The action of 3 May 1920 was a short single-ship action fought off Ochakov during the Russian Civil War between a French Navy aviso and a Bolshevik floating battery.
Background During the Russian Civil War, the French Navy took part of the Allied Intervention by providing assistance to the White faction engaged on the Southern Front. The French Navy suffered a mutiny in 1919 but operations continued until the end of the conflict.
Action According to French sources, the French aviso Le Scarpe imprudently advanced into the territorial waters of Soviet Russia near Novorossiysk during a routine patrol in the Black Sea.J.Seguin, Intermédiaire des chercheurs & curieux Le Scarpe's commander wanted to sail to Nikolaiev to collect information about procuring supplies.Peter Lang, Documents diplomatiques français. Volume 1; Volume 21, Parte 1; Volume 29, Parte 1, 1997, p. 622-623 The French warship encountered the Soviet floating battery Krasnaya Zarya near Ochakov; during the subsequent fight Le Scarpe was damaged and surrendered. This happened near the end of the Russian Civil War, and the ship was soon returned.
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