After assisting in the first liberation of Rostov-on-the-Don in late 1941, but in 1942 it retreated into the Caucasus region, and fought to hold the Axis forces from reaching the coast of the Black Sea.

Following the retreat of the Germans and Romanians in the wake of their defeat at Stalingrad, the 353rd took part in the offensives that freed Ukraine in 1943 and 1944, winning a battle honor for the liberation of Dneprodzerzhinsk in October, 1943.

It first went into battle in late November, taking part in the first liberation of Rostov, one of the key initial setbacks for the German invaders.

[4] On September 23, the German 17th Army began an offensive (Operation Attika) through the high passes of the Caucasus mountains towards the Black Sea port of Tuapse.

The attack made fairly slow progress through this difficult terrain, but by October 10 the division had been pushed back to the vicinity of the town of Anastaskevskaia, south of the enemy penetration.

The complex fighting in this region went on until early November until it was brought to a halt by attrition, exhaustion, and the onset of winter weather.

As it closed on the east bank of the Dniestr River in mid-April, the Army was ordered to attack the two German strongpoints of Chebruchi and Raskaetsy.

However, the German XXIX Army Corps reinforced the defenses at Chebruchi, allowing the 76th Infantry Division to shift most of its forces to its left wing and halt the Soviet advance.

[14] As the offensive continued, 34th Rifle Corps was temporarily transferred to 57th Army, before coming under direct command of 3rd Ukrainian Front from September to November as the advance into Romania and Hungary went on.

It was disbanded around June 30, 1946 with the 34th Rifle Corps after being withdrawn from the Southern Group of Forces in Bulgaria to Beltsy in the Odessa Military District.