The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-23
The Red Army-Whose Army?

If nres the rare excepionthen they
theless stronger the exploited for the international con
neions of expoters The transition from
capitalism Communism whole historical epoch AS long as
is not ended hope restoration inevitably remains with
the expoters and this hope transformed into efforts at restora
ton"
Of course no one doubts today that without the Red
ARMY the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics would not now
he reality but no than heroic memory, glorious
tradition of proetaran vaor add to that older chapter OF
proetarian heroism, the Paris Commune
The Revolution was not begun with Red Army ready
AZ hand The whole first phase of the struggle from Novem
her 1917 until February 3d. 1918 carried on with the
ragged unframed of workers and peasants VIII" lew
regiments still remaining intact after dscardng their OIL
GERS and coming to the workers cause plus lew 1rag
ments the scattered armies In those frst Tour os
desperate battles splendid victories were won by the Red
Guard and by isolated regiments, and partisan oetac-
ments.
In the middle of February 1918 chaos regned in almost
all of what remained of the old The old discipline was
thing the past and fleeing hordes OF unattached soe
stampedng through the cities drunkenness, pogfon
the opportunity for becoming
the of the day Only few regiments notably
the Iettsh Sharpshooters and sailors deachments
from the Baltic Fleet still remained in condition OF reVo
tonary morale at side of the Red Guard companies OF
factory workers. clear to the Boshevlk leadership
that disciplined military organization was the alter
native destruction of the revolution and TINS
of course be built entirely different basis from
the old army of Russian imperialism
But because the Communist Party of Russian under the
leadership of Lenn had mastered the revolutionary expert
ences of the past brought its highest development the
revolutionary science of Marx and was able to apply TINS
science courageous to the revolutionary SITUATION IN Russia
the Communist Party able energeca TO carry he
on forward necessarily the offensive and organized
the fighting forces with the single revolutionary discipline
which alone could bring victory.
On the DAYS preceding February 2 the advance OF the
carman Kasers armies against Petrograd became GER
tanty On the 21st the Soviet government issued the his
oric slogan The Socialist Fatherland is in Danger and
called for the mobilization of possible revolutionary
force for the defense of the revolutionary capital Re-
dictionary and elements were moblzed
by force dig trenches Out of the masses OF the factory
oval +o+ boro O11tIO with owe
possible of dsbanded soldiers the beginnings OF the
Red Army was formed
The success of the formation of the Red Army history
What, then, is this Red Army?
When bourgeois newspaper scribes write of 'the Rus
sian Army they trying to put before the eyes
of the working picture of nationalist military
force of foreign power to be conceived at least poten
tally an enemy of the of other countries when
the lying agents of the capitalist class who are the leaders OF
the socialist parties of all countries speak OF Red Imperial
ISM" of wanting guarantees against the Red Army OF
the Soviet Union of this nothing but the most
reacherous effort lay the basis for the capitalist govern
ments successfully the Union of Socialist Soviet Re-
publics under the bloody heel of imperiaist war.
But the Russian Army"-n the imperiais chauvinist
sense in which that usedwen out of existence when
the Red Army of the Soviet Union formed The Red
Army the opposite of the DID, impera nationalist
army of Russathe direct opposite OF every mperast
force
The Red Army of the Union of Socialist Soviet RepuDl
is the international army of the workers and peasants of the
entire world In the whole world there is not one member
of the working class Woodworking exploited farmer
who cannot truthuy say The Red Army myarmy which
has but single movethe liberation OF the toers OF all
countries from capitalist slavery!
than before it is necessary to drive this truth
home to the working class and tong farmers OF all coun
tries and to the hundreds Of millions of exploited colonial
victims imperialism For war is coming Imperastwar
is only short time ahead of Again the whole world will
flame with drip with blood in the struggle of the i'm
perat among themselves to seize the greater
portion the world for exploitation and against the Union
of Socialist Soviet Republics to destroy the hope of emanc
patton capitalst-mperalst exploitation and slavery
In that cataclysm it will be necessary to transform the
peralst armies into the opposite of imperialist armies
into Red Armies will be for the cassconscous
workers each mperaist country and in each mperast
army struggle feaessy and ably to bring about the de-
feat Of their own mperiast government part OF the
work Transforming imperas armies into armies of lib
GRAFTON of our class
1t is necessary for the working class of the whole world
to be modified in defense of the Socialist Faherand of all
workers and it's Red Army
will be necessary for workers and farmers modified
in the United States mperaist forces facing the Red Army
of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics to
nasse to the side of the Red Army
Therefore necessary to show the workers of all
tries that the Red Army international working class