Dispatched to Russia, the division was soon engaged in the fighting in the southern area of the Eastern Front with Army Group South. From April to June 1942, prior to the commencement of Case Blue, it was active around Kursk. The division was then involved in the Battle of Voronezh. Attached to the Hungarian 2nd Army it fought in the battles around the Don Bend when the Soviet Army launched Operation Uranus and its subsequent offensives. It took extensive casualties over the period December 1942 to January 1943. The division's commander, Arno Jahr, was killed on 20 January 1943.