In October 1941, the Romanians broke through the Russian trenches that were located south of Odessa. In true WW1 style, the 7th Cavalry Division surged through the gap and rode until they ran out of open ground. At Lustdorf they were checked by the Russian 2nd Cavalry Division. The Russians declined to countercharge and instead formed a defensive perimeter just outside Lustdorf, trying to hold off the Romanians. The line looked thin but the defensive positions were well chosen.

Seeing this formidable defense, the Romanians decided to await their support weapons that had great difficulties trying to catch up. The Russians would have nothing of it and launched forward a cavalry scouting company. The Romanians took the bait and charged the scouts with a whole battalion of cavalry before the Russians could threaten the support mortars. A Romanian massacre ensued and right from the start the Romanian centre attacking force was in tatters. Both Romanian flanks hesitated and as such their advantage of speed was lost. Flanking units were now needed in the centre to silence the scouts which were making a jolly mess of any existing Romanian plans.

For a whole hour the Romanian attack stalled and the officers were at a loss because they could not find a way to break the impasse. A half hearted attack on the left flank was quickly abandoned when the going got tough and quite suicidal. Finally, at half past two in the afternoon, the scouting party cracked and the Romanian Colonel desperately tried to reorder his troops. He decided to take advantage of his last resort: his troop’s superior shooting range. This new tactic uneased the Russian defenders who could not shoot back. When the Colonel massed quite some firepower and bundled it on a seemingly weak point, a whole company of Russian horsemen got mowed down. The Russian Kommissar ordered an immediate countercharge which had little impact. Worse was that this charge created a gap in the thin Russian line and not believing his luck, the Romanian Colonel took advantage and personally guided 3 companies right to the middle of Lustdorf! Russian morale broke and they withdrew leaving the battlefield and Lustdorf in the hands of the Romanian 7th Cavalry.