front of the 4th Panzer Army and began to rapidly advance southwards. Katukov's tank army moves south beyond Dniester River The STAVKA deeming it necessary to deny the 1st Panzer Army any chance of retreat south behind the Dniester River, the Soviet 1st Tank Army, led by Katukov, was ordered to advance beyond the Dniester, deep into the German rear areas. The advance of the freshly introduced Katukov's 1st Tank Army was particularly successful. Already on the morning of 23 March, this tank army captured the important communication center of Chortkiv and at 10 AM on 24 March its 8th Guards Mechanized Corps reached the Dniester River. In the Zalishchyky district, the 20th Guards Mechanized Brigade of Colonel Babadzhanian approached the Dniester, and in the Stechko District (20 km north-west of Zalishchyky), the 1st Guards Tank Brigade of Colonel Gorelov and the 21st Guards Mechanised Brigade of Colonel Yakovlev approached the Dniester as well. To the left of those forces, the 11th Guards Tank Corps of Lieutenant General Getman reached the Dniester and crossed it from the march. Behind the mechanized and tank corps, the units of the Soviet 11th Rifle Corps of Major-General Zamertsev were moving forward. The sky above the Dniester was blazing with rockets, flashes of shots, exploding shells and aerial bombs. On the muddy roads, through deep gullies and ravines to the south and southwest, the Soviet forces moved swiftly. Despite the deep spring mud and fierce resistance, the Germans were unable to stop the advance of the Soviet troops. Among the first ones to cross the Dniester was the 64th Guards Separate Heavy Tank Brigade of Lieutenant Colonel Boyko, belonging to Katukov's 1st Tank Army. Quickly, the unit crossed the land between the Dniester and Prut rivers and by 11 PM on 25 March had seized the railway station Moshi, coming from the north to the approaches of Chernovtsy. When the Red Army reached the station, the train with German tanks was unloaded in a hurry. The sudden appearance of Soviet tanks caused confusion among the Germans. With a few shots, the Soviet tank crews set fire on the German ammunition wagons, which further exacerbated the panic. Then, the Soviet tankers struck a decisive blow, and the railway station was soon cleared. Bridges on the river Prut, which led to Chernovtsy, were mined and defended by a strong group of the German forces. The attempts