At the end of September General Vashkevich was appointed as chief of staff of 20th Army, while officially remaining in command of the division. On November 20 he was replaced by Col. Vasily Kuzmich Guryashin. In the first days of December it was becoming clear that the Second Rzhev-Sychyovka Strategic Offensive (a.k.a. Operation Mars) was looking like it would be a costly failure. In an effort to salvage something from the ruins, Army General G. K. Zhukov issued revised orders to attempt to encircle and destroy at least part of the German forces. 39th Army had had some success in the Molodoi Tud area in the early going. The new plan was to renew the attack from this area, with supporting, or diversionary, attacks by 30th Army's 359th and 380th Rifle Divisions. The attack went in on December 3, after a brief but violent artillery preparation. The German forward defenses were penetrated, and more artillery was brought into the bridgehead on the south bank of the Volga. But by evening, the division's attack on the 251st Infantry Division's right flank was contained.