The May offensive of General Aleksander Rodzianko’s Separate Corps of the Northern Army was planned as a local operation to expand the bridgehead on Russian territory. The Corps was about 3,000-strong, the offensive was supported by the 2nd Estonian Division (up to 4,000-strong) and a squadron of the British Navy. In the Narva combat area, 7th Army of the Red Army (i.e., the Reds) was about 2,700-strong, with up to 1,000-strong detachments based in the Pskov area.

On May 13, three columns of the Corps (2500-strong in total) left the territory of Estonia, broke through the front near Narva easily, and bypassing Yamburg forced the Reds to retreat. On May 15, the Whites captured Gdov, on May 17, Yamburg was taken, and on May 25, the 2nd Estonian Division entered Pskov. In early June, the Corps detachments reached the approaches to Luga, Ropsha, Gatchina, and Krasnoye Selo. Along with the defeats on the front, the situation of the Reds was aggravated by the rebellions at the Krasnaya Gorka fort and the Seraya Loshad battery (began on June 13). However, the White’s offensive stopped due to the lack of reserves and the approach of new combat-ready units of the Red Army.

On June 21, after regrouping, 7th Army of the Red Army (about 23 thousand strong) launched an offensive against the forces of the Whites, the 16.5 thousand strong North-Western Army formed on July 1 based on the corps. On August 5, the Reds managed to capture Yamburg, but the Whites were able to gain a foothold at the turn of the Luga River. The troops of the Pskov sector of the 7th Army, supported by the units of the 15th Army, went on the offensive in the middle of the month and occupied Pskov on August 26. By the beginning of September, the front line had stabilized along the Luga and Zhelcha rivers.

The new offensive of the North-Western Army (18.5 thousand strong, 4 armored trains, 4 armored cars, and 6 tanks) under the general command of General Nikolay Yudenich was supposed to contribute to the success of Anton Denikin’s offensive on Moscow. The Whites were supported by the Estonian army (about 18 thousand strong) and the British navy. On September 28, the North-Western Army struck a diversionary blow in the Pskov direction on the left-wing of the 7th Army (25.6 thousand strong). As the Soviet command transferred its main forces there, Yamburg direction was weakened. The main blow was struck there on October 11. So, the Whites took Yamburg (October 12), Krasnoe Selo and Gatchina (October 16), Tsarskoye Selo (October 20). However, they could not go beyond Pulkovo Heights.

The People’s Commissar for Military Affairs Leon Trotsky, who had arrived in Petrograd, strengthened the group defending the city up to 40 thousand fighters, and the Estonian units withdrew from the front due to disagreements with Yudenich. On October 21, the Red Army’s 7th Army, and on October 25, the 15th Army launched a counter-offensive. After persistent battles, the North-Western Army was defeated. On November 14, Soviet troops captured Yamburg. The remnants of Yudenich’s troops were forced to move to Estonian territory, where in early December they were disarmed and interned.