On 10 April 1920, the army of the Far Eastern Republic (FER) launched the first operation, aiming at destroying the White Movement's Chita holdup in east Transbaikal which prevented it from connecting with its allies in Primorsky Krai.

The FER army was restructured and reinforced by its new commander Genrich Eiche, while morale under Grigory Semyonov's White units plummeted.

Alexander Kolchak's White Movement and its allies faced an upsurge of partisan activity, as the Bolsheviks initiated a large scale offensive on the Eastern Front.

A coalition of Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and Left SRs formed a united political center in order to coordinate their actions against the Whites.

However the eastern portion of Zabaykalsky Krai was still under the control of forces loyal to ataman Semyonov, forming the so-called Chita Holdup.

Its advance was halted at the Domno Kliuchevsky rail road station, where it encountered determined resistance from Japanese army units and tanks.

It progressed through the Chitinka river valley, capturing the Shishkino, Popovo, Verch Chita, Smolenka villages, before being stopped just outside Kashtak.

Shortages in ammunition, cavalry and training in conjunction with poor communication between the FER's units contributed to the termination of the offensive three days later.

[4] On 10 May, Genrich Eiche was appointed as the new commander in chief of FER's armed forces, receiving a 30,000 man Amur army at his disposal.

The negotiations came to a dead end in early June as the FER demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities and a complete Japanese withdrawal from Transbaikal.

A special partisan unit under B. M. Namokonov entered towns abandoned by the Japanese, setting up revolutionary councils in anticipation of the upcoming FER offensive.

By the middle of the month the partisans had reached the Urulga station, having previously handed over their positions to the FER in order to avoid resuming hostilities with the Japanese.

The FER's forces committed to the Chita operation numbered over 17,600 soldiers, 107 machine guns, 31 artillery pieces, 4 armored trains and 4 tanks.

The first column, consisting of the 2nd Amur Division, 2nd Cavalry Brigade, partisan units, an armored train and a tank platoon under V. A. Popov, assaulted Zubarevo and Razmachino.

By the end of the month 16 armored trains, 10 airplanes, 100 artillery pieces and 150 machine guns were seized, a 35,000 man White movement contingent had been annihilated.