The division put up a very strong defense in the Battle of Kursk, facing some of the main elements of Army Group South, and then attacked through the western Ukraine after the German defeat.

During the day this attack shattered the defenses of the VIII Army Corps' 113th, 76th and 44th Infantry Divisions in the 10 km-wide sector from just south of Novaya Nadezhda State Farm southward to Hill 134.4.

Furthermore a gap 6 km wide had been carved into 6th Army's western front with no hope of being closed and Gumrak airfield was now within range of Soviet medium artillery.

[2] During January 25 the 65th Army pressed forward with the 27th and 67th Guards, 23rd and 233rd Rifle Divisions, converging on Aleksandrova and the western half of Gorodishche, capturing both towns as well as Razgulaevka Station.

As they advanced these divisions pushed the 76th and 113rd Infantry back toward the Vishnevaia Balka and the western end of the Barrikady workers' settlement.

This was intended to chop 6th Army's pocket in two and succeeded just after dawn on January 26, catching the German defenders disorganized and demoralized by the previous day's combat.

[8] As a further part of the plan of defense Voronezh Front was committed to a counter-artillery preparation at such time it became clear that the German attack was imminent.

The main German thrust came from the Gertsovka to Butovo area toward Korovino and Cherkasskoe with the 67th Guards facing an infantry regiment reinforced by 70 tanks and supported by 70 aircraft; this first effort was beaten off.

A marshy gully in front of the 196th Guards Rifle Regiment, which had been skilfully strengthened with a system of anti-tank obstacles, proved to be a difficult and time-consuming barrier.

At noon an infantry regiment supported by 30 tanks attacked from Butovo toward heights 244.5 and 237.8, finally penetrating into the 67th Guards' defense.

Despite this partial success the panzers became stuck between the two villages for the rest of the day, in heavy fighting, only establishing a tenuous hold on part of Cherkasskoe by midnight, a very poor showing for what was planned to be a major breakthrough of the Soviet defenses.

The Soviet engineering technical service (TOS) had played an important role in assisting the defense, accounting for up to 200 German infantry and five tanks using delayed-action mines and booby traps near height 244.5 and on the approaches to Cherkasskoe.

[12][13] During this fighting a battalion of the 196th Guards Regiment defending an antitank strongpoint was ordered by Colonel Baksov to fall back to an alternate defensive line to the north.

[16]When German armor arrived at Dmitrievka the combat became very intense as individual antitank men, armed with Molotov cocktails and grenades, were sent forth to repulse the attack.

The following day the 67th and 51st Guards cooperated with elements of the 3rd Mechanized and 6th Tank Corps in blocking any German advance along the direct paved road to Oboyan.

On the Verkhopene to Stanovaya woods sector up to 200 panzers struck units of the 3rd Mechanized and 67th Guards defending the southern slopes of height 242, 3.5 km east of the village.

The first attack was beaten off by the fire of antitank artillery and dug-in tanks with significant losses and a further attempt at 1130 hours fared similarly.

The German breakthrough attempt in the area had been stymied by the combined Soviet forces, including the 309th Rifle Division which was now covering the 67th Guards and 3rd Mechanized.

However a counterthrust on August 15 by 3rd SS Panzergrenadier Division Totenkopf flanked the Army and drove it off to the north, reaching the line of the Merla River.

[23][24] On September 21 the 138th Guards Artillery Regiment was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for "the exemplary performance of command assignments in battles, and display of valor and courage.

The assault was supported by two tank brigades but made only painful progress, as indicated in the history of the 71st Guards:The division's first echelon regiments advanced 600-700 meters on the first day of combat and approached right up to the forward edge of the enemy's defense...

The terrain, which was broken up by ravines and swamps, did not permit the full use of tanks in the attack and the foul weather hindered the deployment of aircraft.

6th Guards Army had been moved in secrecy into the line north of the German-held Vitebsk salient over three nights previous to the attack.

"[33]On July 22 the commander of the 201st Guards Rifle Regiment, Lt. Col. Georgi Aleksandrovich Inozemtsev, was named as a Hero of the Soviet Union.

Conducting a reconnaissance-in-force on the evening of June 22 he led the Regiment into the German defense line and captured the village of Ratkovo.

The next day the Regiment cut the Vitebsk - Polotsk railway line and crossed the Dvina River, during which Inozemtsev was wounded, but did not leave his command.

Inozemtsev went on to command the 71st Guards Division in early 1945 and published a number of articles and books on the history and prehistory of the Rostov region before his death in 1957.

[36] By the beginning of August the 6th Guards Army had advanced deep into the "Baltic Gap" and had crossed the border into Lithuania and the division had reached the area of Rokiškis.

At the start of the German Operation Doppelkopf in mid-August the division was located north of Biržai and after helping to fight off the counteroffensive advanced on Šiauliai.

The division remained in this region for the duration as part of the confining forces; in April, 1945, it was reassigned, along with the rest of its corps, to 67th Army.