On 8 December, the French naval command ordered "Justice" to steam to Odessa to join the battleship , which was observing clashes between the communist Bolshevik and White forces during the Russian Civil War, part of the Allied intervention into the conflict. Three days later, when the Bolshevik forces appeared ready to advance into the city, "Justice", "Mirabeau", and the armored cruiser sent landing parties ashore to strengthen the White defenses. On 1 January 1919, "Justice" had returned to Constantinople; by that time, the French fleet in the Black Sea had been designed the 2nd Squadron, and it also included "Démocratie", the "Danton"-class ships and "Vergniaud", and the dreadnought . The French squadron was thereafter tasked with supporting the White defenses of Sevastopol and blockading the coast of Ukraine, which had largely fallen to the control of the Bolsheviks.