Later that month the 45th Corps was transferred to 5th Army, still in Western Front, but the 97th was further reassigned to the 72nd Rifle Corps of that Army.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 40 The division would remain in 5th Army, commanded by Lt. Gen. N. I. Krylov, for the duration of the war.Sharp, "Red Swarm", p. 36 In late February the division reported a personnel strength of 3,717. By mid-March the 97th was deep within the salient south of Vitebsk and the Front planned for a new offensive in the direction of Bogushevsk. This effort began on March 21 and the 72nd Corps was designated as part of the Front's main shock group. The group was to assault the defenses of the 14th and 299th Infantry Divisions on a 12km-wide sector between Makarova and Shugaevo. The intermediate goal was to reach the Sukhodrovka River line en route to the upper reaches of the Luchesa River. 72nd Corps deployed on the shock group's left wing with the 97th and 184th Rifle Divisions moving into the sector formerly held by the 157th Rifle Division and the 173rd Rifle Division held in second echelon. The 97th and 184th attacked on a 3.5km-wide sector from west of Gory to Shugaevo at dawn following an intense artillery preparation. The weight of the assault collapsed the German defense and generally the first echelon advanced from 1km - 4km on the first day. The 97th crushed a salient south of Gory but the 184th was stopped cold at Shugaevo. Heavy fighting continued on March 22 but the Corps recorded no additional gains. The next day the Front committed its second-echelon divisions and in two days of continued combat the 72nd Corps managed to penetrate the defenses of the 14th Infantry, capture strongpoints at Sharki, Kuzmentsy and Efremenki, and advance as much as 1,000m toward Buraki. Early on March 24 the Front reinforced the Corps with the 251st Rifle Division which enabled it to capture a strongpoint at Diakovina and advance as much as 2km before again grinding to a halt. Although fighting continued through March 29, by March 27 it was clear to both sides that the offensive had faltered with no prospect for revival since the Front had lost 20,630 men from March 21-30, including 4,029 killed and 12,855 wounded. Within two weeks Army Gen. V. D. Sokolovskii was removed from his command of Western Front and operations were suspended until the summer.Glantz, Battle for Belorussia, pp. 693, 386-90, 393, 395-96, 399-401
