This formation took part in the early stages of the winter counteroffensive and made gains in the direction of Vyazma before being cut off behind German lines in February and largely destroyed by May.

The division was formed again in June, once again in the Western Front, and proved itself a stolid and reliable unit in the often frustrating battles east and west of Smolensk and into the Baltic states over the next two and a half years.

After an hour-long artillery preparation the 338th's assault managed to liberate the village of Sliznevo on the east bank of the Nara River but got no farther that day or the following due to stubborn enemy resistance.

In January, 1942 it was reassigned southwards to 43rd Army, still in Western Front, facing the enemy south of the Moscow - Minsk highway and west of Maloyaroslavets.

[9] In the course of this attack the 338th returned to 33rd Army for a few weeks; after this attempt failed due to appalling terrain conditions and strong German defenses it was moved back to the 49th.

On September 9, after exactly two years in command, Colonel Kuchinev finally passed the reins to Col. Nikolai Olimpievich Guz, who would hold them until mid-March, 1944.

The new assault, which included the action known as the Battle of Lenino, began on October 12 but was once again stymied with limited gains and significant casualties, especially among the ranks of the Polish 1st Infantry Division.

In five days of intense fighting the two Soviet armies managed to advance a mere 4 – 5 km, while the remainder of the Front's forces gained even less.

Sokolovsky, proposed a preliminary attack by elements of 5th and 31st Armies in the direction of Babinavichy, to draw German forces southwards from Vitebsk.

Under this plan the division would be part of a shock group attacking westward south of the Sukhodrovka River to outflank the German strongpoint at Vysochany.

The attack, beginning on February 22, once again made very limited gains, in part because 3rd Panzer Army had shortened its lines around Vitebsk to free up reserves.

After a 2-hour and 20 minute artillery preparation and attacks from the air, 5th Army, deployed on a 30 km front, kicked off its assault on the afternoon of June 22.

On the morning of June 24 the German VI Army Corps was still holding a line about 10 km east of Bogushevsk, but this was soon broken, with Soviet tanks entering the town at noon with infantry following.

[16] Progress slowed over the following month as the German front was rebuilt, and when the Riga Offensive began in mid-September the division was just west of Kėdainiai.

Meanwhile, 113rd Corps, including the 338th, was to attack from behind the right flank of the Army's shock group in the direction of Lazdenen, with the objective of rolling up the German positions to the north.

On the 27th the 39th Army was straining to surround Königsberg from the north as quickly as possible, and the division was part of a force ordered to reach the shore of the Frisches Haff.