out a major regrouping as 65th Army was redeployed southwards to a large bridgehead over the Sozh south of the junction of the Dnepr and the Sozh at Loev. When the Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive began on November 10, 19th Corps was in the center of its Army, with the 140th in second echelon. The Corps' mission was to penetrate the enemy defenses between Gancharov Podel and Budishche 5 km deep, allowing the Army's mobile groups to exploit a breakthrough. Within three days the attacking Soviet forces had torn a 15 km wide and 8 – 12 km deep gap in the German defenses. 19th and 27th Rifle Corps created the penetration that allowed 1st Guards Tank and 7th Guards Cavalry Corps to break into the enemy rear. By November 15, all German communications between Kalinkovichi and Rechitsa were cut, rendering their positions in the latter city untenable. After briefly contesting the western outskirts of Rechitsa, 19th Corps was ordered to bypass and continue marching north towards Parichi, some 80 km on. Early on November 20 the 37th Guards, flanked by the 140th and 162nd, reached the Berezina River near Gorval, and the guardsmen took a small bridgehead on the east bank; on the same day Rechitsa fell to units of 48th Army. The 65th Army continued its advance on November 22, while fresh attacks by other elements of Belorussian Front turned the German position at Gomel into a "great, sagging, tactically useless bulge", and Hitler finally authorized its evacuation on the 24th. In this same period the 140th was transferred to 18th Rifle Corps, still in 65th Army. Batov's intention now was to advance westward towards Kalinkovichi, but the arrival of 5th Panzer Division stabilized the German front, and the offensive was halted within days. By the end of the month the 140th was depleted to the point that it went into Belorussian Front reserves for rebuilding. Battles for Ukraine and Czechoslovakia The STAVKA sent orders to General Rokossovsky on December 9 to transfer six rifle divisions, including the 140th, to 1st Ukrainian Front. On December 13 the division was assigned to the 13th Army in that Front. By the turn of the year it was back in the front line, and on January 3, 1944, liberated the town of Novograd-Volynskiy, for which it received its first Order of the Red Banner. In February the division was transferred to the 28th