The Proskurov-Chernovitsy Operation started with a secret regrouping of Soviet forces to the west from where they had stood at the end of the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky Operation. The Germans failed to detect the maneuver, and assumed that with the spring thaw imminent there would be a lull until the ground dried out. Attacking through the mud on March 4th, the Soviet armies overcame the German front line defenses in three days of stubborn fighting. The 1st Tank Army joined the operation on March 21st. It's aim was to drive south to the Carpathian Mountains, cutting the 1st Panzer Army off from Poland and Germany. By the 23rd, the 1st Guards Tank Brigade was racing to beat the Germans to the Dnestr River.
