the town and by the evening elements of 48th Army reached its outskirts. The German garrison, consisting of remnants of 7th and 299th Infantry Divisions and the 30th Panzergrenadier Regiment, contested the major brick structures and a series of concrete pillboxes, but despite this units of 42nd Corps soon broke into the town. Heavy fighting continued overnight, widely employing artillery firing over open sights and extensive use of tanks and mortars, and by morning the garrison had been destroyed with its remnants taken prisoner. By now the mobile formations of the Front were pushing north towards the Frisches Haff. On January 26 the 42nd Corps assisted 5th Guards Tank in capturing the towns of Tolkemit and Mühlhausen, severing land communications to the Germans' East Prussian group of forces. 48th Army now turned its front to the northeast to securely close this group's escape route. German attacks to restore communications began almost immediately and on the next day the Corps was transferred to direct command of 5th Guards. By January 30 the escape attempts had been beaten off and 5th Guards began advancing, reaching the Passarge River and fighting for Frauenburg. By February 1 the Corps had returned to 48th Army but during that month the Army was once again transferred, this time to 3rd Belorussian Front, and the 399th was assigned to 53rd Rifle Corps. The division fought in the East Prussian Offensive, and ended the war near Elbing. On April 5 the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its role in the liberation of the Danzig region and the capture of Marienburg and other East Prussian cities. Twelve men of the division were named as Heroes of the Soviet Union, two of them posthumously. At the end of the war the men and women of the division carried the full title 399th Rifle, Novozybkov, Order of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Division. (Russian: 399-я стрелковая Новозыбковская Краснознамённая ордена Суворова дивизия.) The division had returned to the 42nd Corps in March. It was disbanded in August, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Shopovalov after Major General Kazakevich left the division on July 7. References Citations Bibliography p. 161 p. 292 External links Nikolai Grigorevich Travnikov Andrei Ivanovich Surchenko Daniil Vasilevich Kazakevich Divisional history (combat path) from March 6, 1942 to September 26, 1944. In Russian typescript. 399 Military units and formations established in 1941 Military