On July 30, the German command ordered the G.A. Center to go on the defensive. The Soviet troops had established themselves on the line Velikiy Luki - Yartsevo - Kritchev - Zhlobin. The enemy's attempt to break through to Moscow, the central objective of the "Barberossa" plan, had failed. On the western sector, the front was stabilized for two whole months during which the Soviet troops, not confining themselves to the defensive, mounted a series of offensive operations, one of which at the beginning of September was aimed at Yelnya .
It was during the 'battle of Smolensk, exactly on July 15, 1941, that the Soviet army for the first time used a new weapon — jet artillery , the famous “katioucha”. Subsequently, the "katyusha" were to be employed en masse and, until the end of the war, they were to sow panic and death among the German troops.
This is also in the battles of Smolensk that the Soviet Guard was born:four infantry divisions which had distinguished themselves by their courage and their spirit of organization in the defense, by their heroism and their boldness in the offensive were converted into divisions of the Keep. Since then, the best units of the Soviet army have been awarded this title of honor.