He later moved to Vladikavkaz and worked as a tailor while simultaneously being involved in underground Bolshevik circles.

At the same time, Shchadenko met with the non-commissioned officer Semyon Budyonny who served in the battalion.

From 6 June 1918 he headed the headquarters of the Morozov-Donetsk units, which held the defense against Pyotr Krasnov's troops.

On 25 June the Bolshevik units reached the Volga, where they became part of the newly formed Tsaritsyno Front, whose staff commissioner was Shchadenko.

[1] From the autumn of 1918 he participated in the defense of Tsaritsyn under the command of Kliment Voroshilov as a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the 10th Army.

During his studies at the academy, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, to which he was presented on 10 April 1922 by Stalin and Voroshilov for their exploits in 1918.

During his illness and treatment, he was engaged in literary work and wrote the history of the 1st Cavalry Army, which, however it was never published.

[1] Shchadenko actively participated in the Great Purge and in the cleansing of the army, specially the organizers of an "illegal fascist conspiracy" which included mostly military officers close to Mikhail Tukhachevsky.

[6] During the Second World War, he was Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the Soviet Union and Head of the Main Directorate of Formation and Manning of the Red Army from August 1941 to May 1943.