During the offensive, which began on September 26, it was planned to deliver two blows - the main blow with the main forces north of Melitopol (4 armies, 2 tank and 2 cavalry corps) - and a secondary one, by the forces of the 28th Army, from the area south of Melitopol, bypassing the city from the south west.

The offensive was launched with virtually no operational pause at the request of the Headquarters, in order to prevent the enemy from settling on the defensive line.

Without proper preparation and reconnaissance, and because of the fatigue of the troops and the depletion of materiel, the Soviet offensive stalled after 5 days with heavy losses, and an advance of only 2–10 km.

At the same time, the troops advancing north of the city also broke through the defenses and cut the Zaporizhzhia-Melitopol railway line.

The advancing troops, however, failed to dislodge the enemy from the last bridgehead he occupied on the left bank of the Dnieper south of Nikopol.