The 336th Rifle Division was formed in August, 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division in the Volga Military District. After additional training and equipping in the Moscow Military District it was assigned to 5th Army and went directly into the winter counteroffensive in mid-December. It fought in the battles around Rzhev in the summer and winter of 1942, taking heavy casualties for little gain. In spring of 1943 the division began shifting southwards, campaigning in southeastern Belorussia in the autumn and then moving into the northern Ukraine. On the last day of 1943 the 336th was recognized for its role in the second liberation of Zhitomir and was awarded that city's name as an honorific. During 1944 it continued to advance from western Ukraine into Poland, and in the last month o