Over the next ten months it mostly held the line containing the German forces in the pocket around that town, occasionally participating in unsuccessful attacks against well-prepared defenses.

After spending the winter and spring of 1944 deep in the Nevel salient, in July it took part in the Pskov-Ostrov Offensive and quickly won a battle honor for its role in the liberation of Idritsa.

During the winter offensive into Poland the Army was initially in reserve but moved into the line in order to close the gap that had developed between 1st and 2nd Belorussian Fronts in East Pomerania.

This operation began on April 16, with the division in the first echelon of its Corps, as 3rd Shock smashed through several German defense lines before entering the northeastern borough of Pankow and the central district of Moabit.

Later that month it became part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, along with the rest of 3rd Shock Army, and by December it had been converted to the 16th Mechanized Division, which was disbanded in 1947.

The division had a relatively generous amount of time to form up and train as it remained in the Urals until April, when it began moving west to join the 34th Army in Northwestern Front.

Because the corridor was still under Soviet artillery fire it was not sufficient as a line of communications, and II Corps continued to rely on air supply for most of its needs through the remainder of the battle.

What turned out to be a final effort to cut the corridor began in late December, but this concluded in another failure by January 13, 1943, after which the 34th and 53rd Armies went over to the attack with similar results.

At about the same time the division began a long move around the Demyansk perimeter to join 27th Army,[12] which was located roughly between Ramushevo and Staraya Russa.

The forces of II Corps immediately began to reinforce the German lines near Ramushevo, Staraya Russa, and Lake Ilmen and Polar Star was effectively stillborn.

On December 9 the STAVKA ordered the Front to pierce their defenses at Pustoshka, capture Idritsa, and destroy the German forces in the salient between Nevel and Novosokolniki.

He would take over the 110th Guards Rifle Division in the spring of 1945 and lead it until after the end of the war in Europe; he remained in service until 1961, reaching the rank of lieutenant general.

2nd Baltic began the Pskov-Ostrov Offensive on July 10; the 171st was deployed due west of Pustoshka facing the defenses of the Panther Line along the Alolya River.

The troops who participated in the breakthrough of the enemy’s defenses northwest and west of Novosokolniki, and the liberation of Idritsa, by the order of the Supreme High Command of 12 July 1944, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 20 artillery salvoes from 224 guns.

In the event this plan was largely abandoned due to the growing gap between 1st and 2nd Belorussian Fronts and the German threat to the flanks, which led to the East Pomeranian Offensive.

Zhukov now concentrated his shock group on the sector Merkisch Friedland–Arnswalde, with the objective of splitting 11th Army and reaching the Baltic coast and the Oder from Kolberg to Altdamm to Zeden.

[28] At the start of the final offensive on the German capital the 3rd Shock Army, now under command of Col. Gen. V. I. Kuznetsov, was deployed in the bridgehead over the Oder at Küstrin on a 11km-wide sector from Ortwig to Letschin.

In an innovation introduced by Zhukov, the attacking infantry and supporting tanks were "assisted" by 20 searchlights to illuminate the defenses, although the results across the Front were mixed.

79th Corps was back in its single echelon formation and, with the help of 9th Tanks' motorized infantry, broke the resistance of the intermediate position, forced the Friedlanderstrom Canal, and advanced 5km, reaching the outskirts of Kunersdorf–Metzdorf in the second defense zone.

79th Corps, still with 9th Tanks and part of 1st Mechanized, on April 19 overcame heavy fire resistance, a large number of forest obstructions and minefields, and covered 12km, breaking through the third defense zone.

At 1350 hours the long-range artillery of 79th Corps, deployed west of Werneuhoe, fired the first two salvoes onto Berlin proper, and at 2230 carried out a bombardment against the area of the Reichstag.

The German command was throwing in an odd assortment of forces, including platoons of panzerfaust carriers and antiaircraft guns in the antitank role.

[34] The battalion commander made the decision to attack on a broad front in small groups which would infiltrate through vacant lots and gardens, bypassing as much as possible the defended buildings, which mostly were of two storey construction.

The battalion commander now carried out a 30-minute reconnaissance and determined that a group of buildings near the junction, which had been turned into a strongpoint and blocked the road to Schoenholtz, would have to be taken.

An advance of 8km was obtained, which effectively cleared the northwestern part of the city, and on its right flank reached the Berlin–Spandauer Schifffarts Canal, seizing bridgeheads on the south bank with the 207th Division.

The next day 3rd Shock continued to push southeast in the general direction of the Tiergarten, reaching out to make contact with 8th Guards Army.

The Corps commander, Maj. Gen. S. N. Perevertkin, decided to lead with the 171st, which was to seize the Moltkebrücke overnight on April 29/30 and at the same time force a crossing of the Spree northeast of the bridge.

[42] The 150th's 756th Rifle Regiment crossed the Moltkebrücke under cover of the barrage and entered Himmler's House, seizing a corner of it, plus part of the courtyard, by 1300 hours.

M. V. Kantariya, used accurately-thrown grenades to clear a path up half-ruined stairs to reach the dome of the building, where they planted their regimental Victory Banner at 1425 hours.

At 2200, Maj. Viktor Dmitrievich Shatalin, commander of the 380th, was ordered to take up positions in trenches southwest of the Reichstag for a subsequent attack which was carried out by 0900 on May 1.