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1906 Part Two - General Winter

July: Second Battle of Smolensk: The Soviet advance against Byelorussia grinds to a halt amid strong Byelorussian defences running from Vitebsk then along the Dnieper River

July: Battle of Voronezh: Baiov’s army, disorganised after its hasty retreat to Voronezh barely manages to hold of the Kuban Army’s first assault on the city. However, Baiov’s forces sustains major losses in two successive attempted counteroffensive against the Republicans.

July: The Ottoman conquest of Armenia is completed. In accordance with their earlier agreement in Azerbaijan, an oil pipeline from Baku to the port of Trabzon begins construction

August: The German Empire steps up its involvement in the Russian Civil War, sending the 35. Division to aid the Byelorussians in their defence of Vitebsk. The French step up their shipments of supplies to the Republicans in the Kuban, with plans to ship the 2nd Foreign Regiment to the area.

August: Battle of Voronezh: Having reorganised for another attack, von Kaulbars feints an attack towards Voronezh in order to draw out the predicted counterattack by the Soviet Guards. The plan works, as Baiov rashly orders his forces forward against the supposedly weakened Republicans. The Republicans cut off the overextended Soviet Guards, and destroy 40,000 of Baoiv’s army, of which the majority are taken prisoner or desert. Baoiv is left with 40,000 men facing the 80,000 strong Kuban Army.

August: Battle of Perm: A determined attack by Soviet Guards drives the Tsarist Armies from Perm briefly, but a counterattack retakes the city for the Tsarist once again.

August: Second Battle of Smolensk: Trotsky launches another attack at the Byelorussians, this time attempted to break the Byelorussian lines at Rechytsa but is once again unable to cross the Dnieper.

September: Battle of Voronezh: Baiov is unable to prevent Voronezh from falling to a fresh Republican assault, leaving the road to Moscow wide open. Due to his failures, Baiov is sacked, and replaced by Vladimir Smirnov, who begins to fight a delaying action against the quickly advancing Republicans, aiming to stall them for long enough until the onset of winter.

September: In order to hopefully revitalise the strained Soviet economy, Martov implements the policy of Market Socialism, which allows private individuals to own small businesses, while also maintaining the full nationalisation of large industries. Further, the Soviet government established quotas on peasant farms, in the form of financial incentives for a percentage of grain grown (to be paid once the civil war was over), to hopefully mitigate the beginning effects of famine.

September: Second Battle of Smolensk: With the Byelorussian lines showing signs of cracking under Soviet pressure, the Germans send the rest of XVII. Armeekorps in the form of the 36. Division. These substantial German reinforcements cause Trotsky to call of his offensive and dig in for the winter.

October: The 2nd Foreign Regiment arrives in the Kuban to begin fighting alongside the Republican armies.

October: Battle of Voronezh: Von Kaulbars halts his offensive around 350km south of Moscow. A lack of supplies and worsening weather forces the Republicans to dig in for the winter.

November: With the Soviets gone from Ukraine, a civilian government is set up in Kiev. They immediately ask Germany to send advisers to create a modern army for Ukraine

December: The fortress of Sevastopol along with the rest of the Crimean Peninsula, having been fully cut off from the Soviets for months, surrender and defect to the Republican government