was: The order went on to set further objectives. The offensive reopened on November 10, and in the first two days the 27th and 19th Rifle Corps had carved out a penetration which was then exploited into the Germans' operational rear by 1st Tank and 7th Guards Cavalry Corps. On November 13, 27th Corps, with the assistance of elements of the tank Corps, captured Demekhi, 12 km west of Rechitsa, cutting the German rail line to that city from the west. The 354th then led a wheeling movement to the northwest, attempting to reach the Berezina River south of Parichi. By nightfall on November 20 the division was approaching Vasilkov, 25 km northwest of Rechitsa, and on the same day the Germans faced reality and withdrew from the city, which was liberated by elements of 42nd Rifle Corps. By this point, the offensive had unhinged all of Army Group Center's defenses in southern Belorussia, and Soviet forces were exploiting into a 20 km-wide gap. By November 29, the 354th was deep in the penetration, about 25 km south of Parichi, with virtually no German forces to oppose it. With the rest of 29th Corps it established close contacts with local partisan brigades, forming the so-called Rudobelskie Gates, through which a steady supply of arms, ammunition and personnel flowed to and from the partisans. Shortly thereafter, General Batov ordered the bulk of the Corps to wheel southward to increase the pressure on German defenses north of Kalinkovichi, the rail hub that supplied most of German 2nd Army. At about the same time, Hitler finally gave his 9th Army orders to abandon Gomel, which freed up enough troops to contain the Soviet penetration, thus bringing the offensive to a halt. Kalinkovichi Offensives Rokossovski remained determined to reach the objectives set for him by the STAVKA, specifically the city of Bobruisk and more generally the capital city of Minsk. In order to carry this out he recognized the need to eliminate the German grouping around Kalinkovichi and Mozyr. The 354th was still in the area of the Rudobelskie Gates, but very much overstretched. Despite this, when 65th Army launched its first offensive on Kalinkovichi on December 8, the division overcame German defenses at Koreni, captured the heights to the south, advanced 4 km, and split 4th Panzer Division from a battlegroup of 5th Panzer Division that was guarding its right flank. Overall, the