Development and Change of Russian Military Strategy (Mid-19C - Civil War)

 The characteristics of the late 19th century can be said to be social, political, and economic transformation. On this new technical foundation, military strategies developed.

In particular, railroad construction, the invention of telegraph/telephone, the conversion of sailing ships to steamers, and the introduction of speed tools had the greatest impact on the development of military strategies. All of these accelerated the speed of the movement of the large forces that appeared in major capitalist countries at the time, increased the scope of strategic action, allowed them to carry out operations across a wide range of fronts, and increased the importance of strategic mission performance and accumulation.

Along with the development of the industrial economy, important changes have occurred in the characteristics of the war and how it is carried out. What certainly influenced the development of military strategies was the policy of Western European countries to re-divide the already divided world, and the participation of large-scale national forces in war. The establishment of large factories and industrial complexes and new industrial sectors, the development of transportation means, and automation of production processes enabled the military to equip a variety of qualitatively high-quality equipment and increased the role of the economy in the war. All of these became factors that increased the duration and scope of strategic action (operation), and command and control of units and support for their activities became very complex.

The characteristic of World War I, in which millions of troops, aircraft, and various equipment including chemical weapons participated, is the large scale of operations. With the expansion of military action and destructive power, it is necessary to review the previous strategic perspective. When conducting research on strategic planning, the need for detailed and complete consideration of the country's economic capabilities and strategic reserve resources, strategic mutual cooperation between the army and the navy, and preparation for strategic cooperation between allies emerged.

Contrary to the initial intentions of all military forces, the characteristic of the discharge situation during the World War II became 'fixed position', which could not be solved by 'tactical breakthrough of the local language'. The Russian military strategy partially solved this problem in the South/West Front Attack (1916). During the war, strategic goals were achieved by successive operations and combat performance. It was the Army that played a decisive role in the armed struggle. Military action at sea was mainly limited to security and red blockade of marine supply routes. Submarine activities played an important role. The supplementary problem of military viability and mass loss was solved by using strategic reserve resources and maximizing national economic activities.

At that time, the characteristics of all warring states were the unification of military and political guidance and the possession of the highest political/strategic guidance organization. Lessons learned from the joint strategy problem are as follows. First, a single plan for military action, second, the creation of a single command unit, and third, strategic cooperation preparation. These problems were resolved very difficultly due to disagreements between allies related to the coalition.

During the civil war and military interference with Russia (1918-1920), ideological objectives that were difficult to accept mutually demanded strategic goals and active/aggressive military strategies in Russian military strategies. This new content was written in line with new and groundbreaking conditions related to the specific mission of defending the state militarily. One of the tasks of the military strategy was to set major axes according to the combat environment on several fronts, concentrate all efforts on major axes, and concentrate troops and means.

The main form of strategic action for the Russian military is how to carry out continuous attack operations by one or two front forces. An important offensive in strategic offensive operations was imposed on enemy groups to completely change the military and political situation through destruction and to occupy major political and economic areas.

Contrary to the seriousness of World War I, military action in civil war was clearly a mobile war. Strategic defense was used as an inevitable form of operation and was mainly carried out by limited troops. The civil war was divided by the wide range of guerrilla warfare activities. This activity was consistent with the regular military operation and had strategic value. Strategic mutual cooperation and missions between the Army and Navy were successfully resolved, and continued attention was focused on the creation and reconstruction of strategic reserve resources. The main characteristics of this period can be said to be flexibility and mastery in choosing a decisive direction to focus all efforts and military actions in line with the situation.