The division originally began forming on July 18, 1941 at Krasnodar in the North Caucasus Military District as a mountain rifle division with a specialized order of battle featuring rifle regiments made up of oversized companies (no battalion structure), with supporting arms, capable of independent operations in difficult terrain and backed by light and mobile mountain artillery.

[1] Its order of battle was as follows: Col. Mikhail Konstantinovich Zubkov was assigned as commanding officer on the day the division began forming.

A second wave of Soviet landings took place farther west on December 29, and the city of Feodosiya was liberated by units of the 44th Army.

Despite the 302nd managing to repulse an attack on the road and rail hub of Vladislavovka on the 19th, the 51st Army was forced to fall back as well.

[2] As a result of its conversion to a standard rifle division, its order of battle was revised as follows: Colonel Zubkov remained in command.

Shortly after the initial assault the 4th Mechanized Corps (Soviet Union) sent its 55th and 158th Tank Regiments to reinforce the rifle divisions and accelerate the advance.

Later in December, while continuing the push towards Rostov-na-Donu and the Donbas, the division, along with the rest of the 51st Army, were transferred to the South Front, remaining there until July, 1943.

[5] On January 12, 1943, Colonel Makarchuk was mortally wounded in a German airstrike; he was replaced by Col. Victor Fyodorovich Stenshinskiy who had been serving in the headquarters of Southern Front.

[5] On October 2, Colonel Rodionov handed command over to Col. Nikolai Panteleimonovich Kucherenko, who would remain in this post until his death in March, 1945.

At the end of 1943 the division was once more in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command, now moving north to an assignment with the 47th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front.

The troops who participated in the liberation of Ternopol, by the order of the Supreme High Command of 15 April 1944, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 20 artillery salvos from 224 guns.

On March 30, 1945, Colonel Kucherenko was killed in action by enemy artillery in the fighting along the Oder River south of Wrocław, and was subsequently named a Hero of the Soviet Union.