When the redeployment and regrouping were through on December 22 the Army had 13 rifle divisions on strength, supported by one tank corps, four tank brigades, and ten tank and self-propelled artillery regiments, plus substantial artillery. The attack began the following day in cooperation with
39th Army. The 36th Corps (
215th, 199th,
274th Rifle Divisions with 256th Tank Brigade in support) was deployed on a sector from Khotemle to Arguny, facing elements of the
246th Infantry Division of
3rd Panzer Army's VI Army Corps. Initially, on December 23 33rd Army's shock groups pushed the defenders back about 1,000m between Kovaleva and Arguny at the junction of the 246th and 206th Infantry Divisions. The next day, however, the
65th, 36th, and 81st Corps committed their second echelon divisions and succeeded in enlarging the penetration to a depth of 2-3km, threatening to split the two divisions. A battlegroup of
Panzer-Grenadier-Division Feldherrnhalle intervened but despite this on December 25 the entire 33rd Army burst forward from 2-7km, disrupted the German counterattack, and reached and severed the SmolenskVitebsk railroad line, 20km southeast of Vitebsk's central square. The advance continued on December 26 when elements of 199th and 215th Divisions fought for the village of Zakhodniki, situated west of the rail line, only 2km east of the VitebskOrsha and 15km south of the city. After this, intense fighting raged for two days in the Maklaki region as the
Feldherrnhalle group struggled to prevent the Soviet force from cutting its critical supply artery. Under unrelenting
STAVKA pressure, 33rd Army continued its assaults on January 1, 1944. The Army commander, Col. Gen.
V. N. Gordov, created a new shock group based on 36th Corps. The 199th and 274th Divisions were in first echelon between Gribuny and Kopti, with the 215th in second echelon. Sokolovskii assigned two more divisions to the Corps the next day and Gordov planned to commit the
371st Rifle Division at the junction of the 199th and 274th to spearhead the advance on Sosnovka. The shock group was to penetrate the defenses along the VitebskOrsha road and advance westward, cross the Luchesa River, and advance along the Sosnovka, Ostrovno and Diaglevo axis to link up with 1st Baltic Front and encircle 3rd Panzer Army. It struck at dawn on January 1 despite a heavy snowstorm that gripped the entire region. In the following five days of heavy fighting the shock group expanded the penetration about 1,000m westward toward the VitebskOrsha road, forcing the 3rd Panzer to commit its reserve
131st Infantry Division to contain the assault just short of the road. During this fighting the 199th and 371st captured Gribuny, reaching within rifle shot of the road. On January 6, the
STAVKA reluctantly approved Sokolovskii's request to call a temporary halt. The next effort began on January 8, with 5th and 39th Armies joining the 33rd. 36th Corps again formed Gordov's shock group and was ordered to attack the defenses of the 131st Infantry and
Feldherrnhalle in the 6km-wide sector between Gribuny and Maklaki. The 199th, 371st, 274th and
95th Rifle Divisions in first echelon, backed by the 215th, and further supported by four tank brigades. The plan for exploitation remained similar to that of the previous assault. Two divisions of 65th Corps were to support the 199th if and when it reached the Luchesa. By now all the rifle divisions of Western Front were at less than 40 percent strength. 36th Corps' assault achieved significant initial success. Although the 199th failed to take either Gribuny or Starintsy, the remaining three first echelon divisions surged forward and penetrated ''Feldherrnhalle's
defenses along a 6km front. In two days of fighting the 371st Division crushed a small salient defended by a battalion of Feldherrnhalle's'' Fusilier Regiment and advanced a further 2km, while the 274th and 95th gained up to 4km. However, the Germans reacted quickly to thwart the fresh Soviet successes and denied them the opportunity to conduct an exploitation with their tank corps. By late on January 14, 36th Corps' assaults had completely burned themselves out, and the divisions were down to 2,500 to 3,500 personnel each. In preparation for a renewal of the offensive the next day, southward toward Krynki Sokolovskii transferred the 199th to 72nd Rifle Corps in 5th Army. After it was concentrated for the attack on the 6km-wide sector from Zyzyby eastward to Mialfi the 5th Army shock group consisted of the 199th, 159th, and
157th Rifle Divisions. The objective was to throw the German forces beyond the Sukhodrovka River with the 199th and 159th, supported by 26th Tank Brigade, and, in the event of success, capture Vysochany. It began on the night of January 14/15 in bitter cold and blizzard conditions which interfered with observation. The 617th Rifle Regiment, reinforced with four tanks, was committed to combat at 0500 hours on January 16, but did not achieve success. It fended off several counterattacks but then came under heavy fire which drove the riflemen to ground. After an artillery raid the regiment, with several
T-34 tanks, and this time it succeeded in taking the village of Shvedy, driving the defenders back to the Sukhodrovka. Through several days of heavy fighting the shock group took Krynki and drove the German forces back about 2km east of that point. After regrouping his forces one more time the commander of 5th Army, Lt. Gen.
N. I. Krylov, sent the 199th and 157th Divisions, this time supported by the 274th Division and elements of 45th Corps, back to the attack on January 20. This combined force drove German forces away from the railroad sector from Miafli to Leutino and advanced to the northern approaches of the villages of Shugaevo and Kriukovo. At this point Western Front's January offensive came to an end. Over 16 days of combat it had suffered more than 25,000 casualties, including more than 5,500 dead, while advancing anywhere from 2-4km. Within days the 199th had returned to 81st Corps, which was now under 33rd Army.
Fighting for the Luchesa Sokolovskii was now ordered to shift the axis of his attacks northward toward Vitebsk itself. 33rd Army would form the most important shock group, with a single echelon of all four rifle corps deployed on a 16km front from Ugliane southward to Shelai. Gordov designated 81st and 36th Corps to conduct the critical assault toward and across the Luchesa on his shock group's left wing. Within 81st Corps the 95th Division was in first echelon and the 199th in second, and they were to attack on a 4km front from the VitebskOrsha railroad to south of Gribuny against the defenses of 131st Infantry. A diversion was mounted by two divisions of 5th Army on February 2, but this failed to attract much German attention. The main offensive kicked off at dawn on February 3 with an artillery preparation that proved largely ineffective due to ammunition shortages. Despite this, Gordov's shock group achieved immediate success by breaking through the defenses and advancing up to 2km across its entire front. 95th Division, supported by a tank brigade, fought its way across the highway and captured the strongpoints at Dymanovo and Starintsy. After advancing almost 2.5km further it approached the eastern bank of the Luchesa east of Porotkovo, just 10km south of Vitebsk. The 199th followed in its wake. Gordov ordered his corps commanders on February 4 to begin committing their second echelon divisions to expand the penetration and, in particular, to seize crossings over the Luchesa. Although partly frozen, the river was almost 50m wide, 1.5m-4.5m deep, and had banks with 45-60 degrees of slope, making it a formidable obstacle for both tanks and infantry. The fresh assault was preceded by a 10-15-minute artillery raid. This led to a see-saw battle that raged along the river for three days for the possession of critical bridgeheads. The 199th was committed early on the right of the 95th with orders to drive across the river east of Porotkovo. However, it was unable to crush the German forces defending their own bridgehead at Noviki, nor was the 95th able to force a crossing of its own. A virtual stalemate continued to exist on February 7, and the cost to the attackers of 39th and 33rd Armies from February 4 to 6 was more than 3,600 men killed or wounded. After failing to break cleanly through the defenses after five days of combat, Sokolovskii and Gordov desperately sought a weak place in VI Corps' defenses. The 65th Corps was moved to new attack positions west of the VitebskOrsha railroad to launch a concerted assault with 81st Corps against the bridgehead at Noviki. Five more days of fighting began on February 8, and finally on February 11 succeeded in crossing the river northwest of Starintsy and seizing a lodgment at the village of Mikhailovo. After repelling numerous counterattacks the 95th and
164th Rifle Divisions managed to carve out a 2km-deep bridgehead based on Mikhailovo, while the 199th captured Noviki but left two smaller German bridgeheads intact north and south of Bukshtyny. Although Gordov insisted on continuing the assault for three more days after February 13 it proved utterly futile due to the attrition to the attacking forces. Later in February the 199th was transferred 65th Corps, joining the 371st Division. On February 28 it was located north of Bukshtyny. Sokolovskii was now planning for a renewed offensive across the Luchesa, again using the 33rd Army as his main shock group. 65th Corps was to force a crossing near Noviki and capture Sosnovka. Altogether, nine rifle divisions of the Army were concentrated on the Luchesa front, supported by six tank brigades with 87 tanks. These faced the
197th and
299th Infantry Divisions of VI Corps. Before the assault could begin the commander of the 3rd Panzer Army, Col. Gen.
G.-H. Reinhardt, disrupted the plan by shortening his defensive line around the city. The
STAVKA took this as a preliminary to a full withdrawal from the Vitebsk salient, and ordered a pursuit. At dawn on February 28 the three rifle corps of 33rd Army struck hard at VI Corps along and forward of the Luchesa after an artillery preparation. From the very outset the battle proved both intense and largely futile for Sokolovskii. The 199th and 144th Divisions captured the German bridgehead at Bukshtyny and then, on March 1, jointly forced their way across the Luchesa, seizing a small lodgment on the west bank on the approaches to Shuki. The heavy fighting raged on at Shuki through March 3-5 as Gordov concentrated all his available forces in an attempt to enlarge the bridgehead. However, Reinhardt reinforced the threatened sector with a battlegroup from 299th Infantry plus several battalions from
5th Jäger Division. These reinforcements finally counterattacked and recaptured most, although not all, of the bridgehead. With the Army's second echelon divisions already sent north for the "pursuit" there was nothing Gordov and Sokolovskii could do but look on in dismay. By March 5 the offensive ground to a halt after only minimal gains.
Bogushevsk Offensive On March 13 the
STAVKA relieved General Gordov of command of 33rd Army, replacing him with Col. Gen.
I. Ye. Petrov. For the next effort to complete the encirclement of Vitebsk, Western Front was to attack in the direction of
Bogushevsk. Sokolovskii returned to his strategy of mid-January, planning to expand the salient southeast of Vitebsk farther to the south, this time employing three rifle corps on a 12km-wide front, supported by two tank brigades. The 199th was now in 36th Rifle Corps, with the 215th and 277th Divisions, and was deployed in second echelon. The assault began at dawn on March 21 and collapsed the German defenses on the entire front from Makarova to Diakovina, allowing penetrations of up to 4km. The next day the 215th and 277th captured two strongpoints, forcing a withdrawal of another 1,000m, but the adjacent corps were stalled. On March 23, the 199th was committed and helped the rest of the Corps to penetrated the defenses of
14th Infantry Division, capturing Sharki, Kuzmentsy, and Efremenki, and advancing up to another 1,000m toward Buraki. 3rd Panzer Army barely managed to contain the attack by committing reserves west of Cherkassy. Fighting continued until March 29 but by the 27th it was clear to both sides that the offensive had faltered. Furthermore, given losses of 20,630 men from March 21-30 there was nothing he could do to reinvigorate it. == Operation Bagration ==