A Nasty Little War

The Western Intervention into the Russian Civil War

By: Anna Reid

Narrated by: Anna Reid

The first comprehensive history of the failed Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War, a decisive turning point in the relationship between Russia and the West

Overlapping with and overshadowed by the First World War, the Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War was one of the most ambitious military ventures of the twentieth century. Launched in the summer of 1918, it drew in 180,000 troops from fifteen different countries in theaters ranging from the Caspian Sea to the Arctic, and from Poland to the Pacific. Though little remembered today, its consequences stoked global political turmoil for decades to come.
 
In A Nasty Little War, top Russia historian Anna Reid offers a sweeping and deeply researched account of the conflict. Initially launched to prevent Germany from exploiting the power vacuum in Eastern Europe left by the Russian Revolution, the Intervention morphed into a bid to destroy the Bolsheviks on the battlefield. But Allied armaments, supplies, and loans could not prevent Russia’s anti-Bolshevik armies from collapsing, and the Allies were forced to retreat in defeat. The humiliation sapped British imperial swagger, chastened American idealism, and stoked militarism and nationalism in France and Germany. Combining immersive storytelling with deep research, A Nasty Little War reveals how the Allied Intervention reshaped the West’s relationship with Russia.

Critic reviews

“Brilliantly depicts the disastrous failure of our intervention in the ‘Russian’ civil war. The atmosphere, the characters, the absurdity are all there.”
—Antony Beevor, New York Times–bestselling author of Stalingrad

“In witty, elegant prose, Reid uncovers the true story of the West’s failed and forgotten attempt to reverse the Bolshevik revolution. Excellent.”
—Anne Applebaum, New York Times–bestselling author of Twilight of Democracy

“A compelling and meticulously researched account. Through its pages strut arrogant warlords, tsarist generals, Bolshevik revolutionaries and British and American military commanders; at stake, the future fate of Russia. With Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine—and the West’s determination to see him defeated—A Nasty Little War is chillingly topical.”
—Giles Milton, author of Checkmate in Berlin

“Combining exemplary research, arresting anecdotes and elegant prose, Anna Reid’s history of the Allied attempt to strangle the Bolshevik revolution in its cradle is that rare beast—an academically impeccable history book that is a pleasure to read.”
—Roger Moorhouse, author of Poland 1939

“A vivid and remarkably timely account of a Western intervention that we have largely forgotten, but the Kremlin has brooded on for more than a century.”
—Martin Sixsmith, New York Times–bestselling author of Philomena

A nasty war indeed

"A Nasty Little War: The Western Intervention into the Russian Civil War" explores the chaotic and unsuccessful efforts by Western powers—mainly Britain, France, and the United States—to intervene in the Russian Civil War from 1917 to 1920. In my opinion, the book relies too much on verbatim readings of diaries and letters, but Reid's analysis exposes the West's conflicting motives, initially focused on preventing Germany from gaining power in the region, then turning into a full-fledged attempt to crush the Bolsheviks. It failed miserably, and Reid suggests that this intervention laid the groundwork for future geopolitical tensions, including those involving today's Russia and its neighbors.

Outstanding story but a sad telling

And amazing review and telling of the west’s failure in Russia . A must for anyone learning about the civil war

Thought provoking

The narrator’s inflections made for easy listening while the book’s substance kept the mind occupied. Wouldn’t say it’s lighthearted but if you’ve found this title, that’s likely not what you’re after.

History was fascinating and very well told a an important phase of it.

Love Russian history and this filled in a very important phase of it. Very well done.

Untold history

An engaging and informative telling of a forgotten part of Russian history - when the west plus Japan sided with the White Russians against the Bolsheviks. Thought I knew the story, didn’t.