Battle of Tsaritsyn

The Battle of Tsaritsyn was a military confrontation between the Red Army and the White Army during the Russian Civil War for control of Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd), a significant city and port on the Volga River in southwestern Russia. The city, which had been an important center of support for the October Revolution and remained in the hands of the Reds, was besieged three times by anti-Bolshevik Don Cossacks under the command of Pyotr Krasnov: July–September 1918, September–October 1918, and January–February 1919. Another attempt to conquer Tsaritsyn was made in May–June 1919 by the Volunteer Army, which successfully captured the city. In turn, between August 1919 and January 1920, the Whites defended the city against the Bolsheviks. Tsaritsyn was finally conquered by the Reds in early 1920. The defense of Tsaritsyn, nicknamed the "Red Verdun", was one of the most widely described and commemorated events of the Civil War in Soviet historiography, art and propaganda. This was due to the fact that Joseph Stalin took part in the defense of the city between July and November 1918. During the Russian Revolution, the heavily industrialized city of Tsaritsyn became a powerful revolutionary center. The city, situated on the lower Volga, was of strategic importance for the Bolsheviks. It was through Tsaritsyn that the supplies of food and oil from Baku reached Moscow, and the railroad running through the city provided the Council of People's Commissars with supporters from Central Asia. The city also played host to large ammunition factories. In May 1918, the Don Soviet Republic collapsed and the anti-communist Don Republic was established in the region. Over the following months, the strategic importance of Tsaritsyn grew even more: by controlling the city, the Reds not only prevented the counter-revolutionary forces of the Don, Ural and Orenburg Cossacks from joining together, but also gave them the opportunity to redeploy forces from the north towards White-held areas in Kuban and the North Caucasus.