Drafted into the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, he had become a junior officer by its end and would be steadily promoted during the interwar period. After commanding two other rifle divisions during the expansion of the army in the late 1930s, Fokanov became commander of the 154th Rifle Division in 1940, leading it during the Battle of Smolensk, in the first weeks after Operation Barbarossa, and the Kozelsk Offensive, after the latter of which it was converted to the 47th Guards Rifle Division for its actions. After a brief period as deputy commander of the 5th Tank Army, Fokanov became commander of the 29th Guards Rifle Corps in 1943 on the Eastern Front and was transferred to command the 29th Rifle Corps more than a year later. After commanding the latter in the fighting in Pomerania during the final months of the war and the early postwar period, he served in staff positions before being sent to China as an advisor to the People's Liberation Army in the late 1950s; this was his last position before dismissal to the reserve in 1959.