Born in Moscow, Gangeblov joined the Russian army in 1771 and took part in the war with the Ottoman Empire, being one of the first who climbed the Ochakov citadel in 1788. During Suvorov's Polish campaign of 1794, he commanded a battalion which silenced a Polish battery and took hold of a bridge over the Vistula between Warsaw and its suburb Praga. He was promoted to major-general and put in command of the 2nd Jäger Polk in 1799. Gangeblov fought against the North Caucasian mountaineers in 1807 and took part in an abortive attempt at landing at the Ottoman port of Trabzon in 1810. He was sacked for this failure, but restored to his position in 1811. During Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, Gangeblov’s regiment was attached to the Danube army and participated in the pursuit of the French army