The intervention was an involvement in the Russian Civil War on the side of the White movement, but lacking in forces and sympathy among the local population, it was a failure that ended with the evacuation of the territory.

[2] Short on personnel, officers and supplies, demoralized and receptive to Soviet propaganda, they soon had to leave the initial offensive plan and adopt a defensive strategy against the Bolshevik forces.

[5] The defeats at Kherson and Nikolaev in March convinced the French commanders of desirability of reaching an agreement with the Bolshevik authorities and ending the expedition.

[6] Otaman Nykyfor Hryhoriv formally submitted to the Bolshevik command of Vladimir Antonov-Ovseyenko, had succeeded in expelling the Allied forces from the occupied coastal cities in late 1918 and early 1919.

[9] Clemenceau's idea was to use control of the grain-rich Ukraine and the industry of Donetsk to try to recover the losses of French investors in Russia, after the new Bolshevik government had refused payment of the Russian debt.

[9] This was not, however, Clemenceau's original plan, which provided for the sending of various allied units to Russia once the fighting in the Balkans and the Middle East had ended.

[10] Shortly before the October Revolution, the French high command in Paris had outlined plans to intervene in Russia in order to maintain the Eastern Front and prevent areas of strategic economic interest from falling into German hands.

[11] The first indication of the French government's intentions to intervene in the south of the former Russian Empire was the appointment on 7 October 1918 of General Henri Berthelot—a veteran of the Romanian Front— at the head of a military mission that covered Romania and Ukraine.

"[8] Berthelot had to use the allied units deployed in the Balkans in a military intervention that combined political and economic objectives, in the style of colonial expeditions.

[14] According to Franchet d'Espèrey, the forces planned for the operation were insufficient, part of the units that had to march to the east were very weak and some, like the Senegalese, would not be able to stand the harsh climate of the region.

[14][c] Soon Berthelot began to share Franchet d'Espèrey's scepticism about the campaign: instead of the planned twelve divisions, he was only able to obtain three, and one of them was weakened by the spread of influenza in its ranks.

[20] Indeed, the Greek authorities promised the participation of forty-two thousand men, framed in three divisions of the I Army Corps, although only two of them—the 2nd and the 13th—were finally deployed in Ukrainian territory.

[20] In November 1918, the German 7th Division reached Odessa—a city with a very mixed population, barely a fifth Ukrainian and a large number of Russians and Jews—[21] to replace the retreating Austro-Hungarian forces.

[27] The initial objective of the French Government was to achieve the military defeat of the Bolsheviks and at the same time gain a zone of influence in the area that could bring economic benefits.

[32] These conversations disgusted Denikin,[21] even though D'Anselme reminded him that his orders stated that he must cooperate with all anti-Bolshevik forces and that the deals with the Directorate they were not political, but only military.

[9] The disunity of the anti-Bolshevik formations, which had already been made clear at the Iaşi Conference, became evident again in Ukraine and caused great frustration to the French military commanders.

[39][g] Various French officers' impressions of Denikin's supporters were unfavourable: they continued to maintain their pre-war habits of arrogance and irresponsibility, they were a small force and overstaffed.

[42][i] Added to this dispiriting situation was the lack of reinforcements; six weeks after landing in Odessa, Berthelot complained that he had barely three thousand men to dominate the whole of Ukraine.

[43] The rejection of the intervention by the French left in the Parliament, and the refusal of the Americans and British to deploy large forces as recommended by Marshal Foch, complicated the sending of the reinforcements requested by Berthelot.

[45] At the end of February, while Berthelot's envoy requested reinforcements in Paris, Nykyfor Hryhoriv began to advance towards the coast, defended with insufficient forces.

[50] Thanks to the bombardment of French ships and the assault of a Greek company, the Allies managed to retake the port and break the encirclement of the citadel.

[50] Unable to defend the perimeter of the city and fearful of suffering a popular uprising, the French commanders agreed with a local communist delegate for a peaceful evacuation, [53] which took place between 14 and 16 March without incident.

[60] Lacking in food due to not controlling rural areas, [53] the growing population of the city — nearly a million people — was in a dire situation, with provisions for only ten days and dependent on Allied supply by sea.

[61] Last minute French attempts to install a Ukrainian-Russian government under clear control of the allied military commanders failed and only served to increase the hostility of the population towards the occupying forces.

[66] On 1 April,[67] the Government of Paris ordered D'Anselme to withdraw from Odessa, which fell to Hryhoriv's meager forces — some two thousand men — who captured a large quantity of weapons.

[68] The first rumors about the departure of the Allies, which spread on 2 April, gave rise to panic and the concentration of a large number of citizens on the docks, eager to embark on the French ships.

[72] By the middle of the month and thanks to the arrival of reinforcements originally intended for the defense of Odessa, the Allies had 5,000 men, including 2,000 Greeks with little desire to continue fighting under French command.

[76] With the withdrawal approved by Paris, riots broke out on French ships docked in the port on 19 April, the same day that the administration was to pass into the hands of the Soviets according to the truce agreement.

[77] The mutineers demanded their return to France and the end of the military intervention and the next day some participated[78] in a large demonstration in favor of the Soviet Government.