In the study of the history of mankind, much attention is paid to military losses. This theme is stained with blood and smelled of gunpowder. For us, those terrible days of harsh battles are a simple date, for warriors - a day that completely turned their lives upside down. The wars in Russia in the 20th century already turned into records on the pages of textbooks, but this does not mean that you can forget about them.
General characteristics
Today it has become fashionable to blame Russia for all mortal sins and call it an aggressor, while other states “simply protect their interests” by invading other powers and conducting mass bombing of residential areas to “protect citizens”. In the twentieth century, there really were many military conflicts in Russia, but whether the country was an aggressor still needs to be understood.
What can be said about the wars in Russia in the 20th century? World War I ended in an atmosphere of mass desertion and transformation of the old army. During the Civil War, there were many bandit groups, and the fragmentation of the fronts was a matter of course. For World War II, the conduct of large-scale military operations was characteristic, perhaps for the first time the military encountered the problem of captivity in such a broad sense. It will be best to consider in detail all the wars in Russia in the 20th century in chronological order.
War with japan
At the beginning of the century, a conflict broke out between the Russian and Japanese empires over Manchuria and Korea. After a break of several decades, the Russo-Japanese War (period 1904-1905) was the first confrontation using the latest weapons.
On the one hand, Russia wanted to provide its territory with an ice-free port in order to trade year-round. On the other hand, Japan needed new industrial and human resources for further growth. But most of all, European states and the United States contributed to the outbreak of war. They wanted to weaken their competitors in the Far East and manage on the territory of Southeast Asia on their own, so they clearly did not need to strengthen Russia and Japan.
The first hostilities began in Japan. The results of the battle were sad - the Pacific Fleet and the lives of 100 thousand soldiers were lost. The war ended with the signing of a peace treaty, according to which the Liaodong Peninsula, Southern Sakhalin, and part of the CER from Port Arthur to the city of Changchun moved to Japan.
World War I
The First World War was the conflict that revealed all the shortcomings and backwardness of the troops of Tsarist Russia, which entered the battle, without even completing the rearmament. The Entente allies were weak, only thanks to the talent of military commanders and the heroic efforts of warriors the scales began to lean towards Russia. Battles were fought between the Triple Alliance, which included Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary, and the Entente with Russia, France and England as a part.
The reason for military action was the killing in Sarajevo of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, which was committed by a Serbian nationalist. So the conflict ensued between Austria and Serbia. Russia joined Serbia, Germany joined Austria-Hungary.
Battle progress
In 1915, Germany launched a spring-summer offensive, conquering Russia from the territories it conquered in 1914, and the honor of the lands of Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states.
The battles of the First World War (1914-1918) were fought on two fronts: the West in Belgium and France, the East in Russia. In the fall of 1915, Turkey joined the Triple Alliance, which greatly complicated the situation of Russia.
In response to the impending defeat, the military generals of the Russian Empire developed a plan for the summer offensive. On the Southwestern Front, General Brusilov managed to break through the defenses and inflict serious damage on Austria-Hungary. This helped the Russian troops to advance significantly to the West and at the same time save France from defeat.
Truce
On October 26, 1917, at the Second All-Russian Congress, a Peace Decree was adopted, and all belligerents were invited to start negotiations. On October 14, Germany agreed to negotiations. A temporary truce was concluded, but Germany's demands were rejected, and her troops launched a full-scale offensive on the entire front. The signing of the second peace treaty took place on March 3, 1918, German conditions became more stringent, but in order to maintain peace, I had to agree.
Russia was supposed to demobilize the army, pay Germany financial indemnity and transfer the ships of the Black Sea Fleet to it.
Civil War
When the battles of the First World War were still going on, the Civil War in Russia (1917-1922) began. The beginning of the October Revolution was laid by the fighting in Petrograd. The reasons for the riot were sharp political, social and ethnic contradictions, aggravated after the February revolution.
The nationalization of production, ruinous for the country of Brest Peace, the tense relations of the peasantry and food detachments, the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly - these government actions, together with a strong desire to maintain power, provoked burning discontent.
Stages of the revolution
Mass discontent resulted in a revolution in 1917-1922. The civil war in Russia took place in 3 stages:
- October 1917 - November 1918. Armed forces were established and the main fronts formed. White fought with the Bolsheviks. But since this was in the midst of World War I, neither side had an advantage.
- November 1918 - March 1920. The turning point in the war - the Red Army gained control of the main part of the territory of Russia.
- March 1920 - October 1922. Fighting migrated to the border areas, the Bolshevik government was no longer in danger.
The result of the Civil War in Russia in the 20th century was the establishment of Bolshevik power throughout the country.
Opponents of Bolshevism
The new government, which appeared as a result of the Civil War, was not supported by everyone. The White Guard soldiers found refuge in Ferghana, Khorezm and Samarkand. At that time, the military-political and / or religious movement in Central Asia was called Basmachism. The White Guards looked for disgruntled Basmachi and beat them to resist the Soviet Army. The fight against Basmachi (1922-1931) lasted almost 10 years.
Pockets of resistance appeared here and there, and it was difficult for the young Soviet Army to crush the uprisings once and for all.
USSR and China
During the time of tsarist Russia, the Sino-Eastern Railway was an important strategic object. Thanks to the CER, wild territories could develop, in addition, the income from the railroad Russia and the Celestial Empire was divided in half, as it was managed jointly.
In 1929, the Chinese government noticed that the USSR had lost its former military power, and in general, due to constant conflicts, the country was weakened. Therefore, it was decided to take away from the Soviet Union its part of the Chinese Eastern Railway and the territories adjacent to it. Thus began the Soviet-Chinese military conflict of 1929.
True, this idea was unsuccessful. Despite the numerical superiority of troops (5 times), the Chinese were defeated in Manchuria and near Harbin.
Little-known war of 1939
These events not covered in history books are also called the Soviet-Japanese War. The fighting near the Halkin-Gol River in 1939 lasted from spring to autumn.
In the spring, numerous Japanese troops marched into Mongolia to mark the new border between Mongolia and Manzhou, which would pass along the Khalkhin Gol River. At this time, Soviet troops came to the aid of friendly Mongolia.
Futile attempts
The combined army of Russia and Mongolia gave a powerful rebuff to Japan, and already in May, Japanese troops were forced to retreat to Chinese territory, but did not surrender. The next blow from the Land of the Rising Sun was more thoughtful: the number of soldiers increased to 40 thousand, heavy equipment, aircraft and guns were brought to the borders. The new military formation was three times the size of the Soviet-Mongolian troops, but after three days of bloodshed, the Japanese troops were again forced to retreat.
Another offensive took place in August. By that time, the Soviet Army had also strengthened and brought down all its military power against the Japanese. Half of September, the Japanese invaders tried to take revenge, but the outcome of the battle was obvious - the USSR won this conflict.
Winter war
On November 30, 1939, a war broke out between the USSR and Finland, the purpose of which was to secure Leningrad by moving the northwestern border. After the USSR signed the non-aggression pact of Germany, the latter started a war with Poland, and relations in Finland began to escalate. The pact suggested the spread of Soviet influence in Finland. The government of the Soviet Union understood that Leningrad, which was 30 kilometers from the border with Finland, could come under artillery fire, and therefore it was decided to move the border north.
The Soviet side initially tried to negotiate peacefully by proposing Finland the land of Karelia, but the government did not want to agree.
Consequences of the Soviet-Finnish War (1939-1940)
As the first stage of the battle showed, the Soviet Army is weak, the leadership saw its real combat power. Starting the war, the government of the USSR naively believed that it had at its disposal a strong army, but this was not so. During the war, many personnel and organizational changes were carried out, thanks to which the course of the war also changed. It also made it possible to prepare a combat-ready army for the Second World War.
Echoes of World War II
The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 is a battle between Germany and the USSR within the borders of World War II. The battle ended with the victory of the Soviet Union over fascism and put an end to World War II.
After Germany lost the First World War, its economic and political situation was very unstable. When Hitler came to power, the country managed to build up military power. The Fuhrer did not want to recognize the results of the First World War and wanted to take revenge.
But an unexpected attack on the USSR did not give the desired result - the Soviet Army was better equipped than Hitler had expected. The campaign, which was designed for several months, stretched out for several years and lasted from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945.
After the end of World War II, the USSR did not conduct active military operations for 11 years. Later there was the Daman conflict (1969), the fighting in Algeria (1962-1964), Afghanistan (1979-1989) and the Chechen wars (already in Russia, 1994-1996, 1999-2009). And only one question remains unresolved: were these ridiculous battles worth the human sacrifice? It is difficult to believe that in the civilized world people have not learned how to negotiate and compromise.