1 dez 1920 ano - It was no longer a question of achieving victory over the Bolshevik
armies, but of avoiding the complete destruction of the
insurrectionary army. This army, reduced to some 3000
soldiers, was obliged to fight daily, each time against an
enemy of 10,000 to 15,000 men. In these conditions, catas-
trophe was no longer in doubt. The Council of Revolutionary
Insurgents then decided to abandon the southern region provisionally, leaving Makhno full freedom as to the direction
of the general retreat.