Battle of Petrograd

On August 8, 1919, the Bolsheviks promised that Estonian independence would be recognized on the condition that the Estonian Army would withdraw from Pskov. Yudenich suggested that the Estonian Army be put under his command in exchange for recognized and secured independence. If the Estonians took the peace deal with the Russian SFSR, the Northwestern Army would have no base for operations. In an effort to preserve an alliance with Estonia, he formed the Regional Government of Northwest Russia to start formal negotiations. ==Battle==

White Army offensive On September 28, 1919, the White Northwestern Army launched the offensive. Within the week, Luga had been taken, railroads from Pskov to Petrograd had been cut off, and Iamburg had been taken by October 11. On October 20, some units had made it to Pulkovo Heights, within the suburbs of Petrograd. The 3rd Infantry Division of the Army had ignored orders to cut the Moscow-Petrograd railway at Tosno to reach Petrograd first. Red Army counteroffensive Trotsky had traveled north to the city in an effort to rally a defense. The railway junction at Tosno, which was left alone, had allowed supplies to be sent to the defenders of Petrograd from Moscow. On October 21, the Red Army attacked, pushing the Whites back from Pulkovo, and retook Tsarskoe Selo and Pavlovsk two days later. Soon, the 7th Army attacked east while the 15th Army attacked south, taking back Luga on the 31st. On the second anniversary of the October Revolution, the two armies linked up east and south of Iamburg. ==Aftermath==

After the counterattacks by the 7th and 15th Red Armies, the Northwestern Army was severely weakened. Estonia, which did not want to jeopardize the current peace negotiations, refused to take the White Army in as refugees, preventing them from taking shelter in Narva. After several pleas, the Estonian government agreed to take in small groups, provided that they would be unarmed and would not be wearing the uniform of the Northwestern Army. The Regional Government of Northwest Russia was disbanded on December 5 and the army itself was formally disbanded. Trotsky was later awarded the Order of the Red Banner for his personal role in organizing the defense of Petrograd. == Notes ==