On July 2 Colonel Vagin gave over his command to Col. Gelb Nikolaevich Korchikov. Vagin would go on to command the 79th Guards Rifle Division, be promoted to the rank of major general, and was made a Hero of the Soviet Union in April 1945. Korchikov was also promoted to major general on March 19, 1944, and led the division into the postwar period when it was reorganized as the 38th Guards Rifle Brigade. Later in July the 27th Guards Corps was transferred to the 6th Army, still in Southwestern Front, at the start of the second Donbass Strategic Offensive. This began on August 13, following the German defeat at Kursk, and the 48th Guards took part in forcing the Donets and assisting Steppe Front in the final liberation of Kharkov. Later that month the division was reassigned to the 76th Rifle Corps, which was in the Steppe Front's reserves.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, pp. 196, 224 Meanwhile, on August 7 the 98th Guards Artillery Regiment had been recognized for its service with the award of the Order of the Red Banner.
