... made peace with the Germans and undertook a bloody, three-year civil war, in which Stalin commanded on several fronts. The real hero of the conflict, however, was Leon Trotsky, a former Menshevik who organized the Red Army and guided the Bolsheviks to victory. After the war, the Bolsheviks ... 's part, since it gave him an opportunity to drastically improve his country's strategic position along its western border, without getting involved in a larger conflict. While Hitler's Blitzkrieg flattened Poland, Soviet troops took possession of the eastern half of that unlucky country, which Ger...

• Word Count: 5151
• Approx Pages: 21
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate