The soldiers of this division fought until early 1944 to break the siege and drive off the besieging German forces, distinguishing themselves in the liberation of Novgorod.

The 378th began forming on August 10, 1941 at Achinsk in the Siberian Military District, based on an RKO order of that date that included the 372nd, 374th and 376th Rifle Divisions.

The division was given about six weeks to form up before it was sent by rail to the front, arriving at Vologda, east of Leningrad, and was assigned to 59th Army by November 15.

Nonplussed by the failures, Stalin dispatched his deputy, Lev Mekhlis, to supervise the Front's preparations to renew the offensive.

Soon, Gen. N. Voronov, the chief of the Red Army's Artillery, was sent to Malaia Vishera with several railway cars containing the missing equipment."

In preparation for a further effort to begin on January 27, the division was regrouped to the Dubtsy Station and Sleshchenshoe village sector.

[4] Within weeks the German I Corps had turned the tables, and 2nd Shock found itself partially encircled, with just a narrow corridor under enemy fire linking back to Volkhov Front.

That army went into the attack on February 10, 1943, in the sector north of Smerdynia and the Tygoda River, aiming at the rail line south of Tosno.

For six days prior to the assault, 8th Army artillery had pounded the German defenses, and the attackers soon took the forward trenches, but stiff resistance and heavy airstrikes held up further progress.

5th Mountain, however, took extremely heavy losses, and in late July had to be reinforced by 132nd Infantry Division to avert disaster.

While this effort finally took the strongpoint at Porechye, which was evacuated by the Germans on the night of August 14-15, the overall offensive collapsed in utter exhaustion.

Fortunately for 6th Corps, the 1258th Rifle Regiment of the 378th attacked prematurely and without orders, taking advantage of the fact that German troops had abandoned their forward works during the artillery preparation, and seized a portion of those defenses.

[11] In recognition of this feat, the 378th Rifle Division was recognized as follows:"NOVGOROD" - 378 Rifle Division (Colonel Belov, Aleksandr Romanovich); the troops who participated in the battles with the enemy, and the breakthrough and liberation of Novgorod, by the order of the Supreme High Command of 20 January 1944, and a commendation in Moscow, is given a salute of 20 artillery salvos from 224 guns.