The division was organized at Penzensk in the Volga Military District, starting on August 11, 1941, through to the end of October, when it began moving to the front.

[4] According to the Soviet General Staff study of the battle, the release of the 354th from the reserve enabled 16th Army to not only actively defend the line but to also go over to a partial counter-offensive on that date.

[5] By December 14 the division was fighting along the western bank of the reservoir of the Istra River, reaching Armyagovo with two companies before coming under organized German fire and being forced to pull back with heavy losses to their jumping-off position.

Despite such occasional setbacks, the Germans were forced back from the Istra line by December 16 and over the next four days were continually pursued by 16th Army to the Ruza River.

[7] The division pushed on in the counteroffensive, taking the villages of Terekhovo, Kniazhevo, and Ignatkovo on January 20, 1942, but by now was down to the strength of an oversize battalion.

[9] In the late stages of Operation Mars, the 354th, now part of the 8th Guards Rifle Corps in 20th Army, and one of the few fresh units available to the Western Front command, was directed to attack German strongholds in the villages of Khlepen and Zherebtsovo, beginning on November 30.

The Front was deployed to the Kursk area, most of it from Stalingrad, a movement that took longer than expected due to persistent poor weather and deteriorating roads.

[16] In spite of this, on September 28 the 1203rd Rifle Regiment, reinforced by the 257th Separate Army Shtrafnaya (Penal) Company,[17] made a successful assault crossing of the Sozh River at Novaya Tereshkovichi.

Even before the regrouping was complete, on October 20, 65th Army's renewed assault overran the German defenses, forcing the defenders back about 2 km between the Dniepr and Radul.

Heavy fighting raged for more than a week until German 2nd Army was forced to begin a phased withdrawal to new positions in the rear.

Over the next ten days Belorussian Front carried out another regrouping to continue the offensive and encircle and destroy the German Rechitsa-Gomel grouping.

By nightfall on November 20 the division was approaching Vasilkov, 25 km northwest of Rechitsa, and on the same day the Germans faced reality and withdrew from the city, which was liberated by elements of 42nd Rifle Corps.

By this point, the offensive had unhinged all of Army Group Center's defenses in southern Belorussia, and Soviet forces were exploiting into a 20 km-wide gap.

At about the same time, Hitler finally gave his 9th Army orders to abandon Gomel, which freed up enough troops to contain the Soviet penetration, thus bringing the offensive to a halt.

On January 2, 1944, Rokossovski received an order from the STAVKA, which began:"Begin an offensive with the forces on the Front's left wing, defeat the enemy's Kalinkovichi-Mozyr grouping, and subsequently attack towards Bobruisk and Minsk.

Throughout this offensive, which began on January 8, 27th Corps was holding the line facing 4th Panzer, and later the 707th Security Division, northeast of Ozarichi.

[25] Oddly, in spite of its passive role during this stage of the offensive, the 354th was awarded a divisional honorific:"KALINKOVICHI"... 354th Rifle Division (Colonel Krimskii, Nikolai Alexeevich)...

The troops who participated in the liberation of Mozyr and Kalinkovichi, by the order of the Supreme High Command of January 14, 1944, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 20 artillery salvoes from 224 guns.

General Batov's plan was to penetrate the German line along the Ipa River at the junction between 4th Panzer and the weak 707th Security Division.

60th and 354th Rifle Divisions moved into the penetration and pushed westward 3–5 km towards Ozarichi, where the headquarters of XXXXI Panzer Corps was located; it was forced to displace to Parichi.

On the night of March 16, the LVI Panzer Corps began withdrawing from its forward positions, including those just west of Ozarichi.

On Major N. A. Kharitonov's orders, [Dziuban's] forces penetrated into the enemy's trenches with a swift attack and began advancing forward.

Dying old men, women, and children were sitting in the forests and the swamps or lying on the frozen ground, in a state of delirium.

[32] On April 15, Col. Sergei Andreevich Vdovin took command of the division, which he would hold until just after the start of the coming summer offensive.

A two-hour bombardment, including airstrikes, on the 105th Corps sector was followed by an assault that broke through all five German trench lines in the first defense zone.

While attempting to reach and cross the Western Bug River, the forward detachments of 65th Army were counterattacked by elements of three German divisions from July 19 to 25.

On February 19 the 1201st Rifle Regiment was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 3rd Degree, for its part in the liberation of Mława and other nearby towns.

Part of the division was designated to reconnoiter the German positions across the Oder, and then to help lead the forcing of the east branch of the river on the 18th.

As the flood abated, elements of the division crossed to the river's west bank, established a bridgehead and captured a fortified village, to which Dzhandzhgava soon transferred his command post.

[45] On June 4 the division was awarded its final decoration, the Order of Lenin, for its participation in the taking of Anklam, Neubrandenburg, and other nearby German towns during the Berlin Operation.