The division survived the hazards of the Soviet winter offensive, being moved around the 6th Army in January as the Wehrmacht prepared to continue their assault on the Soviet Union, helping to re-take Kharkov in May. The division's commander, "Lieutenant General" Max Pfeffer, anticipating a long upcoming struggle, joked to a Captain under his command over the latter's reluctance to accept a transfer offer to France, saying "just be happy that you're getting a break. The war will last long enough and be terrible enough for you to get a good taste of it." On June 10, the division began crossing the Seversky Donets River by assault boat, constructing a bridge for other units, including the 14th Panzer Division. The division continued to make inroads around the black sea to take down the industrial city of Stalingrad, serving in IV corps under "General of the Engineers" Erwin Jaenecke.