With the collapse of Germany came intervention, or at least support for the Whites becomes a much more serious possibility. The Baltic Sea and Black Sea is open, Turkey has pulled out of the war, and for that allies can move forces into Central Russia.
British Troops occupy the ports of Archangel and Murmansk in the north and advance hundreds of miles inland.
Japan and Britain move into Siberia from Vladivostok in the east, where they are joined by troops from the United States.
France supports the Generals in the south from their base on the coast of the Black Sea.
Russia is now surrounded by former allies and Lenin's paranoia proves itself justifiable. The whole world really was against them.
The different white armies strike again and again at the Reds from almost every direction, but the Red Army has been able to respond to every attack in turn. When Petrograd is threatened with invasion from the White General Yudenich, the sailors from Kronstadt are again dispatched. Again, the whites are defeated. Despite their support, the White armies remain separated by great distances, their supplies are poor and they are unable to coordinate their attacks.
Slowly the white Generals realize that while the Russians maintain control of Russia's industrial heartland they could never succeed. After two years, the last White General is defeated and the allies leave Russia for good.
The Civil War in Russia brutalized life in Russia to an unimaginable degree. Around three million Soviet and enemy troops were killed in action, another two million died of disease. The people of Russia suffered just as much.
References
Russian Revolution in Color (DVD)
The Russian Revolution and Civil War, this bloodsoaked time from the battlefields, testimonies, and colorized archives help unfold the dramatic story of the Communist rise and seizure of power in 1917.
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