Key Facts
- Dates
- 7–17 November 1920
- Duration
- 10 days
- Attacker force advantage
- Four times larger than defenders
- Result
- Red Army breakthrough; White Army evacuated Crimea
- Context
- Final major engagement of Russian Civil War's Southern Front
Strategic Narrative Overview
In November 1920, the Red Army's Southern Front and the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine, under joint command of Mikhail Frunze, launched a concentrated offensive against Crimea. The attacking force was four times the size of Wrangel's defenders. Despite the formidable Chongar fortifications and heavy Red casualties, Frunze's forces broke through the defensive lines at Perekop and across the Syvash, forcing the White Army into a southward retreat with no viable defensive fallback.
01 / The Origins
During the Russian Civil War, the White movement under General Pyotr Wrangel held the Crimean Peninsula as its last major stronghold. The Isthmus of Perekop and the Syvash, defended by the Chongar fortification system, formed a natural barrier protecting Crimea. The Crimean Corps under General Yakov Slashchov had successfully repelled multiple Red Army invasion attempts earlier in 1920, making Crimea a seemingly defensible refuge for the White cause.
03 / The Outcome
Following the breach of Perekop's fortifications, Wrangel's White Army had no means to hold Crimea. The Whites evacuated the peninsula entirely, dissolving the Army of Wrangel and ending organized White resistance on the Southern Front. The Bolshevik victory here effectively concluded the southern theater of the Russian Civil War. Approximately 50 years later, students from Moscow erected a monument commemorating the battle.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Mikhail Frunze.
Side B
1 belligerent
Pyotr Wrangel, Yakov Slashchov.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.