In May a Red Defence Committee of the Odessa Military District was established under command of Boris Krajewski, Ivan Klimenko and Yan Gamarnik.

Furthermore, at the end of July 1919 a powerful peasant uprising flared up in the villages around Odessa, the cause of which was the mobilization into the Red Army of the entire male population between 18 and 45.

Wishing to take advantage of the moment, the command of the AFSR, which had retaken the Crimea (Crimean Socialist Soviet Republic) in June 1919, planned to conduct an amphibious operation from there as soon as possible, hoping to rely on the forces of the insurgents.

The commander of the Red "Black Sea Fleet", A. Sheykovsky, also became a supporter of the Volunteers and managed to equip the coastal batteries in the Odessa region with sympathisers.

Moreover, the Odessa Checka managed to get on the trail of the White underground organization in the city and on the eve of the landing of troops to arrest their leaders – Colonel Sablin, lieutenants Markov, Chelakaev and Nakashidze.

Due to the flight of the entire command, there was no one left to organise the defence or evacuation of the city, which led to the fact that many Soviet soldiers fell into the hands of the rebels.

The Russian cruiser Ochakov and HMS Caradoc immediately opened fire and achieved a number of successful hits, which led to panic amongst the Soviet unit, which scattered in all directions.

At about 17 o'clock at the intersection of the road from Moldavanka to Arcadia with the tram line, a new concentration of Red forces (415th and 416th regiments) was observed, some 800 men preparing for an attack on the landing party.

At 17h30, the forward detachment resumed its advance towards Odessa and reached the railway lines that bend around the city and, in view of the coming darkness, stopped for the night.

Meanwhile, according to the agreement with the White underground, the heavy battery in Arcadia, which had gone over to the AFSR, fired three shots in the direction of Odessa, which was the signal for the beginning of the uprising.