Historical Dictionary of the Russian Civil Wars, 1916-1926

On 18 September 1919, the remnants of the Southern Army (with the exception of the 4th Orenburg Corps of General A. S. Bakich) were again reformed and were renamed the Orenburg Army. This army was placed under the command of Ataman A. I. Dutov, under whom it retreated farther into Central Asia, where on 6 January 1920, it was incorporated (as the Orenburg Detachment) into the Semirech′e Army of Ataman B. V. Annenkov.

SOUTHERN FRONT. This term was used to designate two Red fronts during the civil-war era.

The first Southern Front (sometimes termed the “Southern Front against Denikin”) was created by an order of the Revvoensovet of the Republic on 11 September 1918, from forces previously attached to the Western and Southern Screens, the Red Army of the North Caucasus, and the Astrakhan group of forces. Its staff, formed from elements of the command of the Southern Screen and the Military Council of the North Caucasus, was based at Kozlov, then Orel, Tula, Sergievsk, Serpukhov, and once more Orel. The original aims of the first Southern Front were to maintain the demarcation line between Soviet forces and the forces of the Austro-German intervention in Ukraine and to combat forces of the Don Cossack Host and the Volunteer Army in southeastern Russia. Attached to this front were the 8th (3 October 1918–9 January 1920), 9th (3 October 1918–30 September 1919), 10th (3 October 1918–30 September 1919), and 11th (3 October–7 December 1918) Red Armies; the 11th Independent Army (23 May–12 June 1919); the 12th (3 October–7 December 1918, and in its second formation, 27 June–27 July 1919), 13th (5 March 1919–10 January 1920), and 14th (until 4 June 1919, the 2nd Ukrainian Soviet Army, 27 April 1919–10 January 1920) Red Armies; the 1st Cavalry Army (19 November 1919–9 January 1920); the Special Corps (10 June–7 July 1919); and other smaller formations. In September–November 1918, the Southern Front conducted defensive operations against Don Cossack attacks on Tsaritsyn and Voronezh. An unsuccessful attempt to go on the offensive in November 1918 was followed by a successful offensive from January 1919 against the Don Army. By April 1919, forces of the Southern Front had captured Rostov-on-Don, had forced the River Manych, and were advancing on Bataisk and Tikhoretsk. The May 1919 offensive of the Armed Forces of South Russia (AFSR) then pushed the forces of the Southern Front into retreat, obliging them to abandon the Don oblast′, the Donbass, Khar′kov, Belgorod, and Tsaritsyn. Further pressure from the Whites drove forces of the Southern Front from Kiev, Odessa, Kursk, Voronezh, and Orel in August–October 1919. On 11 October 1919, the successful counterattack of the Southern Front began, driving the Whites back to the Black Sea and the North Caucasus by early 1920. Having virtually destroyed the AFSR, on 10 January 1919, the Southern Front’s forces were reorganized as the South-West Front. Commanders of the first Southern Front were P. P. Sytin (11 September–9 November 1918); P. A. Slaven (9 November 1918–24 January 1919); V. M. Gittis (24 January–13 July 1919); V. N. Egor′ev (13 July–11 October 1919); and A. I. Egorov (11 October 1919–10 January 1920). Its chiefs of staff were I. I. Zashchuk (acting, 11 September–12 November 1918); V. F. Tarasov (13 November 1918–7 June 1919); N. V. Pnevskii (9 June–17 October 1919); and N. N. Petin (14 November 1919–10 January/26 September 1920).