of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army
of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.
The "Red Army" name refers to the traditional colour of the workers' movement. On 25 February 1946 (when Soviet national symbols replaced revolutionary symbols), the Red Army was renamed the Soviet Army
(Советская Армия, Sovetskaya Armiya).
The Red Army is widely credited with being the decisive force in the Allied victory in the European Theatre of World War II
, having engaged and defeated about 80% of the German armed forces, the Wehrmacht
and much of the Waffen SS on the Eastern Front
.
In September 1917 V.
1918 First victory of Red Army over the Kaiser's German troops near Narva and Pskov. In honor of this victory, the date is celebrated from 1923 onward as "Red Army Day"; it is renamed Defender of the Fatherland Day after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and is colloquially known as "Men's Day".
1920 Kiev Offensive: Polish troops led by Józef Piłsudski and Edward Rydz-Śmigły and assisted by a symbolic Ukrainian force capture Kiev only to be driven out by the Red Army counter-offensive a month later.
1920 Polish-Soviet War: the Battle of Warsaw begins and will last till August 25. The Red Army is defeated.
1920 Polish-Soviet War: Battle of Warsaw, which began on August 13, ends. The Red Army is defeated.
1921 The Red Army captures Mongolia from the White Army and establishes the Mongolian People's Republic.
1939 Joint victory parade of Wehrmacht and Red Army in Brest-Litovsk at the end of the Invasion of Poland.
1941 World War II: Field Marshal Georgy Zhukov takes command of Red Army operations to prevent the further advance into Russia of German forces and to prevent the Wehrmacht from capturing Moscow.
1942 World War II: Second Battle of Kharkov: in eastern Ukraine, Red Army forces under Marshal Semyon Timoshenko launch a major offensive from the Izium bridgehead, only to be encircled and destroyed by the troops of Army Group South two weeks later.
1943 World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad comes to conclusion as Soviet troops accept the surrender of 91,000 remnants of the Axis forces.
1943 World War II: Red Army troops re-enter Kharkov.