The 257th had distinguished itself as part of 3rd Shock Army in the battle and siege of Velikiye Luki during the winter of 1942-43 and was redesignated as a result in April 1943.

During Operation Bagration in the summer it helped to finally secure the liberation of that city and was rewarded with the Order of the Red Banner.

When the offensive resumed in the first months of 1945 the 91st Guards took part in the battles for that German state and was decorated with the Order of Lenin in February, a rare award for a rifle division.

Following the German surrender the 39th Army was moved by rail to the Transbaikal Military District in preparation for the invasion and occupation of Japanese-held Manchuria.

When this campaign began in August the division made a successful crossing of the Khingan Mountains and was recognized with a second battle honor.

Over the following three days the defenders received considerable air support, antitank assets and lead elements of the 25th Panzergrenadier Division which enabled them to stabilize their lines after losing only about 3km at a cost of over 3,000 casualties.

The troops that participated in the liberation of Dukhovshchina, by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of 19 September 1943 and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 12 artillery salvoes of 124 guns.

He went on to lead two rifle corps, be promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, and was made a Hero of the Soviet Union before being killed in a traffic accident in 1946.

Given the attrition caused by over nine days of heavy combat the commander of Kalinin Front, Army Gen. A. I. Yeryomenko, ordered a pause for regrouping before continuing the drive on Vitebsk.

Three days later the 84th Corps, which now included the 91st Guards, began a more general effort westward along the Liozna road but this was halted on October 20 without achieving any notable success, and by the end of the month the front had stabilized.

While the 43rd Army's advance was largely contained at Poddube on November 11 the 39th managed to continue another 5km along the highway as far as Karamidy and the banks of the Losonina River, 10km east of Vitebsk.

General Berzarin now committed the Dremov Group to combat which led to a complex battle with elements of the 18th Panzer Division and battlegroups of the 206th and 246th Infantry.

The next day the second echelon divisions were committed to develop the attack; these gained another 2km in heavy fighting but were still unable to cross the road.

By December 26, 5th Guards Corps had advanced a mere 2–3km, leading to a caustic telegram from the STAVKA to the 1st Baltic Front, demanding greater progress.

5th Guards Corps formed 39th Army's shock group on a 6km-wide between the Smolensk–Vitebsk road and the village of Vaskova, again facing the 206th Infantry Division.

Berzarin committed the remainder of 39th Army but by March 5 it was clear that the operation was a failure, after gaining just several hundred metres (apart from the voluntary withdrawals) at heavy cost.

I. I. Lyudnikov, decided to launch his main attack with the reinforced 5th Guards Corps (17th, 19th, 91st Guards and 251st Rifle Divisions),[24] plus two divisions from the Army reserve, along the front from Makarova to Yazykovo in the general direction of Sharki, Zamostoche, Pesochna and Ostrovno and, after breaking through the German defense, prevent the LIII Corps from retreating.

[25] The 197th Infantry at this time comprised survivors of two battered divisions that could not individually be brought up to strength due to a lack of replacements, but it was backed by most of the 281st Assault Gun Brigade.

The offensive began on the afternoon of June 22 following a 2-hour-and-20-minute artillery and air bombardment and soon captured most of the advance positions of LIII and VI Army Corps.

Two weeks later, as the rate of advance slowed due to logistics and increasing resistance, the 91st Guards was in the vicinity of Jonava,[31] and 39th Army was returned to 3rd Belorussian Front.

[35] Following this the front stabilized until January 1945 as the Red Army rebuilt its forces and restored its supply lines through the recently liberated territory.

The 124th Rifle Division, committed from second echelon, broke into Pilkallen and seized the railroad station, the only significant advance of the day.

[37] The right-flank forces of 39th Army continued their pursuit on January 27, reaching the near approaches to the Königsberg fortress and became involved in stubborn fighting.

General Lyudnikov wanted to isolate the city from the north as quickly as possible, and assigned his 5th Guards and 113rd Rifle Corps the task of pursuing the German forces, reaching the Frisches Haff, and preventing them from withdrawing to the west.

[39] On February 19 the 91st Guards was awarded the Order of Lenin for its service in the capture of Tapiau, Allenburg, Nordenburg, and other towns in East Prussia.

5th Guards Rifle Corps advanced behind the 206th Tank Brigade south of the Halung-Arshaan and Wuchakou Fortified Regions, defended by two regiments of the Japanese 107th Infantry Division.

By this time 39th Army was advancing through the rugged Greater Khingan to cut the rail line at Solun and isolate the fortified regions.

It was not until August 12 that 5th Guards Corps met any notable opposition when it ran into elements of the 107th Infantry attempting to withdraw by rail.

On August 14 the 17th and 91st Guards began the Soviet pursuit southeast along the railroad toward Wangyemiao; during this advance the 735th SU Regiment formed the basis of a new forward detachment for the Corps.

[46] Members of the division committed the notorious Gegenmiao massacre during the Manchuria Operation, torturing and killing thousands of Japanese civilians in August 1945.