Trotsky’s military incompetence and the Party’s preference for Stalin’s strategies- Enver Hoxha

"War Commissar Trotsky is often praised for being a great leader in the Civil War. However, in the summer of 1919 Trotsky, stating that Kolchak was no longer a menace in the east proposed shifting the forces of the Red Army into the campaign against Denikin in the South. This Stalin pointed out would have given Kolchak a much needed breathing spell and the opportunity to reorganize and re-equip for a fresh offensive. The Central Committee rejected Trotsky's plan and he took no further part in the campaign in the east which led to Kolchak's defeat. Similarly with his plan for a campaign against Denikin through the Don steppes, an almost roadless region filled with bands of counter-revolutionary Cossaks. Stalin rejected Trotsky's plan and proposed advancing across the Donetz Basin with its dense railway network, good supplies of coal and sympathetic working-class population. Stalin's plan was accepted by the Central Committee, Trotsky was removed from the Southern Front and told not to interfere with operations which led to the defeat of Denikin."

 –Wilf Dixon (16 October 1994), "THE TRUTH ABOUT STALIN."