After being hastily organized it arrived at the front along the lower Dniepr River as part of 6th Army and in the wake of the German victory in the Kiev encirclement it fell back toward, and then past, Kharkiv and spent the winter fighting in this area.

During the Second Battle of Kharkov in May 1942 it scored early successes but was soon forced back by counterattacking panzers and barely escaped destruction in the first phases of the German summer offensive.

It forced a crossing of the Dniepr River north of Kyiv in late September, and 23 of its men were made Heroes of the Soviet Union, several posthumously.

As his old-style rank suggests, this officer had been a victim of the Great Purge; he had been dismissed from the Red Army in September 1937, reinstated in March 1938, and then arrested in October of that year.

[10] In the same month it took part in a battle to create a bridgehead over the Donets at Staryi Saltiv, due east of Kharkiv, but took heavy casualties in the process.

Following a 60-minute artillery preparation, including a 15-20-minute air raid, the attack began at 0730 hours and gained up to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) during the day, with the 226th making the most progress and capturing Hill 124 in the process.

It had the 36th Tank Brigade in direct support and by day's end had broken through the German tactical defense before beginning a pursuit of the defeated elements of the 294th and 71st Infantry Divisions and taking the key village of Nepokrytaya after a brief battle.

As a preliminary to the main German summer offensive Gen. F. Paulus, commander of 6th Army, intended to eliminate the bridgehead in a pincer attack in order to gain crossing points over the Donets.

In light of earlier costly failures the commander of Don Front, Lt. Gen. K. K. Rokossovskii later admitted that he expected the assault to achieve very little:We were given permission to use seven infantry divisions from the GHQ Reserve for the operation but received no additional supporting means in the shape of artillery, armour, or aircraft.

The armies of the Don Front were unable to penetrate the enemy's defenses...At the end of October 21 the 212th was reported as attacking south of Hill 130.7, having advanced 300m from its jumping-off positions after encountering heavy fire.

By October 27 it was clear to both sides that it had run its course and although the STAVKA claimed German casualties of up to 7,000 personnel and 57 tanks the formerly fresh rifle divisions were no longer combat-effective.

The Army did not have an active role in the offensive, but was expected to tie down enemy forces through local attacks and raids to prevent them shifting westward to where the penetration was to take place.

[23] From January 6–9, 1943, Don Front's 21st, 65th and 66th Armies conducted intense but deliberate attacks against the north face of the German pocket to seize key terrain for the upcoming final offensive and to force the commitment of whatever reserves might still be available.

During that day the Army's shock group worked to widen the breaches and although the 16th continued to hold out its losses would force it to withdraw to stronger defenses on January 13.

[25] When the final stage of Operation Ring began on January 25 the Army converged on XI Corps' defenses from the eastern edge of Gorodishche, east through Orlovka to the high ground west of Spartanovka.

These attacks forced the German Corps to abandon the system of strongpoints around Orlovka and fall back towards the factory district of Stalingrad without any heavy weapons.

[31] Late in November it was assigned to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and began moving west by rail; joined the 3rd Shock Army in the Ostashkov area by January 1, 1942.

During that month and the next it took part in unsuccessful attacks to cut the German corridor before it was returned to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and railed south.

[38] On August 30 the 226th took part in the liberation of Hlukhiv and the following day received its first honorific:Glukhov ... 226th Rifle Division (Colonel Petrenko, Vasilii Yakovlevich)...

The troops who participated in the battles near Sevsk, Glukhov and Rylsk, by the order of the Supreme High Command of 31 August 1943, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 12 artillery salvoes from 124 guns.

On October 17 Petrenko and 22 of his soldiers, including Posadskii and Zharov, would be made Heroes of the Soviet Union for their roles in this crossing operation, several posthumously.

During the rest of the day heavy fighting that also involved the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps led to two German regiments being encircled although they broke out by evening in the direction of Manuilsk at the cost of significant losses.

In the plan for this offensive the 60th Army would attack toward Rovy with nine rifle divisions, including the 226th, before driving south along the left bank of the Irpin River in the direction of Kiev.

The troops who participated in the battle for Kiev, by the order of the Supreme High Command of 6 November 1943, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 24 artillery salvoes from 324 guns.

The 291st Infantry remained in the Korosten area regrouping and receiving reinforcements from the 147th Reserve Division, Corps Detachment 'C', and a battalion of assault guns.

I. D. Chernyakhovsky, categorically ordered Colonel Petrenko to hold Korosten at all costs during the next 48 hours until the arrival of the 6th Guards Rifle Division in the area.

[58] Through November and into December, as the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts encircled Budapest, the 1st Guards Army pushed on toward the towns of Humenné and Michalovce, which were taken by 107th Rifle Corps.

Near the end of the offensive the 226th took part in the capture of the city of Bielsko and in recognition the 329th Antitank Battalion would be awarded the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 3rd Degree, on April 5.

The advance crossed the upper reaches of the Oder River but was then held up by German resistance east of Frenštát pod Radhoštěm until April 5.

By the time of the German surrender the division had advanced as far as Olomouc; on June 4 the 553rd Sapper Battalion would receive the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 3rd Degree, for its part in seizing this city.