At the time of the German invasion on June 22, 1941 it was located in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains near the border with Hungary as part of the 17th Rifle Corps of 12th Army in the Kiev Special Military District.

While the division was not attacked by the main German forces in the first days, its almost total lack of trucks and shortage of horses made it difficult to retreat to the east.

It fell back through western Ukraine under that headquarters into August when it found itself encircled in the Uman pocket where all but remnants of the division were destroyed.

Breakout attempts, particularly on August 6 and 7, allowed individuals and small groups to escape the cauldron but apart from these remnants the 60th Mountain was smashed and was no longer carried on the Soviet order of battle by the end of the month, although it was not officially disbanded until September 19.

[7] Meanwhile, on July 29 General Salikhov had been relieved of command, court-martialed and condemned to 10 years imprisonment, although this was later commuted to demotion to the rank of colonel.