[2] Assigned to the 9th Rifle Corps in the Crimea the division had been undergoing amphibious training before the war started.
In July and August 1941 the group and the division raided into the rear areas and flanks of the German 2nd Army and 2nd Panzer Group south of Smolensk.
During this raid the division conducted a successful saber-swinging cavalry charge when they caught a German rear-echelon unit by surprise and overran it in a mounted attack.
[1] In October–November 1941 the group and division operated along the flanks of the German attack towards Tula.
[1] The division remained assigned to the 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps for the remainder of the war.