The attack was repelled and the Makhnovists again retreated.
Therefore, in a short time Makhnovists captured a large area.
The Makhnovists tried twice more to take the city, but
they were thrown back.
Grigoriev's guard was scattered by machine-gun fire(the Makhnovists prepared the carts in advance).
The Makhnovists were advancing south and east,
against Denikin's army on the Mariupol-Volnovakh line.
Part of the Makhnovists continued to fight as part of the Red Army.
So the Makhnovists significantly replenished their reserves, seized
a large number of horses and wagons.
Therefore, the union of the Makhnovists and the Grigorievites existed for only three weeks.
From the detachment of
Ataman Grigoriev, the 1 Brigade was formed(the Makhnovists entered the 3 Brigade).
Soon, the Makhnovists took Mariupol, threatened Taganrog,
where there was a headquarters of Denikin, Sinelnikov and Volnovakha.
Thus, literally in 2-3 weeks, the Makhnovists crushed the rear of Denikin's army in New Russia.
But as soon as white occupied the city, when the Makhnovists suddenly returned and attacked the city.
Moreover, the peasants themselves considered themselves to be true Makhnovists, despised the"cadre" bandits, and on occasion destroyed them like mad dogs.
But the situation was hopeless: on one side the Makhnovists were drawn in by the white, and on the other, the Petliurists.
Also, the Bolshevik conflict with the Makhnovists contributed to the failure of the Red Army on the western
flank of the Southern Front.
Therefore, the first attempts of the red command to restore order among the Makhnovists, to disband part of the troops,
did not lead to success.
The Makhnovists responded with a protest
and a statement that they were not afraid of such orders and they were ready to defend their people's rights.
Also, the Makhnovists successfully plundered numerous wagons of the defeated
Southern Red Group(in the Odessa region), Soviet institutions and refugees, which ran parallel to the front from south to north.
True, on 26 of September, the Makhnovists began to break back into the Yekaterinoslav region
and in early October of 1919 created a powerful threat in the rear of Denikin's army.
On 22 of September(5 of October), the Makhnovists were at the Dnieper,
and having shot down the weak screens of whites, hastily put forward for the defense of the crossings, forced the river.