The offensive operation of the troops of the People’s Revolutionary Army of the Far Eastern Republic (NRA DVR) supported by partisans (guerillas) in the area of the Volochaevka station of the Amur railway on the outskirts of Khabarovsk aimed at defeating the Major General Viktorin Molchanov’s White Rebel Army.

After they occupied Khabarovsk on December 22, 1921, the troops of Viktorin Molchanov continued to develop the offensive and captured Pokrovka, Dezhnevka, and Volochaevka. However, they were defeated by the In station (December 28), lost the strategic initiative, and went over to the defensive on the Volochaevka-Verkhnespasskoye line, occupying the Olgokhta station with the vanguard. Near Volochaevka, the White Rebel Army built a fortified area: trenches with ice ramparts, 5–6 rows of wire barriers, numerous machine-gun nests, well-equipped artillery positions. The command of the White Rebel Army intended to defeat the troops of the NRA DVR near Volochaevka, go on an offensive, and subsequently secure the Khabarovsk region and Primorye.

In early February, the Reds went on the counter-offensive. The Eastern Front of the NRA DVR, (Commander-in-Chief Vasily Blyukher) concentrated in the area of the In station and divided into two operational groups: Inskaya (commander Stepan Seryshev, who was also the commander of the Eastern Front) and Trans-Baikal (commander Nikolay Tomin). According to the plan of the command of the NRA DVR, they were to occupy the Olgokhta area and use it as a springboard for going over to an offensive. Subsequently, the Insk group was to capture the Volochaevsky fortified area, the Trans-Baikal group – the Verkhnespassky and Nizhnespassky fortified areas, cutting off escape routes, encircle and destroy the enemy near Khabarovsk.

On February 5, the Trans-Baikal operational group captured Olgokhta station, on February 7, they repulsed by the Whites’ counter-offensive. The In group launched an offensive, inflicting the main blow on the right flank of the Volochaevsky positions, but failed to break through the defenses. Then they decided to transfer the main blow to the left flank of the enemy. A Strike Force Detachment was formed for action from the front, while an outflanking column was to launch an offensive into the rear of the Volochaevsky group of the White Rebel Army.

On February 10, the Trans-Baikal group captured the Verkhnespassky fortified area. On February 12, the In group stormed the Volochaevsky fortifications again and captured them. The White’s front was broken through, but the Red units failed to encircle the enemy. The White Rebel Army retreated to Primorye rapidly, bypassing Khabarovsk, and managed to withdraw into a neutral zone controlled by Japan. On February 14, the NRA DVR occupied Khabarovsk.