In April 1920, he became commander of the 58th Cavalry Regiment, and in August took command of the Separate Bashkir Cavalry Brigade. Later he commanded the 4th Turkestan Cavalry Division and the 2nd Cavalry Division in Ukraine.
Inter-war period, Second World War, and aftermath
During the Great Purge of Soviet officers, Gorbatov was convicted of "being an enemy of the people" and was sent to the Kolymagold mines as punishment. After several years of working as a manual laborer, he was rehabilitated and reinstated in the Red Army at his previous rank in March 1941. In the aftermath of the opening days of Operation Barbarossa, Gorbatov was placed in command of the 226th Rifle Division. On 27 December 1941, he was promoted to major general.[3] After performing his duties at this position skillfully, Gorbatov was appointed commander of the 3rd Army, and was instrumental in the Red Army's drive towards Germany.[4] Following the war, he was appointed Sovietcommandant of Berlin in 1945, under the command of Marshal of the Soviet UnionGeorgy Zhukov. Gorbatov was commander of the Soviet Airborne Forces from 1950 to 1954 and served as commander of the Baltic Military District from 1954 to 1958. On 11 March 1955, he was promoted to General of the Army (a four-star general rank immediately inferior to the one of Marshal).[5]
His autobiography was published in the Soviet literary magazine Novy Mir, in the March–May 1964 issue, and published in the West as "Years Off My Life".[6]