It fought in the Stalingrad area during that battle, eventually in the operations that encircled German 6th Army, and then continued to serve in the several campaigns in the south sector of the front, helping to liberate Ukraine and the Balkans, and ending the war at Vienna.

The division was based at Khmelnitsky for the rest of the Cold War and became part of the Ukrainian Ground Forces with the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and 1992.

Its main order of battle was as follows: The division, along with several other of these airborne conversions, was rushed to the Stalingrad region, to begin with as part of 1st Guards Army.

On 3 March, 5th Shock was fortifying the scant bridgeheads it had taken on the west bank of the river, and the advance halted for the coming months.

[3] In April, the division became part of the 31st Guards Rifle Corps, and it would remain in that formation for the duration of the war.

The division led the clearing of the east bank on 11 April and then received the following orders from army commander Lt. Gen. Vasily Glagolev:"Force the Dnestr River in the sector from Chebruchi (incl.)

Gen. Grigory Panchenko, prepared detailed plans, and on the 13th a forward detachment of assault companies from 111th Guards Rifle Regiment made a crossing and managed to secure a small bridgehead south of Chebruchi, later reinforced by the remainder of its division as well as 34th Guards, but they were stymied in their attempts to take the town.

[5] In August the division went back to the attack in the second Iasi-Kishinev Offensive, which destroyed the German Sixth Army (for the second time) and caused Romania to change sides.

After participating in the Siege of Budapest, in the spring of 1945 the division advanced across the Hungarian plain and gained another honorific for its operations along the Danube River, ending the war near Vienna.

At 20:10 on 23 October, the 17th Guards Division was ordered combat ready by the Special Corps commander, marching out of its barracks and into the previously designated concentration areas.

Arriving there at 10:00, the 56th was ordered to prevent rebels from moving from Pest to Buda and seizing the government radio transmitters and communications system, while also defending the Kelenföld railway station, Budaörs Airport, and Törökbálint artillery depots.

[11] On 4 November, when the renewed Soviet assault on Budapest began, the 17th Guards were part of the 38th Army, which had been moved into Hungary, still covering the Austrian border.