67. The Officers of the Red Army.
The upbuilding of the Red Army was begun upon the ruins of the old tsarist army. The proletariat, when it gained the victory in the November revolution, had not a Red officers’ corps of its own. There were only three ways in which the workers could make effective use of the experiences of the world war, could apply them to the civil war, could apply to the military training of its own army the technical military experiences that had been accumulated in the fallen regime. The first possibility was to create entirely new staffs out of the Reds, and to use members of the old officers’ caste only as instructors. A second way would have been to hand over the command of the new army to the officers of the old army under the supervision of commissars. A third possible course was a combination of these two methods. Time pressed; the civil war had begun; the new army must be quickly created, and must be sent to the fight without delay. The proletarian authorities, therefore, had to adopt the third method. They began to organise schools for Red officers, who in general were only fitted for the lower grades. In addition, quite a number of the officers of the old army were invited to participate in the upbuilding of the Red Army and to share in its command.
The utilisation of the officers of the old army involved difficulties which were numerous and grave, and which have not yet been overcome. These officers could be divided into three groups, two small and one large. Some were more or less strongly sympathetic towards the Soviet Power. Others were definitely opposed to the new regime; they sided with the class enemies of the proletariat, and have continued to give these enemies active assistance. The third group, larger than both the others put together, consisted of the average officers who inclined to the winning side, and who were willing to serve the Soviet Government just as the