After a period in reserve for rebuilding, the division's combat path shifted southward when it was assigned to 52nd Army, where it remained for the duration of the war.

It won a battle honor in eastern Ukraine, then fought across the Dniepr River late that year, and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its successes.

After again moving to the reserves the division shifted northwards with its Army to join 1st Ukrainian Front, fighting through Poland, eastern Germany and into Czechoslovakia.

In November the division was assigned to the 39th Army, which was forming in the Arkhangelsk Military District,[4] and began moving by rail to join this command while it was still short of training and equipment.

Beginning on January 8, 1942, 39th Army took part in the Sychevka-Vyasma Offensive Operation, which was planned "to encircle, and then capture or destroy the enemy's entire Mozhaisk - Gzhatsk - Vyasma grouping",[6] that is, what later became known as the Rzhev salient.

By late November, 39th Army held positions at the northern apex of the salient, and the 373rd had the 1235th and 1237th Rifle Regiments north of the village of Kazakovo, while the 1239th faced the east side of the German bridgehead at the town of Molodoi Tud.

[11] The attack began at 1000 hours on November 25, but it quickly became apparent that the artillery had failed to destroy or suppress many of the German strongpoints, and the 373rd, along with the 158th and 135th,[12] were forced to retreat to the north bank.

Meanwhile, the forces on 39th Army's flanks gained some successes and seemed to be making the German position untenable until the arrival of elements of the Panzer-Grenadier-Division Großdeutschland at 1800 hours partly restored the situation.

By nightfall on the 29th, although small groups of Soviet tanks and infantry had approached the key position at Urdom, they had all been repulsed with heavy losses, in large part due to further intervention by Großdeutschland.

[17] In May the 373rd was removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for a substantial rebuilding, after which it was shipped south to join the 52nd Army in Steppe Front.

As of November 1, the 373rd was the only division in its Corps, and was defending a sector of more than 110 km on the east bank from the mouth of the Dolgun River to Chigurin Dubrova.

In conjunction with this, 52nd Army, on that Front's left (south) flank, had been ordered to launch an operation to liberate the west bank city of Cherkassy, as well as the important rail junction of Smela, beginning on November 13.

Overall, the terrain, with a large river to cross, much broken and wooded ground, and many inhabited localities, including substantial buildings and factories in the vicinity of Cherkassy, would make this a difficult operation.

German tanks and infantry reserves counterattacked and drove the battalion back to the shore, from where it was evacuated after nightfall, having suffered significant losses, including in crossing equipment.

[25] By the morning of November 20, the strategic situation indicated that the enemy would be receiving new reserves, so to retain offensive momentum the Army headquarters ordered a new effort to capture the city.

The fighting in the city and its approaches continued the next day, at which time it was learned from prisoner interrogations that the 3rd Panzer Division and other reinforcements had arrived at Smela to restore contact with the Cherkassy garrison.

[32] On April 8 the division was further honored with the award of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd Degree, for its part in an assault crossing of the Dniestr and the capture of the Romanian city of Beltsy.

[33] By this time the offensive had run to the end of its logistical support given the spring thaw, and the division remained in its positions due north of Iași until late May.

Operation Sonja began with a strong aviation and artillery preparation against the rifle divisions of 52nd Army, followed by attacks from tanks and infantry.

Reinforced by tanks the German force overcame this resistance, wheeled to the northwest, but was halted on the outskirts of Stanca by dug-in Soviet antitank guns and rifles, backed by withdrawing elements of the division.

The second battlegroup captured Hill 165, about 2.5 km into the 373rd's defenses, before its supporting elements of the 79th Infantry Division faltered in the face of strong Soviet resistance.

The offensive began in the early morning of August 20 with an artillery preparation of one hour and 40 minutes duration which wreaked significant destruction on the German and Romanian defenses and forces, although some strongpoints remained relatively intact.

During most of the day the 116th Rifle Division was engaged in stubborn fighting for the village of Galata, where enemy reserves were concentrated to hold open an escape route to the south.

While the 294th Division with the third battalion of the 223rd Tank Brigade cleared Iași by 1230 hours, the 373rd had to be committed to the fighting for Galata, which was seized by the end of the day.

73rd Corps was tied up in heavy fighting for an enemy strongpoint referred to as the "Little Fortress" height about 2 km south of Iași which dominated the surrounding terrain.

On February 9, 78th Corps advanced behind the tanks and overcame weak but unremitting resistance from the 19th Panzer and 408th Infantry Divisions, finally reaching the northern outskirts of Liegnitz.

As the advance continued the next day the Corps was forced to deploy its divisions, including the 373rd, facing southwest to cover its Army's left flank along a sector of 40 km from Liegnitz to Rosenthal.

[45] On February 19 the 373rd was recognized for its role in forcing the Oder River and capturing several German towns with the award of the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd Degree.

73rd Rifle Corps, which formed the Army's share of the shock group, quickly forced a crossing of the river despite repeated counterattacks by the Brandenburg Panzergrenadier Division.

This success pulled in the 373rd on the flank of the shock group, and by the end of the day had helped break through the German's main defense zone to a depth of up to 10 km.