Editing Joseph Stalin (section)

=== 1918–1921: Military command ===
[[File:Stalin 1920-1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|right|Stalin in 1920]]
In May 1918, during the intensifying [[Russian Civil War]], Sovnarkom sent Stalin to [[Tsaritsyn]] to take charge of food procurement in Southern Russia.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=77|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=39|3a1=Montefiore|3y=2003|3p=27|4a1=Service|4y=2004|4p=163|5a1=Kotkin|5y=2014|5pp=300–301|6a1=Khlevniuk|6y=2015|6p=54}} Eager to prove himself as a commander,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=173}} he took control of regional military operations and befriended [[Kliment Voroshilov]] and [[Semyon Budyonny]], who later formed the core of his military support base.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=164|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=302–303}} Stalin sent large numbers of [[Red Army]] troops to battle the region's [[White movement|White armies]], resulting in heavy losses and drawing Lenin's concern.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=81|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=170}} In Tsaritsyn, Stalin commanded the local Cheka branch to execute suspected counter-revolutionaries, often without trial,{{Sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=46|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2007|2p=27|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=305, 307|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4pp=56–57}} and purged the military and food collection agencies of middle-class specialists, who were also executed.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=78–79|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=40|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=166|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=55}} His use of state violence was at a greater scale than most Bolshevik leaders approved of,{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=171}} for instance, he ordered several villages torched to ensure compliance with his food procurement program.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=169}}

In December 1918, Stalin was sent to [[Perm, Russia|Perm]] to lead an inquiry into how [[Alexander Kolchak]]'s White forces had been able to decimate Red troops there.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=83–84|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=172|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=314}} He returned to Moscow between January and March 1919,{{sfn|Service|2004|p=172}} before being assigned to the Western Front at Petrograd.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=85|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=172}} When the Red Third Regiment defected, he ordered the public execution of captured defectors.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=172}} In September he returned to the Southern Front.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=172}} During the war, Stalin proved his worth to the Central Committee by displaying decisiveness and determination.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=173}} However, he also disregarded orders and repeatedly threatened to resign when affronted.{{sfn|Service|2004|pp=173, 174}} In November 1919, the government awarded him the [[Order of the Red Banner]] for his service.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=86|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=45|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=331}}

The Bolsheviks won the main phase of the civil war by the end of 1919.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=175}} By that time, Sovnarkom had turned its attention to spreading proletarian revolution abroad, forming the [[Communist International]] in March 1919; Stalin attended its inaugural ceremony.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=91|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=175}} Although Stalin did not share Lenin's belief that Europe's proletariat were on the verge of revolution, he acknowledged that Soviet Russia remained vulnerable.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=176}} In February 1920, he was appointed to head the [[Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate]] (Rabkrin);{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=174}} that same month he was also transferred to the Caucasian Front.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=178}}

The [[Polish–Soviet War]] broke out in early 1920, with the Poles invading Ukraine,{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=176|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=352–354}} and in May, Stalin was moved to the Southwest Front.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=178|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=357|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=59}} Lenin believed that the Polish proletariat would rise up to support an invasion, but Stalin argued that [[Polish nationalism|nationalism]] would lead them to support their government's war effort.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=177}} Stalin lost the argument and accepted Lenin's decision.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=178}} On his front, Stalin became determined to conquer [[Lvov]]; in focusing on this goal, he disobeyed orders to transfer his troops to assist [[Mikhail Tukhachevsky]]'s forces at the [[Battle of Warsaw (1920)|Battle of Warsaw]] in early August, which ended in a major defeat for the Red Army.{{Sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=87|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=179|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=362|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=60}} Stalin then returned to Moscow,{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=180, 182|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=364}} where Tukhachevsky blamed him for the loss.{{Sfn|Brackman|2004|p=135}} Humiliated, he demanded demission from the military, which was granted on 1 September.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=182|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=364–365}} At the [[9th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)|9th Party Congress]] in late September, Trotsky accused Stalin of "strategic mistakes"{{Sfnm|1a1=Davies|1y=2003|1p=211|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=183–185|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=376–377}} and claimed that he had sabotaged the campaign; Lenin joined in the criticism.{{Sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=184–185|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=377}} Stalin felt disgraced and his antipathy toward Trotsky increased.{{Sfn|Service|2004|p=185}}