The Volunteer Army attempted to establish a new defensive line, but their rear was unhinged by Red cavalry raids.

The Southern Front's 13th and 14th Armies retreated north in the face of attacks by numerically superior White troops.

As a result, the Central Committee ordered the Main Command of the Red Army to send reinforcements to the Southern Front and begin the transfer of the Latvian Rifle Division, Estonian and Separate Rifle Brigades, and the Separate Cavalry Brigade of Red Cossacks from the Western Front.

[2] By 10 October, the Volunteer Army shock group had reached the line of Khutor Mikhailovsky-Sevsk-Dmitrovsk-Yeropkino-Livny-Borki, and continued their advance north towards Moscow, seeking a breakthrough at Orel.

[2] They were opposed by the Red Southern Front, whose commander, Vladimir Yegoryev, was replaced by Alexander Yegorov on 11 October.

[3][4] In these conditions, the Soviet Main Command decided to begin the counterattack without waiting for the arrival of the Estonian Rifle Brigade.

[2] In the Orel–Kursk operation, the troops of the right wing and center of the front were to advance in the general direction of Kursk, defeat the 1st Army Corps, and capture the line of Sevsk, Fatezh, and Livny.

After completing the destruction of the corps, they were to retake Kursk and advance to the line of the Seym River and the Kursk-Kastornoye railroad.

Fierce battles, which often took on the character of meeting engagements, were conducted for the next several days with varying degrees of success for both sides.

[2] On 21 October, strongly supported by artillery and armored trains, the Volunteer Army launched a counterattack on the front between Sevsk and Yelets.

Having exhausted the Whites in defensive battles, the Red Army recaptured Kromy and Dmitrovsk on 27 October, pushing them back from Orel and Yelets, before capturing Livny on 3 November.

A key role in defeating the White troops around Kursk was played by a raid by Primakov's division between 14 and 18 November.

On 18 November troops of the 13th and 14th Armies reached the line of Rylsk, Lgov, Kursk, Tim, and Kastornoye, finishing the operation.

Along with the simultaneous Voronezh–Kastornoye operation, it marked a turning point in the fight against the Armed Forces of South Russia, creating favorable conditions for the advance of the Southern and Southeastern Fronts in 1919 and 1920.