On 2-3 October 1951, the main part of the deportations within the Operation Autumn was carried out. Over 17 000 people were transported to remote regions of the Soviet Union.
This was the third wave of forced resettlements of Lithuanian people conducted by the Soviets, after the Operation 'Vesna' (Spring) of March 1948 and Operation 'Priboi' (Coastal Surf) of March 1949. The aim of deportations was to facilitate collectivisation. As the pace of collectivisation in Lithuania was still not as rapid as in Latvia or Estonia, the Soviet authorities decided to conduct yet another mass deportation of Lithuanians and members of the Polish minority who refused to join the kolkhozes.