The main blow was dealt by the 3rd Corps; cavalry group Z. von Benin (up to 9,600 horsemen) was supposed to go to the rear of the Russian 9th army to
Khotyn and
Kamenetz-Podolsk, but beforehand the 6th infantry division crossed the
Dniester and broke through the Russian positions. For the offensive on
Buchach, the 13th Corps stood out, striking at the mouth of the
Zolota Lipa River. The German South Army joined the operation two days later, covering the left flank of the 7th Army with the reinforced corps of G. Hoffmann. On the night of July 14, Austro-Hungarian troops crossed the
Dniester River and pressed the Russian bridgehead at
Chernelytsia (on the right bank). There was a threat that the Austro-Hungarians would go to the rear of the 33rd Army Corps of the Russian 9th Army near
Tluste. All day the Russian troops waged counterattacks, which ended in success in a number of places. But on the morning of July 15, the Austro-Hungarians again struck at the 2nd Cavalry and 33rd Army Corps and advanced to the east. Against the 30th Army Corps, the Austro-Hungarian troops crossed to the eastern bank of the
Zolota Lypa. To restore the situation, P. Lechitsky ordered the 9th Army on July 16 to launch a counterattack, striking not only at the groups that had broken through to the left bank of the
Dniester, but also with the forces of the 32nd Army and 3rd Cavalry Corps - on the right flank 7th
Austro-Hungarian Army. On July 16–17, the operation acquired the character of oncoming battles. K. von Pflanzer-Baltin refused to strike with the 3rd corps and transferred its reserves to the group
Siegmund von Benigni in Müldenberg; to support the 13th corps on the Zolota Lypa River, P. Hoffmann's corps and the 48th reserve division of the German Southern Army went on the offensive.
Alois Schönburg-Hartenstein's group, advancing north along the left bank of the
Seret River, was met by a Russian blow and thrown back to Duninov, but, reinforced by the 3rd Cavalry Division, stopped the further advance of the Russian troops. Russian troops captured more than 1,500 prisoners and 3
machine guns, but they failed to completely throw the troops of the
Central Powers into the
Dniester. The offensive near the Dobronoutsy village was not successful, but the Austro-Hungarian troops in the bridgeheads captured east of the
Zolota-Lypa and
Dniester rivers were bled, and their commanders demanded a withdrawal to their original positions. On the night of July 18, P. Hofmann's group struck to support the left flank of the 13th Corps on the
Zolota Lypa River, but in time it coincided with the start of the attack of the Russian 11th Army Corps against the enemy's 1st Cavalry Division. The stubborn battle did not bring success to either side. The Russian
bridgehead near the village
Tolstobaby was liquidated, but the troops of Hofmann and
Ignaz von Korda were withdrawn from the eastern bank of the river and went on the defensive. Stubborn battles were fought until the morning of July 20 and also ended in vain. Opponents entrenched in captured or held positions. The
cavalry breakthrough, planned by
Karl von Pflanzer-Baltin, was thwarted by the active actions of the army of
Platon Lechitsky. The only achievement of the 7th Army was the
bridgeheads on the eastern bank of the
Dniester. However, their retention required more forces than the initial positions on the right bank. The Russian troops, having imposed oncoming battles on the enemy, prevented the development of a breakthrough and captured 8 machine guns and 1,827 prisoners during the entire battle.
Commander-in-Chief of the Southwestern Front N. Ivanov ordered the 11th Army to assist the 8th Army at
Sokal and the 9th Army at
Zolota Lypa, but its commander
Dmitry Shcherbachev resolutely stated that he was unable to fulfill the order about the offensive, since the army is exhausted by the withdrawal of the best divisions from it. Active actions were also difficult due to natural conditions: because of the rains, the
Zlota-Lipa River overflowed. The attacks of the Austro-Hungarians on the last shred of the Chernelytsia bridgehead on August 10–11 were successfully repelled, and on August 12 an order was issued to send the 3rd Corps to the Italian front. After such a significant weakening, the enemy also went on the defensive. == Outcome ==