In October, now in the 21st Army of Don Front, it was active in two probing attacks against the Romanian forces now containing the bridgehead which inflicted severe casualties in advance of the Soviet winter counteroffensive.

It saw action in the Uman–Botoșani Offensive and won its first decoration, the Order of the Red Banner, as it advanced, before being involved in the frustrating battles along the Dniestr River on the Romanian border.

The 14th Guards made a spectacular advance across Poland during the Vistula-Oder Offensive and was awarded the Order of Lenin for its part in the liberation of Sandomierz.

Due to the breakdown in communications the division received no orders to go into battle and remained in place all day, between 20 and 30 km from the front line.

It wasn't until the next morning that a directive was received for the division to move east and attack the left flank of the German penetration along with the 2nd Cavalry Corps.

By midday on May 19 Marshal S. K. Timoshenko, commander of Southwestern Front, acknowledged that his offensive had failed and began moving the mobile forces of 6th Army against the breakthrough sector.

This forced 14th Guards back several kilometres but proved temporary as the German command decided to complete the encirclement of the entire salient instead.

The division began moving north in an effort to find an escape route, reaching the south end of the German corridor west of Marevka the next day.

This disorganized effort began at 1000 hours on May 25 and while it made initial progress it soon ran into the 1st Mountain Division within the corridor and was badly shot up.

The attack began at dawn on August 20 and faced the Italian 2nd Infantry Division of 8th Army's XXXV Corps, which had only moved into the sector four days earlier.

[14] In the buildup to the Soviet counteroffensive against the German forces at Stalingrad the 14th Guards was again reassigned, now to the 5th Tank Army, which would be the main shock group of Southwestern Front.

This reconnaissance was effective in uncovering and removing minefields and other engineering works and identified many strongpoints in the main defensive line as well as weak spots.

With no armor support the division's multiple assaults were broken up by intense flanking artillery, mortar and machine gun fire from a Romanian strongpoint on Hill 228, 4 km northwest of Sovkhoz No.

1st Guards Army set out to encircle and destroy the Romanian 7th and 11th Divisions on November 24, which were defending a wedge of territory between the Don and Krivaia Rivers.

However, Gen. K. A. Hollidt, commander of the German XVII Army Corps, soon dispatched his 62nd and 294th Infantry Divisions with orders to reinforce the Romanians and drive the Soviet forces back across the Krivaia.

Although Army Group Don recorded that the Soviet force lost 17 tanks destroyed and four damaged, it also admitted that "the heights from east of Kriuscha Tal [gorge] to Hill 156 are in enemy hands.

On December 18 the two Soviet units, now joined by 203rd Division, continued to attack and by the end of the day recaptured Konkov, as well as Bokovskaya and Staryi Zemtsov, which broke the last German fortified line.

Over three days the Soviet grouping had advanced 15–20km and began to pursue the German 294th and 62nd Divisions, plus the Romanian 7th and 11th, striving to complete their encirclement and destruction in the Kruzhilin area.

However, on the previous day and overnight the Axis managed to pull out a significant portion of its forces from the pocket and consolidate along the south bank of the Chir.

By the beginning of February the 3rd Guards Army held a bridgehead over the Northern Donets River south of Voroshilovgrad from which it broke out in a drive to liberate that city.

Two days later German forces counterattacked the 61st Guards but were repelled; on February 7 a more powerful attack was made by elements of the 3rd SS Panzer Division supported by 40 tanks which broke through the Soviet front and captured Orlovka, Belo-Skelevatyi and Nizhnii and Verkhnii Gabun.

Simultaneously Popovka was seized by the main body of the division, backed by support elements of the 14th Corps, and continued advancing, reaching the Lutugino area by the end of February 14.

On September 25 the division reached the Dniepr River and the 11th Guards Reconnaissance Company (which was now motorized) forced a crossing under German fire near the village of Pushkarevka which is now part of the city of Verkhnodniprovsk.

[33] On January 29, 1944, Colonel Slatov handed the division over to Col. Vikentii Vasilevich Skryganov; this officer would be promoted to the rank of major general on September 13.

However at 1030 hours the German forces replied with their own intense artillery fire and airstrikes and a wave of counterattacks that halted 5th Guards Army in its tracks.

[38] The handover did not go smoothly as the German 6th Army launched new attacks on the bridgehead as it was happening and many of 5th Guards' rifle divisions had to withdraw under enemy fire.

In the Draganovo and Palatsuvka region for a short time the German forces managed to encircle several Soviet divisions including the 14th Guards.

The troops who participated in the liberation of Chestochowa and several other towns, by the order of the Supreme High Command of 17 January 1945, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 20 artillery salvoes from 224 guns.

Beginning on February 8 the 5th Guards Army took part in the Front's Lower Silesian Offensive with its main objective of encircling the German garrison of Breslau.

14th Guards was in part responsible for securing the Army's left flank which had grown to almost 100 km in length and was holding along a line from Broten to Wittichenau to Buchwalde with its front facing south.