The operation was a success for the Red Army, as Odessa was taken on 8 February and, despite an evacuation over the Black Sea supported by the British Royal Navy, many White soldiers and material were captured.

The Red Army was assisted in taking the city by Odessan workers who, on the orders of the Revolutionary Committee, took up arms and seized critical points in Odessa just before the approach of the regular units.

Aware of the desperate situation, the command of the AFSR in Odessa had started an evacuation over the Black Sea on 3 February.

The Railroad tracks were clogged with abandoned wagons with a variety of goods evacuated from Kiev and current Southern Ukraine, including 130,000 pounds of firewood.

About 16,000 people, of which no more than 3,000 were able to carry weapons, departed in mid-winter from Odessa on 7 February and moved to the Gross-Liebental - Ovidiopol area, from where they intended to go to Romania.

The trapped Ovidiopol detachment lost hundreds of people from attacks by the Red cavalry, shelling by Romanian troops and local marauders.

At that time, many officers (including General Vasiliev and Baron Maidel) committed suicide, preferring death to Bolshevik captivity.

Accompanied by numerous refugees and civilians, they carried out an unprecedented winter march, under constant pressure of superior Red forces, and reached Poland.