The Military
Writings of

LEON TROTSKY

Volume 2, The Year 1919

HOW THE
REVOLUTION
ARMED

Read This In E-Book Format!

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Contents

1. Author’s Preface (4.8k)

The External Situation of the Republic in the Spring of 1919

2. Order Out of Chaos (27.6k)
3. At the Fronts (Report Read in Moscow, February 24, 1919) (85.7k)

Problems of Building the Army

I. The Organisation of the Red Army

4. An Appreciation of the State of the Red Army (Answer to questions put by a representative of the Soviet press) (16.3k)
5. A Contribution to the Eighth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Talk with representatives of the press, March 17, 1919) (14.3k)
6. Our Tasks (Interview given to a Rosta correspondent. From the archives) (9.4k)
7. Immediate Problems in Building the Army (Letter to the Revolutionary War Councils of the Armies and the Fronts) (21.6k)
8. Guerrilla-ism and the Regular Army (23.5k)
9. The Situation at the Front (Talk with representatives of the Soviet press) (17.8k)
10. Concluding Remarks at the conference of representatives of the Central Directorate of Military Schools and the Command Courses, October 14, 1919 (23.8k)
11. Our Immediate Problems (Speech at the conference of political workers in the Red Army, December 12, 1919) (25.3k)
12. More Equality! (Letter to the Revolutionary War Councils of the Fronts and the Armies and to all responsible workers in the Red Army and the Red Navy) (15.3)

II. Commanders and Commissars

13. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, January 10, 1919, No.75, Gryazi (3.8k)
14. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Red Army, March 3, 1919, No.82, Moscow (5k)
15. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Red Army and the Red Navy, May 12, 1919, No.97, Kozlov (4.1k)
16. Steel and Gold (On the problem of acts of treachery in the Red Army) (12.3)
17. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, June 27, 1919, No.118, Voronezh (3.4k)
18. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Red Army and the Red Navy, July 19, 1919, No.121, Voronezh station (4.1k)
19. Commanders Must Know How to Obey Orders (6.2k)
20. A.P. Nikolayev (4k)
21. About the Military Specialists (From the archives) (10.5k)
22. The Red Army as Seen by a White Guard (33.1k)
23. Concerning Those Former Officers who are Still in the Camp of the Whites (3.9k)

III. Going Over to the Militia System

24. The Militia Programme and Its Academic Critic (23.7k)
25. Building the Red Armed Forces (Speech in the debate in the Commission on Studying and Using the Experience of the World War of 1914-1918, November 28, 1920) (40.2k)
26. Theses on Going Over to the Militia System (For the Ninth Congress of the Russian Communist Party) (7.5k)

IV. Desertion and Tribunals

27. Woe to Deserters! (4.8k)
28. Deserters Help Kolchak (5.9k)
29. Established Soviet Deserters (3.8k)
30. Concerning Military Tribunals (9.2k)

V. Military Science and Publications

31. Profound Verbiage (20.5k)
32. It is Necessary to Rearm! (Advice to Certain Military Specialists) (12.6k)
33. What Sort of Military Journal Do We Need? (Speech at the Conference of Editors of and Contributors to Military Publications) (22.6k)
34. ’First Reading-Book’ – Is It Worth Reading? (6.2k)

The Southern Front

I. The Red Army’s Offensive Towards the Ukraine and the Don
(January-May 1919)

35. A Severe Purge is Necessary (12.4k)
36. It is Time to Finish It! (11.2k)
37. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Red Army and the Red Navy, January 11, 1919, No.76, Balashov (6.4k)
38. Telegram to the Headquarters of the 16th Division on the Occasion of the Death of Comrade Kikvidze (3k)
39. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Red Army and the Red Navy, March 3, 1919, No.80 (4.6k)
40. Our Southern Front (5.9k)
41. Revolt in the Rear (4.4k)
42. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Armies of the Southern Front, May 15, 1919, No.98, Kupyansk (5.3k)
43. For Soviet Coal! (4.9k)
44. Lessons from the Ukraine (16.3k)
45. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the ‘N’ Army, May 22, 1919, No.99, Izyum (6.6k)

II. Denikin’s offensive
(May-August 1919)

46. Southern Front, Pull Yourself Together! (5.9k)
47. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the ‘N’ Army, May 25, 1919, No.100, Boguchar (3.7k)
48. The Ninth Wave (8k)
49. The Makhno Movement (11.5k)
50. Talk with Representatives of the Kharkov Press (11.5k)
51. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Armies of the Southern Front, June 5, 1919, No.105, Kharkov (10.5k)
52. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, June 6, 1919, No.106, Balakleya station (4.6k)
53. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, June 6, 1919, No.107, Balakleya station (4.5k)
54. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to All the Forces of the Soviet Ukraine, June 8, 1919, No.108, Lozovaya station (6.5k)
55. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, June 9, 1919, No.111, Kharkov (6.9k)
56. On the Situation on the Southern Front (Report to the Plenum of the Kharkov Soviet of Workers’, Cossacks’ and Peasants’ Deputies, June 14, 1919) (13.8k)
57. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, June 18, 1919, No.112, Kharkov (4.2k)
58. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the 13th Army, June 19, 1919, No.113 (11.4k)
59. The Threat to Voronezh and to Kursk (7.7k)
60. Once More on the Lessons from the Ukraine (11.6k)
61. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, June 29, 1919, No.119, Kursk (3.6k)
62. The Causes of the Defeats on the Southern Front (10.5k)
63. Green and White (5.6k)
64. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, July 11, 1919, No.122, Voronezh (2.6k)
65. The East and the South (5.2k)
66. Finish it Before Winter Comes! (6.8k)
67. Criminal Demagogy (15.5k)
68. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Forces on the Southern front, July 18, 1919, No.126, Smorodino station (4.5k)
69. The Harvest and the War (4.9k)
70. Reality and ‘Critical’ Chatter (11.7k)
71. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Red Army, July 21, 1919, No.129, Kremenchug (5k)
72. There Must Be Order (5.8k)
73. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Troops Stationed or in Action on the Territory of the Ukrainian SSR, July 22, 1919, No.130, Kremenchug (3.3k)
74. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the 14th Army, July 22, 1919, No.131, Kremenchug (3.3k)
75. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the 12th and 14th Armies, July 26, 1919, No.132, Korenyevo station (5.6k)
76. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Commanders and Commissars of the 9th Army of the Southern Front, July 29, 1919, No.134, Penza (6.4k)
77. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Red Armies of the Southern Front, August 1, 1919, No.135, Voronezh (2.9k)
78. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army and the Red Navy, August 2, 1919, No.136, Vorozhba (3.4k)
79. Hand in Your Rifle! (4.2k)
80. Who Betrayed Poltava? (6.6k)
81. Makhno and Others (5.8k)
82. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the 14th Army, August 8, 1919, No.142, Konotop (3.3k)
83. A Word to the Ukrainian Soldiers Misled by Bandits (7k)
84. Instruction to the Responsible Workers of the 14th Army (15.9k)
85. The 14th Army and Its Commander (7.9k)
86. August in the Ukraine (7.3)
87. The 10th Army (7.5)
88. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Armies of the Southern Front, August 13, 1919, No.143, Voronezh (3.8k)

3. Mamontov’s Raid – The Mironov Affair – The Red Army’s Second Offensive in the Ukraine (August-December 1919)

89. Round Them Up! (4.9k)
90. The Courage of Despair (9.3k)
91. To the Troopers of Mamontov’s Corps (6.4k)
92. Order by the Chairmain of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, September 4, 1919, No.146, Tula (7k)
93. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, September 4, 1919, No.147, Orel (5.8k)
94. Workers and Peasants, Get Out and Round Them Up! (4.8k)
95. Do We Need Guerrillas? (7.3k)
96. No Entry for Adventurers, Careerists and Rogues! (7.3k)
97. Proletarians, to Horse! (7.2k)
98. The Local Soviet Home-Guard (6.5k)
99. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Red forces advancing in the Gryazi-Voronezh direction, September 12, 1919, No.149, Tambov (3k)
100. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the ‘N’ Army, September 12, 1919, No.150, Rtishchevo (6.8k)
101. Colonel Mironov (11.2k)
102. The lesson of the Mironov affair (8.1k)
103. Guiding principles of our immediate policy on the Don (Notes from the archives) (5.9k)
104. Plan for operations on the Southern front (Notes from the secret archives) (12.5k)
105. Tula steel (4.5k)
106. Greetings to the Revolutionary War Council of the Southern Front on the Occasion of the Rout of the Whites’ Cavalry Corps before Voronezh (3.8k)
107. A great victory (5.6k)
108. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Red Forces Entering the Ukraine, November 30, 1919, No.174, Moscow (4.2k)
109. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs on Measures for Overcoming Guerrilla-ism, December 11, 1919, No.180, Moscow (10.4k)

The Eastern Front – Kolchak’s offensive
(March-April 1919)

110. To the Communists on the Eastern front (12.7k)
111. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the 2nd Army, March 26, 1919, No.87, Sarapul (3.3k)
112. The Eastern Front (Speech at the Joint Session of the Samara Province Executive Committee, Committee of the Russian Communist Party, and Representatives of the Trade Unions, April 6, 1919) (59.8k)
113. To the Urals! (7.5k)
114. A Spring That Will Decide (10.4k)
115. What Does Kolchak want? (9k)
116. The Fight for the Volga (8.5k)
117. What is Kolchak Hoping for? (7.9k)
118. What Does Russia Need? (8.1k)
119. Behind the Smokescreen (8k)
120. Order to the Commissars of the 3rd Army, April 22, 1919, No.90, Vyatka (11.7k)
121. The Task of the Eastern Front (4.6k)
122. To All Citizens of Vyatka Province (5.1k)
123. Order to the 3rd Army, April 26, 1919, Vyatka (3.8k)
124. What You Do, Do Quickly! (5k)
125. Don’t Waste Time! (6.1k)
126. Russia or Kolchak? (10.9k)
127. Once More: Don’t Waste Time! (6.5k)
128. Order to the Troops on the Eastern Front, May 1, 1919, No.92 (4.6k)
129. The Beginning of a Turn (5.6k)
130. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, May 5, 1919, No. 94, Kazan (3.4k)
131. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the ‘N’ Division, May 6, 1919, No.95, Vyatskie Polyany (3.9k)
132. A great test (5.3k)

The Fight for Petrograd

133. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Soldiers of the Northern Army Defending the Approaches to Petrograd, February 11, 1919, No.79, Yamburg (7.6k)
134. Finland and Thirteen Others (13.6k)
135. Petrograd Will Defend Itself from Within as Well (8.4k)
136. The Blow Struck at Petrograd (6.1)
137. The Fight for Petrograd (Speech in the Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ Peasants’ and Red Army Men’s Deputies) (48.9k)
138. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the 7th Army, October 18, 1919, No.155, Petrograd (9.9k)
139. Before the Turning-Point (7.5k)
140. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Red Army Men, Commanders and Commissars Defending Petrograd, October 20, 1919, Petrograd (3.3k)
141. The Turning-Point (4.8k)
142. The First Blow (4.7k)
143. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, October 24, 1919, No.158, Petrograd (4.6k)
144. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Reublic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Red Army and the Red Navy, October 24, 1919, No.159, Dyetskoye Syelo (formerly Tsarskoye Syelo) (3.9k)
145. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Red Navy, October 24, 1919, No.160, Petrograd (4.6k)
146. Tanks (6.5k)
147. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the 7th Army, October 28, 1919, No.161, Petrograd (3.4k)
148. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Troops of the 7th Army, October 28, 1919, No.162, Petrograd (7.7k)
149. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Troops of the 7th Army, October 30, 1919, No.162a, Petrograd (3.9k)
150. Petrograd, October 1917-October 1919 (12.9k)
151. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the 7th Army, November 2, 1919, No.163, Petrograd (3.3k)
152. Will the Finns Intervene? (Talk with a Representative of the Soviet Press) (4.1k)
153. To the Soldiers of General Yudenich’s Army (3.3k)
154. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the North-Western White Army, November 3, 1919, No.164, Petrograd (4.7k)
155. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the 7th Army, November 3, 1919, No.165, Petrograd (4.2k)
156. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Revolutionary War Council of the 7th Army, November 3, 1919, No.166, Petrograd (6.8k)
157. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Commanders, Commissars and All Responsible Workers of the 7th Army, November 4, 1919, No.167, Petrograd (4.5k)
158. Order by the Chairman of the of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the train of the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic, November 4, 1919, No.169, Petrograd (4.3k)
159. Order by the Chairman of the Revolutionary War Council of the Republic and People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs to the Red Army and the Red Navy, November 4, 1919, No.170, Petrograd (2.5k)
160. The Defence of Petrograd (Report to the All-Russia Central Executive Committee, November 7, 1919) (35.6k)
161. Petrograd, Be on Your Guard! (7.4k)

Last updated on: 28.4.2007