The 83rd Guards saw combat in the slow and bloody battles east and north of Vitebsk through the winter during which it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and shortly after a divisional honorific.

Early during the summer offensive against Army Group Center, now as part of 3rd Belorussian Front, the division further distinguished itself in crossing the Berezina River and liberating the city of Borisov, later receiving the Order of Suvorov.

[3] The German Operation Zitadelle officially ended on July 12, the same day that forces of Western and Bryansk Fronts struck the positions of the 2nd Panzer Army on the north flank of the Oryol salient.

The German forces, making use of prepared positions, directed powerful interlocking fire and launched repeated counterattacks with tanks and infantry which slowed the Soviet advance.

While the German garrison made every effort to throw this regiment out the rest of the division, backed by most of the 2nd Guards Tanks, launched a powerful attack from the northeast.

The Corps' 70th Tank Brigade, reinforced with a battalion of the 83rd Guards, energetically pursued the German remnants falling back in disorder, forced the Vytebet River, broke into Yagodnaya and in the course of an advance of over 30 km in half a day of fighting inflicted heavy losses.

The commander of 8th Guards Corps, Lt. Gen. P. F. Malyshev, knowing the extent of German fortifications, declined to directly attack Yagodnaya and chose to force the Vytebet in the Shvanova area.

Despite stubborn resistance and counterattacks aimed at guarding the road to Bolkhov the Yagodnaya garrison was threatened with complete encirclement and after abandoning its wounded, heavy weapons and other equipment began falling back hurriedly to the southeast.

These forces renewed their offensive the next day and by the end of July 25 had reached a jumping-off point for a decisive attack to eliminate the German Bolkhov grouping in cooperation with 61st Army of Bryansk Front.

The Soviet command was forced to commit the 4th Tank Army to complete the breach while still facing a strong antitank defense which claimed many vehicles and limited the penetration to just 3 km in depth.

The 8th and 36th Guards Corps with heavy tank support went over to the attack at 1300 and quickly broke through the forward edge of the German defense, which was soon falling back to its intermediate line.

The town was now outflanked from three sides and on the morning of August 10 was completely cleared of German forces as remnants fell back to the west; the battle had cost them 7,500 officers and men, 70 armored vehicles and 176 guns and mortars.

General Bagramyan stated in his memoirs:"The 11th Guards Army's commander was inclined to give his forces the opportunity to rest on the night of 24 December and continue the operation at first light.

The troops who participated in the liberation of Gorodok, by the order of the Supreme High Command of 24 December 1943, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 12 artillery salvoes from 124 guns.

Following the battle for Gorodok his Army continued to face stubborn resistance and advanced only 4–5 km by the end of December 25, being "halted by powerful and carefully organized artillery-mortar and machine-gun fire and also by enemy counterattacks."

From December 25–31 the Army gradually wedged its way into the German positions, with the 26th, 11th and 31st Guards Divisions making the greatest progress, but even this amounted to just 5–7 km of ground gained.

Following an extensive artillery preparation the assaults quickly overcame the forward defenses of the 87th and 12th Divisions and in two days of heavy fighting advanced up to 3.5 km on a 9 km-wide front.

The 83rd Guards took the German strongpoint at Mashkina from the 87th Infantry; the LIII Army Corps was forced to again withdraw this badly shaken division from the front and replace it with fresher troops from 20th Panzer.

[28] In April, as part of the preparations for the summer offensive, the 11th Guards Army was removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command before being reassigned to the new 3rd Belorussian Front in May.

[30] While in reserve the Army trained intensively in the forests in the Nevel region and received over 20,000 replacements, bringing the 83rd Guards and the rest of its rifle divisions to an average of 7,200 personnel each.

The immediate objective was to break through the German defense and pave the way for the 2nd Guards Tank Corps to seize the line of the Orshitsa River by the end of the first day.

[33] On June 25 the Army focused its efforts on the sector of 16th Guards Corps which threw the German forces back another 7–12 km and was by now deeply outflanking Orsha from the north.

[37] On July 5, after liberating Molodechno, the 8th and 16th Guards Corps pushed on towards the Neman (Berezina) River which they reached and crossed the next day before running into the German defenses of the "East Wall" and being halted.

While the battle for this city went on until the 13th forward detachments of 5th Guards Tank reached the Neman River, followed by the left flank and center forces of the Front.

On October 16 the division, along with the rest of 11th Guards, began attacking into East Prussia as part of the Front's abortive Goldap-Gumbinnen Operation, which ended in early November.

[39] In the planning for the Vistula-Oder Offensive the Army began in the second echelon of 3rd Belorussian Front, on a sector from Kybartai to Kaukern on the right and Millunen to Georgenburg on the left.

I. D. Chernyakhovsky, decided to use his 11th Guards, 5th and 28th Armies to encircle and eliminate the German Insterburg - Gumbinnen group of forces, with the objective of pursuing and advancing directly on Königsberg.

On February 9 the 11th Guards along with the 43rd and 39th Armies, all operating close to Königsberg, were transferred to 1st Baltic Front while 3rd Belorussian focused on eliminating the large group of German forces in the western regions of East Prussia.

36th and 16th Guards Corps on the left and center made the most progress, penetrating 4 km into the German defenses, blockading two forts, clearing 43 city blocks and beginning fighting for the railway station.

It was committed into the first line overnight on April 17/18, relieving 2nd Guards Army on the Vistula Spit, facing the heavily fortified town of Pillau.