Militarily, the White forces remained weak into the spring of 1918. The ranks of the Volunteer Army formed by Alekseyev and Kornilov never exceeded over 4,000 combatants during its first months. On paper, Kaledin held nominal command over tens of thousands of Don Cossacks but most of these were either unwilling to fight or were outright opposed to his rule. Without substantial help from the Don Cossacks, the tiny Volunteer Army was unable to prevent the Red Guards under Vladimir Antonov-Ovseyenko from overrunning the Don region in late February 1918. To escape the Red onslaught, the Volunteer Army was forced to flee south into the lands of the Kuban Cossack Host while Kaledin remained behind and committed suicide.