Stationed on the border when Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began on 22 June 1941, the corps was destroyed in the first weeks of the war.
It advanced into what was annexed to the Soviet Union as western Ukraine, and its headquarters was established at Yavorov at the conclusion of the operation.
[1] At that time the corps consisted of 41st, 97th, and 159th Rifle Divisions, and was a part of 6th Army of the Kiev Special Military District on 22 June 1941.
By the evening of 24 June the gap between the corps' divisions reached 40 kilometers, and was exploited by the German troops, who captured Nemirov by the end of the same day.
The disorganized and battered 97th Rifle Division was meanwhile concentrated in the area of the Stazhiska highway and the forest to the south.
[1] The corps headquarters was officially disbanded on 25 September 1941, after being destroyed during the initial phase of Operation Barbarossa.
Within two weeks it was assigned to the 6th "Siberian Volunteer" Rifle Corps and began moving by rail to camps near Moscow where it received the last of its support troops and transport.
On September 30, the 150th Rifle Division set out on a 170 km road march to join the 22nd Army near Belyi, part of the Kalinin Front.
[3] During the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive (Operation Mars) the 150th Division and the 6th Rifle Corps were referred to as "Stalin" units and were regarded as an elite force.
On 4 February 1946 it came under the control of the North Caucasus Military District and at the same time all three divisions became independent rifle brigades: the 15th, 18th, and 46th.
On 22 August 1949 the corps came again under the command of the reformed Don Military District with its two brigades located at Stalingrad (18th) and Uryupinsk (46th).