Red Army Detachment 1919, painting Sergey Luppov (1893-1977) 1928 -- Daily LIFT #387
Luppov's painting shows a Red detachment marching to the front during the Civil War and foreign intervention against the revolution.
February 8 marks two significant events in the history of the Red Army, though they happened 23 years apart.
On February 8, 1920 the Red Army captured Odessa in a major Civil War victory.. The capture of the city effectively ended the direct intervention of countries like France, England, the United States and Canada who had attempted to defeat the revolution in support of counter-revolutionary forces.
23 years later, on February 8, 1943 the Red Army liberated the city of Kursk from the Nazis. This would set the stage for the Soviet victory during the Battle of Kursk in July and August of that year.
For a Soviet account of the Civil War era see: Hostile Whirlwinds: The Civil War and the Russian Revolution (theleftchapter.com)