Supported by evidence released after the collapse of the Soviet Union, this book follows the career of the Red Army from its birth in 1918 as the vanguard of world revolution to its affiliation in 1941 with 'the citadel of capitalism', the USA.

List of Maps, List of Illustrations, Series Editor's Preface, Preface, Glossary of Terms, List of Abbreviations, 1. The Military Revolutionary Committee, 2. 'All Power to the Soviets', 3. Birth of the Red Army, War, and Peace, 4. 'In a Fiery Ring of Fronts', 5. An Armed Camp, 6. The Test of Battle on Three Fronts, 7. The Decisive Battles, 8. Defeat and Victory, 9. Class War and Military Reform, 10. The New Order, 11. The Red Army and the Reichswehr, 12. The Tukhachevskiy Era, 13. Stalin's Military Reform, 14. Approaching the 'Second Imperialist War', 15. The 'Most Pressing and Deadly Threat', 16. War Plans, 17. Stalin Deceived, 18. The Red Army at Bay, 19. The Heartland in Peril, 20. The Heartland Preserved, 21. Conclusion, Notes, Bibliography, Index