Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
during the
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...
, which was formed 4 times between the beginning of March 1918 and March 1921.
History
First formation
On March 17, 1918, the Second All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets decided to create armed forces to counter foreign and contra-revolutionary forces.
Five armies of some 3.000 -3.500 men were created. In fact, these armies were only brigades with limited combat capabilities. The 4th Army was created near the city of Poltava under command of Vassili Kikvidze. The army counted 3,000 infantry, 200 cavalry, 1 armored train and 4 guns. The 4th Army, now under command of Yuriy Sablin, tried in vain to defend Kharkiv against the advancing German Army. After its defeat, one part joined the Voronezh Detachment and the other part was added to the 1st Don Army operating in Ukraine in the area of the Donets river.
Second formation
On June 20, 1918 the 4th Army was created a second time as part of the Eastern Front.
In June 1918, the 4th Army fought against the White Guards troops in the Transvolga Region. In August it was located around
Volsk
Volsk () is a town in Saratov Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Volga River, opposite the mouth of the Bolshoy Irgiz (a tributary of the Volga), northeast from Saratov, the administrative center of the oblast. As of the 2021 C ...
, and then defended the Khvalynsk area. In November 1918 it participated in the offensive of the Eastern Front and took
Samara
Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...
. In January 1919 it took
Oral
The word oral may refer to:
Relating to the mouth
* Relating to the mouth, the first portion of the alimentary canal that primarily receives food and liquid
**Oral administration of medicines
** Oral examination (also known as an oral exam or ora ...
. In March it took part in the suppression of rebellions in the Stavropol, Melekessk and Syzransk counties, and then moved to Lbichensk, Slymhinskaya, Oral and Guriev to fight against the
Spring Offensive of the Russian Army (1919)
The Spring Offensive of the Russian Army was an offensive of the White Army of the White movement led by Alexander Kolchak on the Eastern Front of the Russian Civil War, between March and April 1919.
Background
At the end of 1918, the situation ...
.
Between August 15, 1919 and April 18, 1920 it was part of Southern group of Armies of the Eastern Front and of the Turkestan Front. It was disbanded on April 23, 1920 and the Army administration was transferred to the Transvolga Military District and the 2nd revolutionary Labor Army.
Third formation
The 4th Army was created a third time on June 11, 1920 from the northern group of the 15th Army, as part of the Western Front to fight in the Soviet-Polish War.
The offensive of the 4th Army of the Western Front began on July 2, 1920, near the Latvian border in the city of Dzisna. In five weeks time, the Army advanced more than 800 kilometers, occupying a significant part of the territories of Belarus and Poland, including: Święcany,
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
,
Grodno
Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...
,
MÅ‚awa
MÅ‚awa (; ''Mlave'') is a town in north-eastern Poland with 30,403 inhabitants in 2020. It is the capital of MÅ‚awa County. It is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship.
During the invasion of Poland in 1939, the battle of MÅ‚awa was fought to the ...
,
Ciechanów
Ciechanów is a city in north-central Poland, seat of the Ciechanów County in the Masovian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, it has a population of 43,495.
A city with almost a thousand years of history, recorded in 1065, Ciechanów is one of ...
, etc. By August 16, 1920, the Polish Army had been thrown back behind the
Wkra
Wkra is a river in north-eastern Poland, a tributary of the Narew river, with a length of 255 kilometres and a basin area of 5,348 km2 - all within Poland.Battle of Kobryń (1920), after which it retreated to the
Slutsk
Slutsk is a town in Minsk Region, in central Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slutsk District, and is located on the Sluch (Belarus), Sluch River south of the capital Minsk. As of 2025, it has a population of 59,450.
Geography ...
area. The fighting only ended after the signing of the Armistice in October 1920. On October 18, 1920 the 4th Army was disbanded and the remaining troops were transferred to the 16th Army.
Fourth formation
On November 12, 1920 the 4th Army was created a fourth time on the Southern Front, also from troops of the former 13th Army.
The Army fought it he
Siege of Perekop (1920)
The siege of Perekop, also known as the Perekop-Chongar Operation, was a battle of the Southern Front in the Russian Civil War from 7 to 17 November 1920. The White movement's stronghold on the Crimean Peninsula was protected by the Chongar f ...
against the Army of Wrangel and participated in the conquest of the
Kerch Peninsula
The Kerch Peninsula is a major and prominent geographic peninsula located at the eastern end of the Crimean Peninsula.
This peninsula stretches eastward toward the Taman Peninsula between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Most of the peninsula i ...
.
On March 25, 1921 the 4th Army was disbanded and the military units were handed over to the Caucasian front and the Kharkiv Military district.
In April, the field administration of the 4th Army was disbanded.
Commanders
Commanders
* A. A. Rzhevsky (20.06 1918 – 01.09 1918)
* Tikhon Hvesin (10.09 1918 - 05.11 1918)
* Aleksandr Baltiysky (05.11 1918 – 31.01 1919)
*
Mikhail Frunze
Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze (; ; 2 February 1885 – 31 October 1925) was a Soviet revolutionary, politician, army officer and military theory, military theorist.
Born to a Bessarabian father and a Russian mother in Russian Turkestan, Frunze at ...
Konstantin Avksentevsky
Konstantin Alekseyevich Avksentevsky (; October 12, 1890 – November 2, 1941) was a Soviet Union, Soviet army commander. He fought in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and for the Bolsheviks in the subsequent civil war. He was a recip ...