The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts began the Uman–Botoșani offensive on March 5. By March 25 the 3rd Ukrainian was being directed to secure the city of Odesa, which was expected to be taken at the earliest around April 5. The Front was led by Pliyev's Cavalry-Mechanized Group, followed by the 8th Guards and 6th Armies to envelop the city from the northwest and west while the 5th Shock was to advance on its defenses directly from the east.David M. Glantz, Red Storm Over the Balkans, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2007, pp. 110, 114-15, 119
