After Operation Mars was closed down, the 348th was re-assigned to Northwestern Front, first, briefly, to 1st Shock Army, then to the Front reserves, and finally to 53rd Army, where it was intended to take part in the final liquidation of the Demyansk Pocket. This was forestalled by Hitler's decision to abandon the pocket voluntarily, which began on February 17, 1943. While this move freed up German forces for service elsewhere, it did the same for the Red Army, and on March 11, in the face of a deteriorating situation in the Kursk region, the "STAVKA" issued the following directive (No. 30071), in part: This Army was under the command of Lt. Gen. V.I. Morozov. It would become the 2nd formation of 63rd Army on April 27, which was soon assigned to Bryansk Front. On April 25, Col. I. V. Mokhin took command of the division from Colonel Ilichev, but he would only hold it for about a month, until he was succeeded by Col. Ivan Fyodorovich Grigorevskii. This officer would be promoted to the rank of Major General on September 15.