The division began its history as the 13th Tank Corps of the Red Army, formed in April 1942 during World War II and fought in the Soviet counterattack against Case Blue, the Battle of Voronezh, and the Battle of Stalingrad. The corps lost so many tanks that it was reorganized with a mechanized corps structure in November, though it retained the 13th Tank Corps designation. For its actions the corps became the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps in early 1943 and received the Stalingrad honorific. It continued to fight in combat for most of the rest of the war, receiving the Order of the Red Banner for its role in the Nikopol–Krivoi Rog Offensive of early 1944, the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class for its actions in the Odessa Offensive, and the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class for its actions in the Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive. In the final months of the war the corps advanced into Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, and southern Czechoslovakia before being withdrawn into the reserve.