Evacuation of Novorossiysk (1920)  The Evacuation of Novorossiysk ("Новороссийская эвакуация") or the Novorossiysk Catastrophe ("Новороссийская катастрофа") was the evacuation of the White Armed Forces of South Russia and refugees from Novorossiysk in March 1920, during the Russian Civil War, in which thousands of officers, soldiers and Cossacks of the White Army and civilians were left behind and killed by the Red Army and the Green Army. In total, some 33,000 people were executed. By March 11, 1920, the front line was only away from Novorossiysk. The Don and Kuban Armies, which were disorganized by that time, withdrew in great disorder. The line of defense was only held by the remnants of the Volunteer Army, which had been reduced and renamed to the "Volunteer Corps", and which had great difficulty in containing the onslaught of the Red Army. The Cossacks failed to reach Taman, and as a result many of them ended up in Novorossiysk with the sole purpose of getting on a ship. In total, the Armed Forces in the South of Russia in the Novorossiysk area on the eve of the evacuation amounted to 25,200 bayonets and 26,700 sabers. Meanwhile, there were not enough ships in the harbour. Some of them were late due to stormy weather, while others were unable to arrive on time due to quarantines established in foreign ports. All ships arriving from Russia with refugees were kept in quarantine for a long time, because of the terrible typhus epidemic in Russia. The command ordered the immediate loading of the wounded and sick soldiers, but this order was never carried out. Moreover, military forces flocking to Novorossiysk began to occupy ships on their own, and officials cared more about the evacuation of property that could be sold after the war. On March 11, General George Milne, Commander-in-Chief of the British troops in the region, and Admiral Seymour, Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, arrived from Constantinople in Novorossiysk. General Anton Denikin was told that only 5,000-6,000 people could be evacuated by the British.