The Red Army had to force the Dnieper on a huge front, stretching 700 kilometers, and exactly where it is the widest and most watery, t. e. On the middle and lower course . It was a great difficulty that the elevated west bank, which was in the hands of the enemy and prepared in advance for defense, dominates the east bank. In front of the Red Army on the opposite bank of the mighty river stood a strong enemy equipped with all the means of modern military equipment, defending with utmost tenacity and bitterness. Nevertheless, the Soviet troops crossed the Dnieper extremely quickly, captured the bridgeheads on its west bank, expanded them despite the desperate resistance of the enemy, and then developed their offensive operations hundreds of kilometers deep. In the battle for the Dnieper it is possible to distinguish four stages. the first stage - operation at the approaches to the Dnieper and access to the river (September) the second stage - crossing the Dnieper , Capture of beachheads on the right bank , breakthrough of the Molochnaya river and isolation of Crimea (October) third stage - expansion of the captured bridgeheads , Kiev and Gomel operations , reflection of the enemy's counter-offensive in the Kiev direction (November and most of December) at this stage, the battle for the Dnieper develops into the battle for Right-Bank Ukraine the fourth stage - the transition of the Red Army into a further offensive