Europe 1919: Spectre of Communism
When the Great War ended, the Bolsheviks renounced their treaty with Germany and began to reconquer the old Russian Empire. Europe was still very unstable and Communist revolutionaries across the continent rallied to the Bolshevik cause. The most successful was Bela Kun in Hungary, who invaded Czechoslovakia.
5 Feb 1919 Bolsheviks take Kiev▲
Bolsheviks take Kiev
21 Mar 1919 Hungarian Soviet Republic▲
Five months after the Hungarian Democratic Republic was established, the Hungarian Communists, led by imprisoned leader Béla Kun, led a coup against the ruling Social Democrats, establishing the Hungarian Soviet Republic.
6 Apr 1919 Bavarian Soviet Republic▲
One day after the Armistice, the Bavarian King Ludwig III abdicated in favor of the revolutionary government formed by social activist Kurt Eisner several days earlier. However, a Soviet Republic was proclaimed in Munich on 6 April 1919, followed by a full Communist takeover on 12 April.