1919 May-Mayevsky was appointed chief commander of the Volunteer Army after his division drove the Red Army from the city of Kharkiv. His forces moved on to secure Kiev, Orel and Voronezh. However, his forces were thus overextended, and after suffering a number of defeats, problems with his alcoholism increased. May-Maevsky was blamed for the military retreats from Tula and Orel and accused of "moral decay". On 27 November 1919 General Anton Denikin replaced him with General Pyotr Wrangel, an effective general without the moral weaknesses of May-Mayevsky. In 1920, he led rearguard units in the final defence of the Crimea. Accounts differ on his end. According to one version, he shot himself during the evacuation of the White Army from Sevastopol on 12 November 1920, according to another - he died of heart failure in one of the hospitals in Sevastopol or while traveling by car to the ship for evacuation. Distinctions Order of St. Stanislaus 2nd degree, 1906 (3rd degree, 1900) Order of St. Anne 2nd degree 1907 (3rd degree 1904) Order of St Vladimir 3rd degree, 1912 (4th degree, 1909) Order of St. George, 4th class, 1915 Gold Sword for Bravery (1915) Cross of St. George with a laurel branch, 1917 Honorary Knight of the Order of St Michael and St George, 1921 (UK) See also White movement Volunteer Army Russian Civil War Reference 1867 births 1920 deaths Military personnel from Saint Petersburg People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd Imperial Russian Army generals Russian anti-communists Military Engineering-Technical University alumni Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I People of the Russian Civil War White movement generals Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery Recipients of the Cross of St. George Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Suicides by firearm in Russia