The division was present at Velikiye Luki in late 1942. The town itself was garrisoned by the division's Infantry Regiment 277, along with the divisional artillery and pioneer battalion, under the command of a Lieutenant-Colonel von Saß. This force was encircled by units of Kuzma Galitsky's 3rd Shock Army in the Battle of Velikiye Luki and destroyed in the fighting that lasted two months.