Appointed commander of the 3rd Guards Rifle Division of the 2nd Shock Army in September 1942, Tsalikov was transferred with the division to the Stalingrad Front to join the 2nd Guards Army in mid-December following nearly two months in reserve near Sinyavino. The division repulsed the German attack in Operation Winter Storm and on 24 December went on the offensive. Breaking through stubborn Axis resistance, the 3rd Guards crossed the Manych on 19 January 1943 and reached the Don in the North Caucasus Offensive. In the subsequent Rostov Offensive, the division captured the northern part of Novocherkassk with an attack from the north and northeast and pursued the retreating Axis troops to the Mius, reached by 18 February. Withdrawn to the reserve to rebuild, the division returned to combat with the 2nd Guards Army in the Mius Offensive in mid-July. Tsalikov and his division were surrounded by a German counterattack on 30 July and did not break out until 1 August. After receiving reinforcements, the 3rd Guards fought in the Donbas Strategic Offensive from 18 August, then went on to participate in the Melitopol Offensive and the Crimean Offensive. His superior, 1st Guards Rifle Corps commander Lieutenant General Ivan Missan, evaluated him as "personally daring and decisive" and "always on the frontline, inspiring subordinates with his courage."