The Locomotive of History

Fascinating with the Bolsheviks victorious on one front and chasing the Whites out, whilst collapsing on the other. I found the idea of Kolchak being forced further East from Petropavlosk kind of amusing - there isn't much further East without ending up in Alaska !

He's certainly in trouble!

The way I looked at it, Kolchak's army was already in headlong retreat by the time the POD happens, and so there isn't much hope for him even if the whites capture Moscow and Petrograd. If anything, the Bolshevik forces not trapped in Moscow will be even more desperate to force their way East!

With this situation the Japanese are likely to capitalise as well (a taste of things to come.)

Analytical Engine said:
Now, the question is: "Will they want to re-instate the Romanovs as Tsars?" :confused:

Or will they just have a military dictatorship? :confused:

This will definately be a contentious issue in the years to come. At the moment though the emphasis is on consolidation and recovery - the Generals aren't willing to risk anything as divisive as reinstating the monarchy.
 
Actually I think I miscalculated just how far east Petropavlovsk is! I must have got it confused with another town in the Transbaikal area.

Edit: I've changed it to Verkhneudinsk - slightly more likely!
 
Great update :)

I'm really looking forward to seeing this timeline develop :cool:

Just a question or two:

Are the Czech Legion still wreaking havoc, or have they left Russia?
- i myself can't remember the dates too well

The Finnish Army in Russia begins to move back into Finland, leaving Russian White troops to garrison St Petersburg. A border commission is sent north by General Yudenich (with the acquiescence of General Denikin) in order to determine where the Russo-Finnish border should lie.


Could the border commission have a different idea as regards where Russia ends and Finland begins? How much willthey be willing to compromise while they are still fighting the Bolsheviks, even if they have been chased out of the West?

Keep up the good work


Geordie
 
Great update :)

I'm really looking forward to seeing this timeline develop :cool:

Thanks :D

Are the Czech Legion still wreaking havoc, or have they left Russia?
- i myself can't remember the dates too well

Its a bit confusing, but I think they are still there. AFAIK they have withdrawn from the fighting and are just protecting themselves whilst trying to reach Vladivostock.

Could the border commission have a different idea as regards where Russia ends and Finland begins? How much willthey be willing to compromise while they are still fighting the Bolsheviks, even if they have been chased out of the West?

The border commission's task is basically to appease the Finns whilst sacrificing as little Russian territory is possible. The process is likely to take a long time, so at this stage it's just a good will mission to signify the Russian's intend to keep their promises.

This is the initial proposal from the Russian side for the new border.

finnishborderap1.jpg
 
Might as well post this here as it sort of fits in - there's a new book (the first dedicated one AFAIK) on Baron Roman von Ungern Sternberg coming out in a week and a bit, it looks very interesting. The only info I have on him at the moment is from the book Beasts, Men and Gods Ossendowski, an (I'm guessing Polish) explorer who went through Mongolia in the 1920s.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bloody-Whit...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205272930&sr=8-1

So, I'm really enjoying this, and I'm thinking of writing a piece of fiction based around your timeline.. is that okay?

Can I also ask you what other sources you'd recommend for learning about this period? It is fascinating to me. :)
 
So, I'm really enjoying this, and I'm thinking of writing a piece of fiction based around your timeline.. is that okay?

Can I also ask you what other sources you'd recommend for learning about this period? It is fascinating to me. :)

Thanks! :D

Yeah sure, that's fine. I'll give you a list of some of the books I used for background reading.

Ossendowski, Ferdinand, Beasts, Men and Gods (London, 1926)
Luckett, Richard, The White Generals (London, 1971)
Mawdsley, Ewan, The Russian Civil War (Edinburgh, 2005)

I also used some articles from http://www.jstor.org/

Denikin's Offensive
Dimitry V. Lehovich
Russian Review, Vol. 32, No. 2. (Apr., 1973), pp. 173-186.

The Ideology of the White Movement
Peter Kenez
Soviet Studies, Vol. 32, No. 1. (Jan., 1980), pp. 58-83.

White Administration and White Terror (The Denikin Period)
Viktor G. Bortnevski
Russian Review, Vol. 52, No. 3. (Jul., 1993), pp. 354-366.



Hope those help.
 
Thanks! :D

Yeah sure, that's fine. I'll give you a list of some of the books I used for background reading.

Ossendowski, Ferdinand, Beasts, Men and Gods (London, 1926)
Luckett, Richard, The White Generals (London, 1971)
Mawdsley, Ewan, The Russian Civil War (Edinburgh, 2005)

I also used some articles from http://www.jstor.org/

Denikin's Offensive
Dimitry V. Lehovich
Russian Review, Vol. 32, No. 2. (Apr., 1973), pp. 173-186.

The Ideology of the White Movement
Peter Kenez
Soviet Studies, Vol. 32, No. 1. (Jan., 1980), pp. 58-83.

White Administration and White Terror (The Denikin Period)
Viktor G. Bortnevski
Russian Review, Vol. 52, No. 3. (Jul., 1993), pp. 354-366.



Hope those help.

That does help, thank you very much! :)
 
I've just realised... the phrase, "the Locomotive of History", could be rephrased to make a good kid's TV show title...

The History Train!

:p

 
Neat!

This is an interesting timeline, about an era which I know little about.
One thought concerning Finland: If they want to go into Russia, but are concerned about Reds at home, perhaps someone that won't send troops into Russia would be willling to aid the Finns at home?
 
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