a...

The Soviet government signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

3 Maart 1918

After the German offensive, the Soviet government accepted a treaty that ceded Ukraine, the Baltic provinces, Finland, and other territories. Trotsky had opposed signing under those terms but...

Trotsky is appointed chairman of the Supreme Military Council

13 Maart 1918

Trotsky took charge of rebuilding military capacity as civil war and foreign intervention widened. The new army drew on former imperial officers under political supervision, a pragmatic decision...

Trotsky speaks on building a new Red Army

22 April 1918

He argued for creating a disciplined regular army as civil war expanded, a break with older socialist militia expectations. The policy relied on conscription and former imperial officers, raising...

👉 Trotsky leads the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic Huidig

2 September 1918

The government created a centralized command for the Red Army and appointed Trotsky to lead its Revolutionary Military Council. The civil-war state relied on conscription, discipline, and political...

Trotsky addresses the Central Executive Committee on military crisis

2 September 1918

The speech defended emergency mobilization after anti-Bolshevik forces and foreign intervention threatened the Soviet state. It documents his argument for centralized command while exposing the...

Trotsky issues a Red Army order after the capture of Kazan

10 September 1918

The order celebrated a battlefield reversal and called for discipline and renewed mobilization. Its language shows how Trotsky fused revolutionary political claims with military command. The civil war...

Trotsky issues a military order to Red Army and Red Navy units

16 November 1918

A wartime directive framed the armed forces as institutions of the new workers’ state and demanded disciplined service. Its rhetoric of popular ownership coexisted with centralized command and...

Trotsky’s manifesto is adopted at the founding congress of the Comintern

6 Maart 1919

The First Congress of the Communist International adopted a manifesto drafted by Trotsky. It called workers across borders to oppose imperial war and colonial domination, presenting revolutions in...

Trotsky addresses the Eighth Party Congress on military policy

17 Maart 1919

He defended the use of former tsarist officers under political supervision and the creation of a regular army. The debate illustrates how civil-war exigencies shaped state institutions and narrowed...

Trotsky leads the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic

Personen in deze gebeurtenis

Leon Trotsky

Red Army commanders

political commissars

Organisaties in dit Evenement

Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic

Red Army

Gerelateerde evenementen

What tension shaped Trotsky’s creation of the Red Army?

Trotsky had no role in the Red Army’s leadership during the civil war.