It served under command of 30th Army in an effort to recover Smolensk in late July and in the Dukhovshchina offensives in August and September, and was quickly reduced to a much-weakened state.

Following this victory it advanced into the "Baltic Gap" that had formed between Army Groups North and Center, entering Lithuania and winning the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the fighting for Kaunas.

On its arrival at the front the unit did not make a favorable impression on the Army commander, Maj. Gen. V. A. Khomenko, who reported on August 5:... the division is without equipment... no formed [anti-]chemical company... artillery didn't arrive until early August on three trains... 400 NKVD cadre, lots of Party members and Komsomols, but so few and weak horses that the artillery regiment had to move in relays... very little combat power.

[8] In orders issued by Timoshenko at 0240 hours on July 26 the division was to attack toward Teribki and Baturino and capture the Pozhinki, Sukharevo, and Lelimovo region, 40 km south of that Bely.

During that day and the next 30th Army recorded some tactical successes in advances of 5–15 km against the dug-in company-size battlegroups of 18th Motorized Division,[9] On July 30 General Solovyov left the 251st and was replaced by Maj. Gen. Ivan Fyodorovich Nikitin.

In a report issued by Timoshenko at 2000 hours on August 3 it was stated that 30th Army had attacked with its main forces in the morning, overcoming strong German resistance, with the 251st moving on Zhidki and Pochinok No.

But they are there, and if we smash a dozen of them, the Russians simply put up another dozen.Timoshenko began planning for a renewed effort on August 14 which was intended to recapture Dukhovshchina en route to Smolensk.

However, by the end of the day word had reached Timoshenko that 22nd Army, which was supposed to be advancing south of Velikiye Luki, was in fact facing defeat from the forces of 3rd Panzer Group moving northward.

At 0145 hours Khomenko dispatched a warning order to his subordinates which included:251st RD – relieve 107th TD's 120th [Motorized Rifle Regiment] with one regiment at 0600 hours on 25 August, protect the left flank of the army's shock group, and prepare to exploit 162nd RD's success on the right wing toward Sechenki, Krechets, and Boris'kova.Near the end of the day it was reported that the 251st was fighting to capture Sechenki against strong German resistance, but had not faced any counterattacks.

The former captured Bolshoe Repino and reached a line from Hill 212.9 to the road junction southwest of Sekachi by 1500 hours while continuing to attack toward Krechets and Gorodno; this was supported by most of 107th Tanks.

Timoshenko, determined to carry out his design and press the advantages he had won, issued orders to Western Front to prepare to resume the offensive on September 1 after regrouping.

Khomenko now issued orders for September 2, directing Colonel Stenin to regroup his main forces to his left wing overnight, establish links with the 244th Division of 19th Army, capture the road junction at Dorofeevo and crossings over the Votro in that sector, 5–7 km west-southwest of Gorodno.

In a report produced by the Army's military council on September 6 the division had been criticized for poor collection of intelligence, to the point of appointing a procurator to investigate if criminal proceedings would be justified.

Khomenko decided to fire a preemptive artillery bombardment between 1100 and 1130 hours on October 1 in an effort to disrupt the German forces which, by then, were clearly massing against his left flank.

Boldin's Group was largely intercepted by advancing German forces (significantly underestimated in numbers by Western Front) long before reaching its assembly areas.

At 0720 on October 6, in a illustration of the chaos gripping Western Front, General Boldin was still assigning orders to the 251st, directing its remnants, along with the 152nd (minus one regiment), to take Igorevskaya Station.

After holding out for 15 days, the three divisions staged a successful breakout to the north on October 27, and reached the lines of 29th Army before the end of the month, covering some 75 km and causing damage and confusion in the German rear.

It then became part of the Rogachevo group, which on November 28 was noted as falling back to the east and southeast under pressure of superior German forces following difficult defensive fighting.

29th Army soon began to envelop Rzhev from the west, reaching as close as 8 km to the city by January 11, and the STAVKA ordered the Front commander, General Konev, that it be taken the following day.

Nevertheless, on March 20 the STAVKA again demanded that Kalinin and Western Fronts continue to execute the previously assigned orders more energetically, declaring that "the liquidation of the enemy's Rzhev–Gzhatsk–Viaz'ma grouping has been impermissibly delayed."

After waiting for the weather to abate Western Front attacked on August 4 following a powerful artillery preparation which destroyed or suppressed roughly 80 percent of the German forces' weapons.

Although this date is given as the official end of the offensive in Soviet histories, in fact 20th Army persisted in efforts to penetrate the German front and attack Gzhatsk from the west before going over to the defense on September 8.

The division would be directly supported by the 83rd Tank Brigade, and the infantry assaults would be led by penal battalions and companies despite the misgivings of Kiryukhin, as he was unsure how these troops would perform.

The German forces, consisting of the 195th Grenadier Regiment of the 102nd Infantry Division, were very well dug-in and, because of poor visibility due to fog and falling snow, the preparatory artillery bombardment had been relatively ineffective.

Konev egged Kiryukhin to commit the divisions' second echelons, following a renewed artillery preparation, as greater success seemed to have been achieved on sectors to the south.

[39] During Operation Büffel, which began on March 1, Army Group Center made a phased evacuation of the Rzhev salient; while Western and Kalinin Fronts attempted to encircle and destroy elements of the retreating forces, they were too much weakened by the preceding battles to be effective.

He would be promoted to the rank of major general on October 16 and in mid-1944 he was reassigned to the 184th Rifle Division, which he led almost continuously into the postwar, being made a Hero of the Soviet Union on April 19, 1945.

In February 1943 he was released and returned to the front with the rank of major, almost immediately being promoted to lieutenant colonel, to take up the position of deputy commander of 927th Rifle Regiment.

The 251st was in the first echelon when the attack began on November 14 after a three-and-a-half hour artillery and air preparation, but was soon stopped in its tracks due to heavy machine gun fire.

The troops who participated in the liberation of Vitebsk, by the order of the Supreme High Command of 26 June 1944 and a commendation in Moscow are given a salute of 20 artillery salvoes from 224 guns.