The Rostov-Novocherkassk operation (January 6-10, 1920) was an offensive operation on the Don River of the

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

and the South-Eastern Front the Red Army against the White Guard troops during the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

The operation

In December 1919, the Red Army had conducted the successful

Donbass Operation (1919) The Donbas operation of 1919 was a military campaign of the Russian Civil War, in which the Southern Front of the Red Army regained control of the Donbas region from the Armed Forces of South Russia. Prelude Since the White victory during the ...

in which the

Donets River The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets, is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv, Done ...

had bee crossed and the Donbass conquered. In the night of January 6 to 7, 1920, Red troops captured Taganrog on the

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...

, effectively cutting the White Army into two. On January 7, troops of the 9th Red Army also captured

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk (russian: Новочерка́сск, lit. ''New Cherkassk'') is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as t ...

, the capital of the

Don Cossacks Don Cossacks (russian: Донские казаки, Donskie kazaki) or Donians (russian: донцы, dontsy) are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (russian: До� ...

. This forced

Konstantin Mamontov Konstantin Konstantinovich Mamontov (; 16 October 1869 – 14 February 1920) was a Russian military commander and famous general of the Don Cossacks, who fought in the White Army during the Russian Civil War. Biography Mamontov was born in 186 ...

's 4th Don Cavalry Corps, in defiance of

Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (russian: Анто́н Ива́нович Дени́кин, link= ; 16 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New St ...

's order, to retreat behind the Don. On the night of January 8-9, troops of the

8th 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

and 1st Cavalry armies began street fighting in

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...

, and on January 10 completely captured it. The Rostov–Novocherkassk Operation was followed by the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

and Odessa operations. On January 16, the

Supreme War Council The Supreme War Council was a central command based in Versailles that coordinated the military strategy of the principal Allies of World War I: Britain, France, Italy, the US and Japan. It was founded in 1917 after the Russian revolution and w ...

of the Entente decided to lift the economic blockade against the RSFSR. {{DEFAULTSORT:Counteroffensive of Southern Front Battles of the Russian Civil War Conflicts in 1920