Steppe March

The Steppe March (Russian: Степной поход) was a successful military withdrawal by the Don Cossacks in spring 1918 towards the steppe around the Sal River to ensure their survival since they were being attacked by the Red Army.

In January and February 1918, the Red Army had conducted the successful Donbass-Don Operation. Rostov-on-Don was occupied on February 23, and the Cossack capital of Novocherkassk on February 25. Don Cossack Ataman Alexei Kaledin killed himself on 11 February 1918.

The Volunteer Army, under the command of Generals Mikhail Alekseyev and Lavr Kornilov, retreated during the Ice March to the Kuban. Field Ataman Pyotr Popov's Don Cossacks wanted to stay in the Don River region and instead departed toward the Sal River on 26 February. Popov's force included 1500 Cossacks, five guns, and 40 machine guns. On 23 April, the 's force, now diminished to 1000, linked up with K. S. Poliakov's Zaplavskaia Army at Konstantinovskaia. From the combined force, Popov organized Southern, Northern and Trans-Don army groups, under S. V. Denisov, Semiletov, and Semenov respectively.

On 6 May, the Southern group helped capture Novocherkassk, which coincided with the German advance and the arrival of Mikhail Drozdovsky's men from Romania.