After the latter place was taken on December 30 it was committed to the attempted encirclement of a large portion of Army Group Center by Western and Kalinin Fronts, and while this ultimately failed the 238th distinguished itself sufficiently to be awarded the Order of the Red Banner and to be redesignated as the 30th Guards Rifle Division in May 1942.

After a period in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for rebuilding the 238th returned to the fighting front in time to take part in Operation Kutuzov, during which it was awarded a battle honor.

During the Soviet summer offensive in June it crossed this river and assisted in the liberation of Mogilev and other places and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, along with all three of its rifle regiments.

As part of 2nd Belorussian Front it drove into Poland and Pomerania, assisting in the liberation of Gdańsk before moving west to play a secondary role in the final campaign in Germany.

[9] In the following period up to November 1 combat activities along 49th Army's front were characterized by separate collisions for the purpose of improving the position along the occupied lines.

On November 24, following a powerful preparation with mortar and machine gun fire, German reconnaissance parties attempted to pierce the forward edge of the division's defense but were repelled with losses.

In the morning the division retook Bunyrevo and Pogiblovo, encircled Botnya, and began fighting for Goryanovo despite stubborn resistance and the presence of tanks.

On the night of December 18/19 Zakharkin was directed to send part of the forces of 5th Guards and 60th Divisions south of the Protva to reinforce the shock group's right flank.

During the January 1-9, 1942 period the division was involved in heavy fighting, particularly with the German units defending the area of Torbeevo and Nizhnie Gorki, which had been turned into a strong fortified junction.

[18] Despite stubborn resistance by the German units in the area of Kashenka, 3 km (1.9 mi) south of Redkino, the division occupied that locale by the morning of January 14.

[20] On April 21, after months of continuous fighting on the Ugra River near Yukhnov, the 238th was withdrawn 6–8 km from the front line to the 49th Army reserve for rest and replenishment.

[21] On May 10 Korotkov handed his command over to Col. Maksim Gavrilovich Kirillov, but this officer was in turn replaced on May 16 by Col. Andrei Danilovich Kuleshov, who had previously led the 64th Naval Rifle Brigade.

A new 238th began forming on June 15, 1942 at Arzamas, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, in the Moscow Military District, based on an unidentified rifle brigade.

[27] Kalinin Front expected a decisive attack on November 28 that would clear the Luchesa valley and drive to the Olenino–Bely road, but the arrival of Großdeutschland turned the battle into a two-day vicious slugfest.

The 49th Tanks and 10th Mechanized Brigade, together with the 238th, smashed the German defenses at Goncharovo and drove west through the forests in the face of the counterattacking 1st Battalion of Großdeutschland's Grenadiers.

Both sides were equally exhausted at this point and at nightfall Yushkevich would have preferred to halt, but Army Gen. G. K. Zhukov, in overall command of the offensive, insisted that the attack continue "at all costs."

[28] Despite his misgivings, Yushkevich issued new orders in the early hours of December 1 to renew the attack at dawn in a staggered manner with all his forces following the strongest artillery preparation he could muster.

The 49th Tanks was committed shortly before noon after elements of the 238th had seized Galitskina and then pushed the German forces eastward several kilometres to within 4 km (2.5 mi) of the Olenino road.

The next day he made a command change, moving Kaprov to take over the approaching 155th Rifle Division, which he judged needed more experienced leadership, and appointing Col. Tikhon Fyodorovich Egoshin to the 238th.

On December 30 the German forces struck again against the Army's positions north and south of the river but after three days of fighting had made gains of just 3–4 km (1.9–2.5 mi).

[35] Col. Ivan Danilovich Krasnoshtanov, who had previously led the 139th Rifle Division, took command of the 238th on February 23 and he would hold this post for the duration of the war, being promoted to major general on September 1, 1943.

[40] In the initial planning for the counteroffensive against the Oryol salient, which became Operation Kutuzov, the 25th Corps was designated for developing any successes along the 3rd Army's sector, but the 362nd and 185th were committed before the 238th, and under other commands.

These forces were able to cross the river and penetrate the German defense despite rasputitsa conditions and an almost complete absence of roads; in fact, the attack developed quite slowly until 10th Army to the north entered the offensive on November 28.

By this time the 46th Corps had entered the penetration, led by the 369th Division, and the commander of 9th Army, General Model, convinced Hitler to allow him to withdraw to new defenses closer to the Dniepr.

While important gains were made, there was no breakthrough, in part due to the rifle divisions of all three armies numbering roughly 3,500 men each, and the 238th saw little action before the attack was suspended on January 8.

In late March General Rokossovsky, whose command was now designated 1st Belorussian Front, produced a plan to eliminate the German bridgehead over the Dniepr, based on Mogilev.

On July 1 on the Chervyen–Berezino road the composite Battle Group König (one regiment of the 31st Division and other remnants) was fighting the 38th and 19th Rifle Corps of 50th Army, which had crossed the Berezina River north of Brodets.

On the same day the Front commander, Col. Gen. G. F. Zakharov, assigned the two armies the task of continuing to vigorously pursue the scattered German groupings in the general direction of Białystok and by July 12 capture Grodno and reach the Svislach River.

During April 18–19 the Front launched intensive reconnaissance efforts in preparation for the crossings, including the elimination of German advance parties in the lowlands between the East and West Oder.

Attacking to the southwest and having beaten off five German counterattacks the Army advanced 5–6 km (3.1–3.7 mi) in the day's fighting, and by the evening part of the 70th Corps had reached a line between Gatow and Hohenfelde.