town while the 330th and 323rd Rifle Divisions moved to bypass it from the north and southeast respectively. On December 10 and 11, Western Front ordered 10th Army to continue its advance towards Plavsk, and the Army further ordered its right-flank divisions, including the 328th, to reach the line Uzlovaya station - Bogoroditsk - Kuzovka by the morning of December 12. On the 11th the division reached the Don River along the Bobriki - Mikhailovka sector, encountering strong resistance, which was broken by December 13. During this first stage of the offensive the 328th had advanced at a rate of about nine km per day. On the morning of the 14th the offensive resumed and the 328th and 330th both crossed the Uzlovaya - Bogoroditsk railroad and continued attacking to the west. Plavsk was occupied, and the next objectives for 10th Army were the towns of Belyov and Kozelsk. By the end of December 21 the division had reached the sector Korenevka - Bulandino. As of December 25 it had been subordinated to 1st Guards Cavalry Corps and was moving towards the Oka River in support of the Corps' attack on Belyov. December 27 found the division advancing north of Belyov, fighting elements of the German 112nd and 167th Infantry Divisions covering the town in that direction. Two days later the division was re-subordinated directly to 10th Army, and began bypassing enemy strongpoints, moving along the route Pashkovo - Karacheevo to get into the flank and rear of the German Belyov grouping. On December 30 it began its direct assault on the town and played the leading role in its liberation, with help from the 330th and 322nd Rifle Divisions. The next day, as the latter unit mopped up Belyov, the 328th and 330th continued advancing west and northwest, but were soon redirected to the Kozelsk area as 10th Army consolidated. In the first days of January 1942, the Army was directed to cut the Vyasma - Bryansk railroad and liberate several towns, including Kirov and Zhizdra. As this new phase of the counteroffensive began on January 5 the 328th was held in 10th Army's second echelon in the Kozelsk area, and then was to move to Mekhovoe, where the Army headquarters was located. The division had taken heavy casualties in the fight for Belyov, and was now serving as the Army reserve. 324th Rifle Division was blockading the town