The city, which had been an important center of support for the October Revolution and remained in the hands of the Reds, was besieged three times by anti-Bolshevik Don Cossacks under the command of Pyotr Krasnov: July–September 1918, September–October 1918, and January–February 1919.

The defense of Tsaritsyn, nicknamed the "Red Verdun",[1] was one of the most widely described and commemorated events of the Civil War in Soviet historiography, art and propaganda.

It was through Tsaritsyn that the supplies of food and oil from Baku reached Moscow, and the railroad running through the city provided the Council of People's Commissars with supporters from Central Asia.

[7] He began to assemble an army to defend Tsaritsyn, consisting of local troops and formations that had managed to retreat to the city from the Don and Donbas.

[8] That same month, Joseph Stalin arrived in the city and quickly joined the command of the local forces, despite having initially been sent to obtain grain for Moscow.

[9] Together, Voroshilov and Stalin established the North Caucasus Military District in order to rally the defense of the city and centralise control over all Red forces in the region.

[10] From May to July 1918, the Don Cossacks under the command of Pyotr Krasnov were able to mobilize 40,000 men, equal in size but better trained than the Red troops present in the region.

It was still commanded by Voroshilov, but the Bolsheviks reorganized the entire Southern Front, putting at its head the former Tsarist general Pavel Sytin.

The civilian Cossack leaders and their mid-level military commanders, and even Krasnov's closest associates, were not interested in the situation on other fronts of the civil war.

[24] By the end of November 1918, thanks to the reorganization and growing numerical superiority of the Red Army, the Soviets gained an advantage over the forces of Krasnov.

[13] Thanks to the shifting of forces from the north,[21] the numerical advantage of the Reds was constantly growing, and the morale of the White Cossacks was falling, with some of them going over to the side of the Bolsheviks[13] or abandoning the army entirely.

On 19 February 1919, Pyotr Krasnov took command, handing it over to Afrikan Bogaewsky and agreeing that the Don, Terek and Kuban Cossacks would join with the Volunteer Army to become part of the Armed Forces of South Russia.

[29] In May, Yegorov's 10th Army retreated in disarray towards the east, while in mid-June the Kuban Cossacks under the command of Pyotr Wrangel carried out a cavalry assault on Tsaritsyn, which was repulsed.

[31] On 3 July 1919, at the victory parade of Wrangel's forces in Tsaritsyn, Denikin announced the beginning of the White advance on Moscow before the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan.

[33] During the battle, the locally-created Cheka carried out a ruthless repression campaign targeting those deemed to be bourgeoisie, clergy, intelligentsia or tsarist officers, many of whom had answered a local appeal to join the Red Army.

That may have been the first instance revealing the future leader's proclivity to unveiling numerous plots and conspiracies and entangling the victims into fabricated and publicized trials for agitation purposes.

[40] According to Anatoly Nosovich, a Red Army defector, Stalin "frequently remarked in arguments over the military arts [...] if the most talented commander in the world lacked politically conscious soldiers properly prepared by agitation, then, believe me, he would not be able to do anything against revolutionaries who were small in number but highly motivated.

[39] Due to Joseph Stalin's participation in the defense of Tsaritsyn, the battles for the city were among the events of the civil war most widely portrayed in Soviet historiography and propaganda.