It took part in battles on both sides of the Dniepr River during August until it was finally encircled and destroyed in September, although it remained on the books of the Red Army until December.

Late that month, it was briefly encircled in the Great Bend of the Don River west of Kalach and suffered considerable losses in breaking out to the east bank, including the death of its commander.

In the last days of September it was ordered to leave the salient and moved east of the Volga, before heading north to begin a lengthy rebuilding.

The division began forming on March 14, 1941, as part of the prewar buildup of Soviet forces, at Dnepropetrovsk in the Odessa Military District.

Its order of battle was as follows: Maj. Gen. Konstantin Efimovich Kulikov took command the day the division began forming, and held this post for the duration the 1st formation.

Released the next year, he was made head of the Dnepropetrovsk Reserve Officers' Advanced Training Course, where he remained until shortly before the 196th began forming.

26th Army managed to avoid this fate by falling back toward Kyiv, and by the end of July 23 the 196th was attempting to hold south of Bohuslav against the divisions of the III Motorized Corps.

While analyzing the events of that bitter fall, one must conclude that the very word "encirclement" paralyzed the will of some commanders and staff officers... Now, you know, that one ought not disperse [his] strength, but rather, unite it in order to create shock groups to assault the enemy ring, and, undoubtedly, they would burst out.

[14] Its order of battle was similar to that of the first formation: Kombrig Dmitrii Vasilevich Averin was transferred from the 199th Rifle Division on January 9 to take command.

At this critical moment XIV Panzer Corps had to slow its advance due to acute fuel shortages and stiff resistance north of Kalach.

Early the next day, Kolpakchi organized a counterattack to support the 13th Tank Corps and halt and drive back 6th Army's northern pincer before it reached Kalach.

VIII Corps' 113th and 100th Jäger Divisions, supported by most of 16th Panzer's tanks, had to simultaneously contain two Soviet bridgeheads south of the Don, defeat and destroy the encircled grouping, and fend off attempts to relieve the pocket.

Attacking southward on August 7 from the Maiorovskii region, 30 km northwest of Kalach, multiple battlegroups of 16th Panzer smashed through the defenses of 33rd Guards and 131st Divisions and reached the northern outskirts of the town by nightfall.

The remaining units in the bridgehead fared no better from the tank and infantry onslaught and shortly after dark the 24th Panzer Division linked up with the 16th to complete its encirclement.

[26] On August 13, Col. Gen. A. I. Yeryomenko took over command of Stalingrad Front and immediately put into effect plans for the defense of the city that he had developed with the STAVKA.

62nd Army was to "occupy and firmly defend" the 90 km-wide sector from Lake Peschanoe to the mouth of the Donskaya Tsaritsa River, protecting the most direct route to the city and providing cover for the divisions that had escaped encirclement.

This fighting, which drove a deep wedge into the Army's defenses south of Gumrak, so decimated the 87th and 196th that they literally disappeared from its order of battle within a matter of days.

September 4 saw the 71st renew its advance, forcing the remnants of the 196th and 33rd Guards back southeastward toward Opytnaya Station and the wooded northern slopes of the Tsaritsa River valley.

On September 7, the two divisions and the 42nd Brigade repelled several assaults by the 71st and finally contained its drive at Sadovaya and Razgulaevka Stations, only 8–10 km northeast of Mamayev Kurgan.

The previous day it had been reorganized as a composite rifle regiment and, with the help of two other small units, repelled two German attacks in the afternoon and evening, inflicting heavy losses on submachine gunners attempting to filter through the lines toward Orlovka.

Despite this, late on September 16 the Army's summary stated that these forces, now designated the Northern Combat Sector, were continuing to defend their previous positions.

[31] Late on September 18, Chuikov issued orders for counterattacks against the German forces that had penetrated into the city, but the Northern Combat Sector was to continue to hold the Orlovka region against Group Stahel and two regiments of the 389th Infantry Division.

[32] As the fighting moved into the workers' villages of the Krasny Oktyabr and Barrikady factories, Paulus shifted part of his attention to reducing the Orlovka salient.

What resulted was fire that "crept" into the depth of the defense as the infantry advanced, preventing detection of the interval between phases as the preparation proceeded.

Despite this success, the flanking divisions, including the 196th, bogged down after three days of heavy fighting and the STAVKA allowed Govorov to halt the offensive on September 18.

The 108th Corps and the 152nd Tank Brigade were in second echelon of 2nd Shock, and were to strengthen the offensive by attacking toward Krasnoye Selo in case the initial assault failed.

116th and 123rd Corps regrouped during February 6–8 and prepared to assault southeastward toward the Luga–Pskov railroad but their advance the next day ran into the German counterattack force, most of which had not yet reached its designated positions.

Ostrov was liberated on July 21 and by the start of August the division was located near that town,[59] now as part of 12th Guards Rifle Corps in 1st Shock Army of 3rd Baltic Front.

At this time the division was located near Antsla in southern Estonia,[61] back in 67th Army as part of the 111th Rifle Corps, still in 3rd Baltic Front.

[66] When the shooting stopped, the men and women of the 196th shared the full title of 196th Rifle, Gatchina, Order of the Red Banner Division.