For the rest of the war the division remained in Latvia helping to contain the German forces trapped in the Courland Peninsula, eventually coming under command of Leningrad Front.

The 238th had been originally formed on March 14, 1941 at Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan in the Central Asia Military District, based on the 499th Reserve Rifle Regiment, and so began with personnel mostly of Kazakh nationality.

[1] On May 3, 1942 it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner in recognition of its leading role in taking the town of Aleksin from German 4th Army during the counteroffensive in front of Moscow and later the liberation of Kaluga.

Given this relative weakness in force correlation and the fact that the main offensive had begun more than a week earlier, eliminating any element of surprise, the attack of 7th Guards Corps and the rest of 33rd Army soon faltered.

From August 10 to September 15 the personnel losses of 33rd Army are listed as 42,327 killed, wounded and missing while gaining from 20–25 km to the west and northwest.

[9] By then Mars was badly bogged down and although Zhukov continued to hope Jupiter could be implemented as late as December 9, on the 16th Stalin ordered the 3rd Tank Army to move south.

On the morning of December 11 it attacked with the 415th and 243rd Rifle Divisions on the Bolshoi Kropotovo - Podosinovka sector of the Vazuza bridgehead; this force advanced from 500 - 1,000m but was unable to take any of the fortified villages.

The rate of pursuit was generally slow due to strong rearguards, deteriorating weather and the German scorched-earth policy.

As a first echelon division the 30th Guards committed a battalion, reinforced with a few tanks and backed by artillery, to advance into the German security zone, which was 2–3 km deep and held by platoon-sized outposts.

15th Guards Corps, on the other hand, went into the attack some time later and began slowly pushing back the 499th Regiment of the 268th Infantry Division.

Overall the German position on this first day remained tenable because the offensive was a series of localized attacks rather an all-out effort to overwhelm 4th Army.

The operation resumed at 0730 hours on August 8 after a 30-minute artillery preparation, but 19th Guards Corps continued to be held up by what amounted to a battalion.

Finally, with the help of 33rd Army, the German position was overcome and their forces began towards the Yelnya - Spas-Demensk railway late on August 11.

Sokolovskii had been ordered to renew the drive by August 28 and it began at 0800 hours with a 90-minute artillery preparation across a 25 km-wide front southeast of Yelnya on the sectors of 10th Guards, 33rd and 21st Armies.

10th Guards and 21st Army attacked towards Terenino station against Battle Group Vincenz which contested the advance for about eight hours before it was shattered and began falling back to the Ugra River.

[18] However, despite the German 4th Army being in dire straits, Sokolovskii's forces were again nearly out of fuel and ammunition; in addition nine of his rifle divisions were reduced to 3,000 men or less.

15th Guards Corps attacked the northern flank of 342nd Infantry just north of the Yelnya - Smolensk rail line but failed to make any substantive gains.

After detecting the withdrawal, Sokolovskii issued orders for 10th Guards and 68th armies and most of his armor to pursue the left wing of IX Corps and approach Smolensk from the south.

While the Soviet troops were inspired by the prospect of a major victory at hand they were also nearing exhaustion and again low on supplies; Sokolovskii was forced to call a pause for a few days.

[19] On the same date the lead elements of 10th Guards Army reached positions from Lyady southward along the Mereya River to the town of Baevo.

The advance detachments of the Army reached the eastern approaches to Dubrovno, 15 km east of Orsha, by the end of October 11.

The attack began with an artillery preparation that lasted 85 minutes, but 10th Guards stalled almost immediately with severe losses and no appreciable gains.

The assault was renewed the next day after a short artillery fire raid, with the division being committed from second echelon, but with no better results against the German forces defending the villages of Lapyrevshchina and Arvianitsa, several kilometres northwest of Baevo.

While this extensive regrouping produced a powerful shock group astride the highway and to its north and south, it also committed many units to attack on unfamiliar sectors which increased confusion in Soviet ranks.

Over the following days the 10th Guards Army managed to clear the German defenders from the bogs south of the Verkhita River but was finally halted at nightfall on October 26 well short of the rail station at Osintori; Sokolovskii now ordered a suspension of the offensive.

[24] On January 18 General Kuleshov was moved to the position of deputy chief of staff of 2nd Baltic Front; he would eventually become the commander of 7th Guards Rifle Corps.

However, its deployment was delayed by the need to replenish its forces, while Army Group North surprised the Soviet command by beginning a phased withdrawal from the salient on December 29, which was completed six days later.

[27] It took part in the battle for the Latvian capital and was awarded its name as an honorific:"RIGA... 30th Guards Rifle Division (Major General Isaev, Mikhail Aleksandrovich)...

The troops who participated in the liberation of Riga, by the order of the Supreme High Command of October 13, 1944, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 24 artillery salvoes from 324 guns.

As of May 1 the 30th Guards was in the Kurland Group of Leningrad Front, helping to maintain the encirclement of the German forces in the Courland Pocket.