later served as commander of a training battery, artillery battalion, and chief of staff of an artillery regiment from 1928. From 1932, he served as chief of staff and commander of a special cavalry division of the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army near Chita. From 1934, he served commander of a cavalry regiment. Moskalenko commanded the 23rd Tank Brigade in Primorsky Krai from 1935. From 1936 he served in the 45th Mechanized Corps within the Kiev Military District. World War II During the Soviet-Finnish War, he was the commander of artillery for the 51st Rifle Division and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. He successively chief of artillery of the 35th Rifle Corps and the 2nd Mechanized Corps in Chisinau and Tiraspol respectively. When Operation Barbarossa began in June 1941, Moskalenko was the commander of an anti-tank brigade which was stationed in Lutsk. Between June 1941, and March 1942, Moskalenko first held command of the 1st Anti-Tank Brigade, 15th Rifle Corps, 6th Army, and later of the 6th Cavalry Corps. During this time, he took part in the defensive battles in Lutsk, Volodymyr-Volynskyi, Rovno, Torchyn, Novohrad-Volynskyi and Malyn. Moskalenko participated in the Kiev Strategic Defensive Operation and fought in battles near Teterev, Pripyat, Dnieper and Desna. During a month of continuous fighting, being in the direction of the main attack of the enemy Army Group South, the brigade destroyed more than 300 enemy tanks. For military successes, courage and bravery, he was awarded the Order of Lenin on 23 July 1941. In December 1941, he was appointed deputy commander of the 6th Army of the Southwestern Front and acting commander of the army. The 6th Army under the command Moskalenko took part in the Barvenkovo-Lozovaya offensive and the liberation of the cities of Izium and Lozova. On 12 February 1942, he was appointed as commander of the 6th Cavalry Corps and from March to July 1942, he served as commander of the 38th Army. He was the commander of the newly reformed 38th Army from March to July 1942. During the Battle of Stalingrad, he commanded the 1st Tank Army during which he participated in battles on the distant approaches to Stalingrad from July to August 1942. In August 1942, he was appointed commander of the 1st Guards Army until October 1942. At the very beginning of the defensive period of the Battle of Stalingrad, the 1st