Gorshkov served in the final stages of the Russian Civil War as a cadet, holding command and staff positions with cavalry units in Ukraine during the interwar period. When Operation Barbarossa began, he was commander of the 206th Rifle Division, which was destroyed during the Battle of Kiev. Gorshkov escaped the encirclement and was sent to the North Caucasus to command the new 15th Cavalry Division. Decorated for his command of the division, converted into the 11th Guards Cavalry Division, in the Battle of the Caucasus, Gorshkov served as a corps deputy commander during 1943 and early 1944. Afterwards, he became commander of the 5th Guards Cavalry Corps, which he led for the remainder of the war. Due to illness, Gorshkov retired shortly after its end.