Curtain forces (russian: Отряды завесы, войска завесы, завеса) were military forces created soon after signing of the

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire), that ended Russia's ...

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

in 1918 to protect the inner regions of the state and initially served as border troops. They were created by the directive No.72 of Higher Military Council on March 5, 1918.

History

The Curtain was a defense system created according to the March 5, 1918 directive of the

Revolutionary Military Council The Revolutionary Military Council (russian: Революционный Военный Совет, Revolyutsionny Voyenny Sovyet, Revolutionary Military Council), sometimes called the Revolutionary War Council Brian PearceIntroductionto Fyodor ...

to guard "the interior regions of the state against possible invasion of Germans" and for guarding the demarcation line established by the Brest Peace Treaty. It was composed of groups of military forces that were organized on a voluntary basis. The Russian Army officers developed the concept of the Curtain during its efforts to defend

Petrograd Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

against the February 1918 German offensive initiated by

Erich Ludendorff Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general, politician and military theorist. He achieved fame during World War I for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914 ...

. The Curtain was deployed during the period marked by the collapse of the former

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, Romanization of Russian, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the earl ...

and the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

was just being formed. After initial German successes, in early March a mixture of

Red Guards Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard le ...

, Red Army, volunteer and partisan forces stabilized the line along the

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru county, at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia international border. With 54, ...

and

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine ...

rivers; they formed the beginning of the Curtain. The Western and Northern curtains were established in places of the former Russian Empire's

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

and Northern Fronts, respectively.Стрекалов И.И. "Создание войск завесы (февраль-май 1918 года): Исторический очерк." -М.: МГУЛ, 2001. - 28p

Western Curtain

The Western Curtain (official name: Western Region of Curtain Forces, russian: Западный участок отрядов завесы (ЗУОЗ)) was established on March 29, 1918, according to the March 5 directive of the Supreme Military Council. It stretched from Nevel to

Novy Oskol Novy Oskol (russian: Но́вый Оско́л) is a town and the administrative center of Novooskolsky District in Belgorod Oblast, Russia, northeast of Belgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: It is called Novy Oskol (N ...

, to protect

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, under the command of V.N. Yegoryev.

Northern Curtain

Northeastern Curtain

The Northeastern Region of Curtain Forces (Сев.-Вост. участок отрядов завесы) was created by the August 6, 1918 directive of the Supreme Military Council, to protect against Allied intervention and White Russian forces from the

White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is s ...

and Ural directions.

Southern Curtain

The Southern Region of Curtain Forces was created by the August 11, 1918 directive of the Supreme Military Council.Гражданская война и военная интервенция в СССР: энциклопедия, 1983, Moscow, Soviet Encyclopedia Publishers, p. 211

Disbanding

The Curtain was disbanded by a September 11, 1918 Decree of the

, which established Fronts, as well as the Western Defense Region in place of it.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtain Forces Military units and formations of the Soviet Union Russian Civil War Soviet Russia in World War I Military units and formations of Russia