Lenin TELEGRAM TO L. D. TROTSKY

TELEGRAM TO L. D. TROTSKY

To be coded

3. I. 1919
Trotsky Voronezh
or present whereabouts

Am very uneasy about whether you are not giving too much attention to the Ukraine to the detriment of the general strategic task, on which Vatsetis insists and which consists in a speedy, determined and general offensive against Krasnov. I am very much afraid that we are being late with this and that the recent successes of the Krasnov- ites near Tsaritsyn will again lead to the postponement of our offensive and to our missing the right moment. The initiative for serious operations is escaping from us, both at Astrakhan and on the Caspian Sea, as well as at Tsaritsyn and in the east. Vatsetis is for a speedy general offensive against Krasnov, but Vatsetis, apparently, is not able to cope with red tape and the separatism of the Ukrain- ians and other regionalists. Should you not concentrate wholly on hastening and carrying through a general offensive against Krasnov?

Lenin

First published in part in

Grazhdanskaya voina. 1918 - 19 2 1 , Vol. III

Published in full in 1942 in Lenin Miscellany XXXIV

Printed from the original