The “Notes” of Lieutenant General P. S. Makhrov, the last chief of staff of the Armed Forces in the South of Russia, are dedicated to the fateful period of the civil war from the beginning of 1919 to April 1920. In the memoirs, the author gives detailed characteristics of many prominent generals of the White armies. The publication also published a report by P.S. Makhrov, Commander-in-Chief of the AFSR, which reveals the reasons for the defeats of the white armies. At the same time, the report is a program for continuing the struggle. Many of its provisions have not lost their relevance today. All this makes P. S. Makhrov’s book far beyond the scope of ordinary memoir literature.