Army Group Don
The first test of these defenses came on December 4. The 252nd, with the 24th Rifle and 27th Guards Rifle, backed by the 304th, "tore one gaping hole and several lesser gaps in the defenses of VIII Army Corps' 44th Infantry Division." According to a report from Sixth Army to Army Group Don a break-in 1,000 metres wide and 2,000 metres deep had been made northeast of Dmitrievka, apparently the work of the 252nd. German counterattacks over the next 24 hours drove the division back, with the loss of 200 killed and 20 prisoners. In the end the German line was mostly restored, but the 24th Division clung to Hill 124.5 ("Chernyi Kurgan"), which remained a thorn in the side of the 44th Infantry during the coming weeks.