In the summer of 1920, the Russian army under the command of Baron Peter Wrangel left Crimea and began an offensive in Northern Tavria. The commander-in-chief understood the importance of shifting military operations to Cossack lands, where the local population was opposed to the communists. The Cossacks had already experienced 'red' terror and awaited the arrival of Wrangel's army, but the 'white' forces were too small for a large landing. Therefore, in early July 1920, it was decided to conduct a landing operation with a small detachment under the command of Colonel Nazarov.

On June 9, 1920, Fyodor Nazarov landed at Kryvaya Kosa, near the modern Ukrainian city of Novoazovsk, which was occupied the next day. Colonel Nazarov's detachment numbered fewer than 1,800 men, but emphasis was placed on support from the local population and the bravery of the Cossacks. For more than two weeks, the Cossacks inflicted defeats on numerically superior enemy forces. The Bolshevik command, concerned about the situation, concentrated regular troops numbering about 20,000 against the detachment, as well as artillery and armored vehicles. The 'whites' did not have such resources and found themselves in a difficult situation.

Colonel Nazarov fought his way through the superior enemy forces, but in the area of the Konstantinovskaya stanitsa (now the city of Konstantinovsk) he was surrounded and engaged in battle. The Cossacks refused to surrender, the battle lasted several hours, and although the 'reds' suffered significant losses, they managed to push the Cossacks back to the Don. The 'whites' retreated, waist-deep in water, losing 250 men, but managed to break through and escape into the steppes. This place later became known as the 'officer's spit' or 'officer's beach.' Today, a monument has been erected in Konstantinovsk in honor of the fallen Cossacks with the inscription: 'To the white Cossack partisans of the detachment of F.D. Nazarov, heroically fallen in the struggle against the godless Soviet power of the Bolsheviks. July 1920, st. Konstantinovskaya.'