Siege of Perekop (1920)

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Siege of Perekop
Part of the Southern Front of the Russian Civil War
A map of the Soviet plan for the Perekop–Chongar operation
Date 7-17 November 1920 Location Isthmus of Perekop and the Syvash, Crimea, South Russia 46°09′N 33°41′E / 46.150°N 33.683°E / 46.150; 33.683 Result Soviet victory End of the Southern Front. Bolshevik control established on the Crimean Peninsula. Dissolution of the Government of South Russia. Beginning of hostilities between the Bolsheviks and the Makhnovshchina.
Belligerents
South Russia	Russian SFSR Ukrainian SSR Makhnovshchina
Commanders and leaders
Pyotr Wrangel Vladimir Vitkovsky Alexander Kutepov Mikhail Fostikov Ivan Barbovich [ru]	Mikhail Frunze August Kork Filipp Mironov Semyon Budyonny Vasily Blyukher Semen Karetnyk
Units involved
Russian Army	Red Army 1st Cavalry Army 2nd Cavalry Army 4th Army 6th Army 13th Army Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine
Strength
Russian Army[1] 41,000 bayonets and sabers 213 artillery cannons 1,663 machine guns 45 tanks and armored vehicles 14 armored trains 42 aircraft	Southern Front[1] 146,400 bayonets 40,200 sabers 985 artillery cannons 4,435 machine guns 57 armored vehicles 17 armored trains 45 aircraft Karetnyk Detachment[2] 1,000 infantry 700 cavalry 6 artillery cannons 191 machine guns
Casualties and losses
2,000	10,000

The siege of Perekop, also known as the Perekop-Chongar Operation, was a battle of the Southern Front in the Russian Civil War from 7 to 17 November 1920. The White movement's stronghold on the Crimean Peninsula was protected by the Chongar fortification system along the strategic Isthmus of Perekop and the Syvash, from which the Crimean Corps under General Yakov Slashchov repelled several Red Army invasion attempts in early 1920. The Southern Front of the Red Army and the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine, under the joint command of Mikhail Frunze, launched an offensive on Crimea with an invasion force four-times larger than the defenders, the White Russian Army under the command of General Pyotr Wrangel. Despite suffering heavy losses, the Reds broke through the fortifications, and the Whites were forced into retreat southwards. Following their defeat at the siege of Perekop, the Whites evacuated from the Crimea, dissolving the Army of Wrangel and ending the Southern Front in Bolshevik victory.

About 50 years later, students from Moscow created a monument of remembrance for the battle.