On May 16 the division came under the command of Col. Ivan Ilich Lyudnikov, who had been in command of the
200th Rifle Division at the time of the German invasion. After recovering from severe wounds he had led several divisions in the Caucasus region, including the 63rd Mountain. In late June the German forces launched Operation Blue, aiming for, among other objectives, the city of Stalingrad. As forces of
Southern Front moved north to
Stalingrad Front's positions along the middle
Don River in mid-July the
STAVKA ordered
North Caucasus Front to reinforce its positions east of
Rostov-na-Donu with the 138th and the
115th Cavalry Division from 51st Army. On July 31 the
4th Panzer Army began an advance on the
Abganerovo axis. This struck the 138th and
157th Rifle Divisions, tearing apart their defenses east of the Don and forcing them to withdraw in considerable disorder toward
Kotelnikovo.
Fighting on the Approaches Late on August 2 the commander of
64th Army, Maj. Gen.
M. S. Shumilov, created the Southern Operational Group under command of his deputy, Lt. Gen.
V. I. Chuikov. The next day Shumilov ordered the 138th and 157th to reinforce this Group, which was to defend the line of the Aksai River. By nightfall on August 4 Chuikov's Group had proven incapable of maintaining a coherent defense over a front of 60km with divisions that had from 1,500 - 4,500 men each (the 138th had 4,200 on strength), with a total of about 40 tanks and 300 guns and mortars in support. Unless something was done, German forces could advance on Stalingrad virtually unimpeded. In response, in order to improve command and control, the
STAVKA split Stalingrad Front and created
Southeastern Front effective August 7 and 51st Army, with the 138th, was subordinated to the latter, although the division remained part of Group Chuikov. It was currently holding its defense along the Aksai, at Gorodskii and
Novoaksaysky. As these command rearrangements were being made the
14th Panzer Division resumed its advance on August 5 and during the day thrust 30-40km north from Aksai, bypassing Group Chuikov's weak left flank and reaching Abganerovo Station, 70km southwest of Stalingrad. Despite this perilous position Chuikov's Group managed to halt the left wing of 4th Panzer Army along the lower Aksai for 12 days. This forced the Panzer Army to divide its forces instead of concentrating for a decisive advance on the city. On August 5 the Romanian VI Army Corps managed to force a bridgehead at the junction between the 138th and 157th divisions but this was thrown back with a dawn counterattack the next day. On August 13 General Shumilov, concerned that Group Chuikov could be encircled, ordered a phased withdrawal to the Myshkova River. By this time the division had been formally subordinated to 64th Army as the 51st fell back east toward the Volga. 4th Panzer Army resumed its advance on August 20 with its
XXXXVIII Panzer Corps, which fielded 180-200 tanks. 64th Army was deployed across a front of 120km, with the sector of the lower Myshkova defended by three rifle divisions backed by the 138th and
29th Rifle Divisions and 154th Naval Rifle Brigade in second echelon with the
13th Tank Corps concentrated southeast of
Tinguta Station. The assault soon drove back the first echelon and a battlegroup of 14th Panzer, reinforced by part of
29th Motorized Division, advanced 4km and captured Tinguta. In response Shumilov withdrew the 138th and the 154th Brigade to reserve positions 5km to the rear. On August 22 the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps redeployed and in heavy fighting reached the southern and eastern approaches to the Station, forcing the 138th and
204th Divisions into all-around defenses to protect it. The German assault was renewed over the next two days but at the end of August 24 the 64th Army reported: While this attack was fought to a standstill, on August 29 the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps found a weak spot and overwhelmed the
126th Rifle Division north of Abganerovo Station, advancing 20km during the day, forcing the 138th to abandon its positions at Tinguta. The divisional command post of the 126th had been overrun, many staff officers killed, and the divisional commander captured; by the end of the day the division had been reduced to only 1,054 combat troops. The collapse of the 126th also unhinged the defenses of the 29th and 138th divisions along the rail line, forcing them to withdraw northward and opening a path to the rear areas of 64th and 62nd Armies. The commander of Southeastern Front, Col. Gen.
A. I. Yeryomenko, ordered Shumilov to withdraw to new defenses from
Novy Rogachik southeastward along the Chervlennaia River to Ivanovka, 25km southwest of Stalingrad. Overnight on August 30/31 the 138th was withdrawn to the Army's reserve and was noted the next day as having no more than 1,000 "bayonets" (infantry and sappers) on strength. By the end of September 2 it was situated in the second echelon defenses along the Peschanka
Balka (ravine). 4th Panzer Army renewed its offensive on September 8. The 29th Motorized and a battlegroup of 14th Panzer wheeled south and struck the extreme right wing of 64th Army southeast of Voroponovo Station. The assault pressed the 204th and 126th Divisions and the reinforcing 138th Division and 133rd Tank Brigade back to new defenses extending southwest from Peschanka. The Army reported, "As a result of the enemy tank attack, [138th Rifle Division's] 343rd Rifle Regiment was almost completely destroyed," although "18 enemy tanks were destroyed and burned." The following day the German forces drove southward west of Kuporosnoe, forcing the 138th, 204th and 157th Divisions to abandon Staro-Dubovka. The Soviet forces withdrew to the new defense line east and west of Gornaia Poliana, which was already manned by the 126th Division. During the day the remainder of 14th Panzer reinforced the assault of the 29th Motorized and while this was halted short of Kuporosnoe and the west bank of the Volga, the four rifle divisions were being rapidly eroded away. Overnight on September 9/10 a battalion of the 29th Motorized reached the Volga south of Kuporosnoe but was thrown back in part by the
131st Rifle Division after it had been relieved at Gornaia Poliana. The 138th and 126th Divisions were now supported by the fresh
56th Tank Brigade and a regiment from the
Krasnodar Infantry School, containing the 14th Panzer. On September 12 the fighting for the Stalingrad suburbs reached its climax. 14th Panzer was now supported by the mixed German/Romanian
IV Army Corps and probed the defenses of the 64th Army from the southwest outskirts of Kuporosnoe around to its boundary with
57th Army at Ivanovka. This position would become known as the Beketovka bridgehead. At this time the division was noted as having a total of 2,123 personnel. Lyudnikov's chief of staff was Lt. Col. V. I. Shuba and his political officer was N. I. Titov.
Beketovka Bridgehead In the last days of September a task group of 57th Army carried out a successful counterstroke against the positions of
1st Romanian Infantry Division at
Lake Tsatsa and the 14th Panzer had to be sent to stabilize the front. This was followed overnight on October 1/2 by an attack by five divisions, including the 138th, of the 64th Army against the positions of the
371st Infantry Division at and west of Peschanka in an attempt to capture that place and Staro-Dubovka. The commander of the
422nd Rifle Division, Col.
I. K. Morozov, wrote:Although the attack failed, it was an unpleasant distraction for Gen.
F. Paulus whose
6th Army was now deeply involved in the fighting in the city. On October 5 the 138th arrived in the reserve of Stalingrad Front for refitting. Over the next 8-10 days its manpower was raised to 2,646 although it was short of rifles and machine guns (on hand 1,025 rifles, 224 submachine guns, 6 light and 12 heavy machine guns, 27 antitank rifles) and numbers of these had to be taken from the other regiments to fully arm the 650th. However it was strong in artillery with 11 122mm howitzers, 31 76mm cannons and 21 antitank guns.
Into the City By late on October 14 the
Dzerzhinskiy Tractor Factory had fallen to forces of German 6th Army and Chuikov, now in command of 62nd Army, recognized that the city's defense now had to be anchored on the
Barrikady munitions factory and the
Krasny Oktyabr steel plant. Yeryomenko promised to release the 138th, which was partially rested and replenished, the next day. On the night of October 15/16 the 138th began crossing the Volga into Stalingrad, coming under Chuikov's orders again as part of 62nd Army, to take up positions at the
Barrikady: The crossing, under heavy German fire, was carried out by the 44th Brigade of the
Volga Flotilla. The leading 650th Regiment was dispatched to reinforce the sagging defenses of the
95th Rifle Division's 161st and 241st Rifle Regiments east of the Stadium, moving into well-prepared positions supported by roughly 20 tanks of the
84th Tank Brigade. The German Group Jänecke, consisting of the
305th Infantry and 14th Panzer Divisions, supported by elements of
24th Panzer, had begun a new assault on the Soviet positions north and west of the
Barrikady on October 16. Up to 40 German tanks attacked Soviet positions along
Leninskii Prospekt and Tramvainaia Street at 1300 hours and pushed into the northern part of the
Barrikady by the end of the day. The 650th was thrown in immediately to hold a new line south of Tramvainaia to the northern end of Volkhovstroevsk Street. The 344th and 768th Regiments began their crossings at 0500 hours on October 17 and on arrival fanned out to protect the remainder of the factory and the strip of land between it and the Volga. The former took up positions in the central manufacturing halls and the latter deployed along
Leninskii Prospekt northeast of the factory, tying in with the 95th Division. With suitable positions at a premium Colonel Lyudnikov had to squeeze his command post into damaged bunkers already occupied by 62nd Army headquarters personnel. Overnight Group Jänecke regrouped with the intention of expelling the 138th from the
Barrikady and then encircling the entire
308th Rifle Division and the 685th Regiment of the
193rd Rifle Division in the workers' settlement west of it. This plan was compromised by serious weaknesses in the attacking forces, especially in tanks and assault guns. On the morning of October 17 the tanks and infantry of 14th Panzer made rapid progress after smashing through the boundary between the 650th and 768th Regiments, forcing both to retreat deeper into the northern and western parts of the
Barrikady. By noon the 344th was caught up in the melee and as the day ended all three regiments had fallen back to new defenses, exposing the right wing of the 308th. In consequence this division suffered heavy casualties and its survivors fell back to the 138th's positions. While the division had prevented the German forces from taking the factory in one bound, the first full day of its defense had been a defeat and Chuikov was forced to shift his headquarters south to the
Krasny Oktyabr. However 14th Panzer had lost 19 of its original 33 tanks destroyed or knocked out during the day. During the night the German
LI Army Corps regrouped again to complete the capture of the
Barrikady, including its remaining halls and the Bread Factory one block south. The assault group of the previous day was reinforced with 18
StuG III assault guns of the 244th and 245th Battalions. Supporting forces of the 24th Panzer,
389th Infantry and
100th Jäger Divisions would also be involved, leading to an overly complex plan for the day's attack. This quickly degenerated into a costly slugfest that continued over several days with only limited German gains. Lyudnikov ordered his 344th Regiment to contest every one of the factory's ruined halls and other buildings. The 305th Infantry and the grenadiers of 14th Panzer were forced into the tedious and costly process of rooting out Soviet infantrymen and sappers from every room and shop and as they slowly approached the Volga became more exposed to artillery fire from the east bank. During the day the 24th Panzer and a regiment of the 389th Infantry finally secured the Brick Factory north of the
Barrikady from the remnants of
37th Guards Rifle Division supported by the 650th Regiment, while a separate push against the 650th to reach the Volga did so only along a very narrow sector and at heavy cost. A relative lull in operations followed from October 19-22 due in part to diminishing German strength and in part to intermittent heavy rains and occasional snow showers which did not clear until early on the 21st. During this time the 138th organized and strengthened its defenses and launched strong local counterattacks while Paulus called up the
79th Infantry Division. An attack planned by LI Corps for the morning of October 19 against all three regiments of the division came to an abrupt and bloody halt; the German regiments could each muster no more than a battalion with about 10 tanks or assault guns in support. The battlegroups of the 305th Infantry's 576th and 578th Regiments attacked the 768th Regiment at dawn, splashing through flooded shell craters, climbing over heaps of debris and gaining some ground but also coming under flanking small arms fire from the 2nd Battalion of the 344th to the south as well as direct and indirect fire from the 295th Artillery Regiment. Without air support, due to the weather, the commander of the 576th Regiment reported that "the cleansing of Hall 6 (the Manufacturing Hall) and Hall 4 (the Assembly Hall) was going to be a bloody and protracted affair." After this effort was suspended Lyudnikov ordered the 344th, supported by survivors of the 308th Division, to counterattack into the southwest corner of the factory to reach the boundary with the 193rd Division. This took the German forces by surprise and regained some ground. The LI Corps planned for a renewed offensive on the two factories to begin on October 23. For the
Barrikady the 14th Panzer and 79th Infantry were to attack from its southwest corner southward to Karuselnaya Street to capture the Bread Factory and the
Krasny Oktyabr. Meanwhile, the 305th Infantry and a squadron of six tanks of 24th Panzer were to conduct a secondary attack to clear the
Barrikady and west bank of the Volga to its north and northeast. By this time all nine battalions of the 305th were combat rated as "weak" and the 24th Panzer had only 15 operational tanks. At the same time the 84th Brigade had only a "handful" of tanks remaining; the 138th, with the remnants of the 308th and the 37th Guards, counted fewer than 2,500 men. Assault groups of the 305th Infantry launched a series of night attacks at 0100 hours on October 23 against the positions of the 650th Rifle Regiment among the gullies and ravines northeast of the factory. These night attacks from German forces were unexpected, but also unsuccessful. The main attack began at 0810, preceded by air and artillery bombardments. The assault of the 578th Regiment, with the six tanks of the 24th Panzer, struck the railroad yards and severely damaged halls in the southern half of the
Barrikady that were defended by two weak battalions of the 308th, later reinforced by a battalion of the 650th. The other battlegroups of the 305th, attacking the northern part of the factory, advanced only about 100 metres in the face of resistance from the 344th and 768th Regiments. Hall 4 was retaken by a counterattack and the commander of the 305th advised Paulus during a visit to the front lines that his division was no longer capable of offensive operations. During the day's fighting the 138th received 258 replacements. The next day the two sides, both reduced to little more than weak battalion and company groups, continued a desperate struggle among the ruined shops, halls and warehouses, with gains and losses measured in tens of metres. Initial German attacks seized part of Hall 6b but faltered as the 768th Regiment was reinforced by elements of the other two regiments. However, a renewed effort at 1630 hours captured Hall 4 and most of Hall 6. On the morning of October 25 nearly all of the southern and central factory buildings were in German hands; at this point the 768th was deployed in the north and the 650th in the south of the division's sector with the 344th in between, still holding a corner of Hall 6. Given the march-companies and replacements Yeryomenko continued to ferry across the river the division likely still had about 2,500 men on strength, whereas the 305th Infantry had been weakened to less than 1,200 infantry. Its further attacks during the day made minor gains leaving the 138th holding just the northeastern part of the factory grounds. Chuikov recorded that the "backbone" of his 308th, 193rd, 138th and 37th Guards Divisions had "lost... combat effectiveness" and "only soldiers who arrived as recent reinforcements remain in the divisions." During October 26 and 27 the fighting in the factory district focused on the ferry landing stage between the
Barrikady and the
Krasny Oktyabr where the reinforcing
45th Rifle Division was scheduled to arrive. On the second day the left flank of the 650th Regiment and a regiment of the 308th Division were overrun by German sub-machine gunners which occupied Mezenskaya and Tuvinskaya Streets, reaching within 400m of the Volga although later thrown back somewhat. At about the same time, in a move that would soon prove crucial to the 138th, units of the 14th Panzer and 305th Infantry reached the ''Barrikady's'' fuel storage tank farm. The fighting in this area continued during the next two days without further German gains, but during this period the remainder of the 305th finally cleared the factory's eastern edge and the 138th fell back into the maze of buildings and streets between the factory and the Volga.
Lyudnikov's Island The arrival of the 6,500 men of the 45th Division tipped the battle for the factory district in 62nd Army's favor and fighting died down over the last days of the month. Between November 1-10 there was another operational lull but fierce fighting continued on a limited scale, including more unsuccessful German efforts to take the ferry stage with armor support. New attacks on November 2–3 by the 305th Infantry, now reinforced with more assault guns and
panzerjägers, faltered immediately against the 650th and 768th Regiments. Fighting largely ceased on November 4 as both sides prepared for an expected final effort by 6th Army to clear the city before winter set in. Raids and small actions by both sides continued until November 10. The front-line positions of the 138th (and attached 118th Guards Rifle Regiment) were as follows:When the 305th and 389th Infantry Divisions completed their preparations on that date they had been reinforced with five combat engineer battalions from outside the city, each numbering about 450 men which, combined with their own remaining infantry and engineers, gave the divisions a total of about 5,200 men, outnumbering the Soviet troops they faced by more than two to one. This final bid began with an artillery preparation at 0340 hours on November 11 against the 138th and 95th Divisions east of the
Barrikady. Early on the attackers penetrated the 241st Regiment of the 95th and reached the Volga on a 200m front east of Mezenskaya. At the same time the 138th was struck by three infantry regiments, two engineer battalions plus 16 assault guns, weighted to its right (north) flank northeast of the factory, but managed to initially hold its positions. The 578th Infantry Regiment, led by the 50th Engineer Battalion and ten assault guns, plowed slowly toward two key objectives designated as the "Pharmacy" and the "Commissar's House", both about 400m from the river; the latter contained Lyudnikov's headquarters. Finding a gap between the 241st and 650th Regiments a German assault group seized the ruins around the Pharmacy, but when the 50th Engineers approached the Commissar's House they found all its entrances blocked with rubble. Unable to deploy
satchel charges against it they fell back to nearby shell holes where they were pinned down by heavy fire. Meanwhile, the 576th Infantry Regiment and 294th Engineer Battalion were making continuous progress against the 241st Regiment and ultimately captured the fuel tank farm. This effectively cut the 138th off from the remainder of 62nd Army. Further attempts to advance from the ravine east of the Pharmacy towards House No. 79 were stymied by flanking fire from the Commissar's House. The 344th Regiment stopped the 577th Regiment immediately east of the factory but a regiment of the 389th Infantry Division, led by two engineer battalions and a mix of assault guns and
panzerjägers, threw the 768th Regiment out of its last toehold in the factory and back to within 200m of the river. The last seven men of the 118th Guards Regiment were forced to fight their way south to Lyudnikov's now-isolated bridgehead by the day's end. German infantry casualties had been moderate but armor losses had been high. Lyudnikov reported that his 768th was down to 24 men and condemned the withdrawal of the 241st Regiment "without advance warning" that left his division pocketed, a pocket that LI Corps was confident could be eliminated the next day. In the event Paulus ordered a halt for November 12. The two German divisions dug in and reorganized as Chuikov demanded attacks to restore contact with the 138th. As part of this effort the composite regiment (685th, about 200 men) of the 193rd Division was subordinated to Lyudnikov at 1800 hours. During November 12-22 the attacks of the 193rd plus elements of the 95th Division retook part of the fuel tank farm but failed to reestablish contact with the division. At 0345 hours on November 13 the LI Corps renewed its assaults on the 138th. Lyudnikov ordered his roughly 2,000 men:The early attack caught the 650th Regiment off guard and reached the walls of the Commissar's House (the "
П-shaped building" in Soviet accounts). The 50th Engineers, now equipped with ladders, were able to enter through upper-floor windows and drove the defenders into fortified cellars where they were attacked with smoke grenades, satchel charges and gasoline. These defenders were mostly mortar-men of the 650th and repeatedly called in artillery fire on their positions during the late afternoon; only ten of these, most of whom were wounded or burned, were able to escape. The 578th Infantry gained another block north of the Commissar's House, considerably reducing the bridgehead which now measured about 700m in width and 400m in depth. Lyudnikov had by now moved his headquarters to a ravine on the Volga bank just east of the building that the German forces called the Red House. With no strength left to conduct major attacks elsewhere in the factory district, on November 14 the LI Corps again sought to liquidate "Lyudnikov's Island". The right flank of the 344th Regiment was struck by the 577th Infantry, spearheaded by two companies of the 336th Engineers and supported by as many as 23 assault guns. House No. 74, defended by the 650th Regiment, was also targeted; in all slightly more than 3,000 German troops attacked less than half this number manning hundreds of strongpoints scattered through the rubble. Despite hard fighting and heavy losses German gains were limited and two buildings lost by the 344th Regiment were later regained in counterattacks. The division's supply situation was becoming critical; captured weapons and ammunition were in extensive use and drops from
Po-2 aircraft frequently fell into German hands. By day's end the 138th had roughly 500 "bayonets" still in the fight. After yet another regrouping the German attack continued the next day against its right and left flanks, focused on individual buildings, and meeting repeated counterattacks. At nightfall Lyudnikov's staff reported that the 768th was no longer combat-effective, the 650th numbered 31 men, and the 344th had 123, including its command cadre. Overall the division had 20-30 rounds per rifle, no grenades or sub-machine gun ammo, no food, and about 250 wounded were at the division's command post. Overnight four bales of provisions and four of ammunition were airdropped, but again some of these fell within German lines. From November 16-18 Paulus ordered another pause in the battle, in preparation for a new attack on November 20. During this period the 578th Infantry and its attached and much weakened engineers advanced less than a block on the left flank of the 650th Regiment along the Volga. Meanwhile, the river was rapidly icing-up, blocking supply traffic to 62nd Army from the east bank. On November 17 Hitler sent a new order to 6th Army stating that the ice presented an opportunity to reach the river, specifically in the
Barrikady and
Krasny Oktyabr sectors. The next day a carefully planned attack beginning at 0400 hours captured House No. 77 from the 650th Regiment and a further effort in the afternoon gained about 100m along the riverbank. The division was still very short of supplies and with no means to recharge radio batteries could no longer call in artillery support. But this marked the last gasp for the LI Corps' offensive. As of November 20 the 138th had a personnel strength of 1,673 remaining, although most of these were in the artillery and support services on the east bank.
Siege of 6th Army Further air drops on November 19 had delivered 10,000 rounds of
rifle cartridges and several boxes of food to the "Island" where the remaining 250 active "bayonets" fended off several attacks without losing ground. On the same day Operation Uranus began as
Southwestern and
Don Fronts attacked German and Romanian positions northwest of Stalingrad. The Axis crisis deepened the next day when Stalingrad Front went over to the offensive southwest of the city. 62nd Army's role was to continue to defend and to launch local attacks to tie down German forces. The 138th was struck again on November 21, repelled four battalion-sized attacks supported by seven assault guns and had about 180 of its men wounded through the day but also received supplies from several ships which also evacuated most of the casualties. The attacks persisted the next day with similar results and replacements kept the division at a strength of about 300 infantry. Maj. Gen. F. E. Bokov of the Red Army General Staff complained that Chuikov was failing to support the division and demanded that more ice cutters and icebreakers be brought in to ensure supplies. The encirclement of the Axis forces was completed the same day. Following the encirclement the Soviet armies encountered tough resistance from the German forces within what was rapidly becoming a fortress. 62nd Army's skeletal divisions attacked on November 28-29 but made minimal gains before going over to the defense the next day. The 95th Division continued to try to break through from the south to the 138th, without success. The 305th Infantry was in little better shape, reporting on December 2 that it had about 1,000 men in its front lines mostly facing roughly 600 of the 138th. Apart from minor positional sparring the fighting in the city was minimal until December 16 when the Volga finally froze solid, which soon allowed vehicular supply traffic to 62nd Army. Contact with "Lyudnikov's Island" was firmly reestablished on the 23rd. The 138th had attacked at 0500 hours on the 21st, capturing four houses, five machine guns and two prisoners while advancing 100m-120m to the south while the 95th Division drove northwest making similar gains. Fighting continued on December 22 and the two divisions linked up on a 50m-wide sector along the river which was widened the next day. The two sides faced each other within the city for the next several weeks as the German relief attempt,
Operation Winter Storm, played out. 62nd Army was now under command of Don Front and prepared for Operation Ring, the final offensive against 6th Army; at this time the 138th had 800-900 active "bayonets" in the city which was above average. At 0200 hours on January 10, 1943 Chuikov ordered his
156th Fortified Region to relieve the division in the "Island" with its 400th Machine GunArtillery Battalion. This move permitted the division to shift south into a sector just east of the
Krasny Oktyabr between the
39th Guards and 45th Rifle Divisions in preparation for an assault west toward Znamenskaya Street. This attack by the three divisions on January 12 did not achieve any decisive results but LI Corps reported 23 killed and 85 wounded during the day although this did not include any tally from the 305th Infantry. Progress increased on January 14 when the combined Soviet force gained up to ten blocks deep into the lower
Krasny Oktyabr village, pressing toward Hill 107.5 which dominated the area. By the 20th the 138th and the 39th Guards, now joined by the
13th Guards Rifle Division, were close enough to the Hill to send reconnaissance teams toward its eastern slopes. At 0100 hours on January 22 Chuikov issued his Order No. 24 directing his divisions to finally seize the objectives he had assigned a week earlier but they were now facing increasing numbers of German refugees from the fighting outside the city and made little progress. On January 27 Colonel Lyudnikov was promoted to the rank of major general. Two days later the 138th, 45th and 95th Divisions were ordered to finish the fighting for the
Barrikady and the Bread Factory as well as a portion of the
Barrikady village but were unable to prise the remnants of the half-starved German troops from their bastions there as the rest of the Front's armies closed in from the west. The last men of LI Corps, two days later than the rest of 6th Army, laid down their arms on February 2 and four days later, while being moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command, the 138th Rifle Division became the
70th Guards Rifle Division. == 2nd Formation ==