Major Gareev in 1945.
Photo from Mahmut Gareev's book "Battles on the military-historical front".
The Second World War ended not in May 1945 and not in Berlin, but in September and in the Far East. After the defeat of militarist Japan, in which, in addition to the US troops, the Red Army also took part. The Manchurian operation, carried out by the troops of the Trans-Baikal, 1st and 2nd Far Eastern Fronts, the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army in cooperation with the Pacific Fleet and the Amur Flotilla of the Soviet Union, entered the history of military art forever.
General of the Army Makhmut GAREEV, President of the Academy of Military Sciences of Russia, who was directly involved in the events, tells the editor-in-chief of NVO about the unknown and little-known details of this operation.
- Our conversation, Makhmut Akhmetovich, I would like to start with such a rather acute issue today. Was it necessary for the Soviet Union, endlessly exhausted by the war with Nazi Germany, to also enter the war against Japan? The Japanese did not threaten us much. Throughout the war, they maintained sufficient neutrality, and the Americans, whom we promised to help, in those years in every possible way delayed the opening of the Second Front, cynically observed who would gain the upper hand in that struggle - Germany or the USSR.
Why did we have to help them in the fight against Japan? After all, they could do without us.
- I think to say that the Americans could do without us in the East is the same as to say that we could do without them in the West. We must not forget that this was a world war. On one side were the aggressors - the "powers of the axis Berlin-Rome-Tokyo", on the other - the anti-Hitler coalition represented by its main participants - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain. And neither we nor the Americans could end the war without solving problems both in the West and in the East.
As for the position of Moscow, no matter how our allies behaved - England, the USA, despite also many shortcomings in Stalin's activities, especially within the country, it must be said directly that in international cooperation, according to agreements with the allies, the head of our state was exceptionally consistent. In this regard, even foreign ill-wishers cannot reproach him for anything.
But the point here, of course, is not only the desire or unwillingness of individual leaders. For us, the war from the very beginning developed in such a way that there was a threat in the West and in the East. In all the strategic plans of the USSR, starting from the second half of the 1930s, there is one task - to be ready to fight on two fronts. In the West, which was emphasized with all certainty, against Germany, in the East - against Japan. And the most important goal of politics, diplomacy and military action was that we would not be forced into a simultaneous war, but in turn. First with one enemy, then with another.
In this regard, the task of defeating militarist Japan by the Soviet leadership has never been removed from the agenda. Why? Let's remember the shame of the Russo-Japanese War. The defeat of 1905 remains in the memory of the peoples of Russia with deep pain and sorrow. People of the older generation have been waiting for decades for this shame to be washed away. It is impossible to remove the feeling of just revenge from the psychology of Russian people. Let us also recall that in that war Japan inflicted great damage on Russia. It took away Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, and other lands, which, in essence, were illegally transferred to Japan. During the Civil War, the Japanese captured most of the Far East and tormented it. Thousands of people were shot. In fact, they committed undisguised aggression against us. All this required an appropriate response.
And, perhaps most importantly, Stalin considered it obligatory for himself to keep his word. The idea that the Soviet Union should enter the war with Japan was discussed in all our negotiations with the Allies. They insisted and convincingly asked that the USSR enter this war. Before the Tehran Conference, Stalin always gave an evasive answer. But there he nevertheless promised to enter the war with Japan. This question arose especially sharply at the Crimean Conference. At the Yalta Conference, Stalin had already firmly stated that the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan two or three months after the end of the war with Germany. And exactly three months later, to the day, he fulfilled his promise - on May 9, the war in Europe ended, and on August 9, we began hostilities against Japan.
- You, Makhmut Akhmetovich, were a young captain at that time?
No, I was already a major.
- But nevertheless, they fought in the West, then they had to fight in the East. What are your personal impressions - people who have gone through the same military path as you are not tired of fighting? With what mood did they take the news that after they were lucky to stay alive in one war, they were being driven to another, where, not even an hour, they could also be killed?
- I will answer this question, but first I want to finish the thought that I did not have time to express earlier.
We settled on the fact that exactly three months after the victory over Germany, Stalin declared war on Japan. What should be kept in mind here? Today, many of the events of that time are covered incorrectly, even perversely. Many argue that the Soviet Union should not have entered that war. They say that we seem to have violated the non-aggression pact. But the USSR announced the invalidity of this pact a month and a half before the start of the war. There was no breach of the pact. We acted according to international law.
In addition, it was clear (and these are studies by American scientists themselves and practical studies that were carried out at the headquarters of the US armed forces during the war years) that if Japan resisted, and the Japanese argued that even if the US captured their islands, they would come under guardianship The Kwantung Army will fight there for decades to come. Tokyo planned to keep Manchuria as a springboard to continue the war. Such sentiments were at that time very strong in Japan.
The Soviet Union, of course, was interested in the fact that there was no such bridgehead, because it would threaten not only America, but above all us, our Far East. And this bridgehead had to be liquidated at all costs, and the Japanese army had to be defeated.
American experts calculated and reported to Roosevelt that if the USSR did not enter the war, it could last a year or a year and a half, and it would cost a million lives for American soldiers. That's how the question was. Even after the US dropped atomic bombs on August 6 and 9 on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan did not capitulate, did not stop resistance, it was going to continue to fight.
And when we analyze all these circumstances, we will understand: the Soviet Union had to enter this war. It was in his interests, and in the interests of all mankind - it was necessary to end the Second World War. Put a dot on it. The defeat of the Japanese Kwantung Army in a short time removed all the fears that I mentioned. The victory was won quickly. We practically saved tens and hundreds of thousands of lives of American and British soldiers who were going to fight there to the bitter end. Unfortunately, this is often forgotten. Especially across the ocean.
Now about the mood of the veterans. After the capture of Koenigsberg, in which I participated, on April 11, 1945...
– More than sixty-five years ago┘
- Yes. I was then at the headquarters of the 5th Army, in the operations department. Our troops began to transfer the 28th Army from the territory of East Prussia, which stormed Koenigsberg, was sent to the Berlin direction. Others went to the Hungarian direction┘
- Not certainly in that way. This is a very interesting moment. The fact is that they began to transfer troops to the East immediately after Finland left the war. It was in the autumn of 1944, somewhere in September or October. What is the "highlight" of the Manchurian operation? There, in the East, it was possible to quickly end the war, defeat the Kwantung Army and not suffer heavy losses on one condition - if the Red Army ensured the surprise of this operation. And how to ensure it, if we denounced the treaty, and it was possible to understand that the Soviet Union was going to enter the war? How to transfer such a mass of troops from West to East without the Japanese noticing? It is almost impossible to do this.
The Japanese were waiting for our attack. But when it will happen, they did not guess.
Today you can often hear from some "analysts" that we fought mediocre. It's a lie. Our commanders had a lot of amazing insights. The Chief of the General Staff, General of the Army Alexei Antonov, and Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Vasilevsky also participated in this work (by the way, after the death of Chernyakhovsky, he was appointed commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, so that, firstly, he would quickly defeat the Nazis in East Prussia and freed troops for the transfer to the East, and secondly, to get the practice of managing the front), and he planned this operation so skillfully that the Japanese practically did not notice anything.
They began to transfer divisions to the East as early as 1944. But defiantly those that were on the Karelian front, some from the Hungarian direction ... It was those divisions that had previously been transferred from East to West. Both the Japanese and our civilian population knew for sure that these troops were now returning in triumph to their places of permanent deployment. These connections were met with flowers, with music at the stations - there are no questions. And under their cover, a large number of other troops, especially tank and aviation, were transferred already covertly. They weren't shown anywhere. They stopped at dead ends, people were not allowed to go anywhere.
Sometimes you hear: how can there be surprise at such distances and with such a mass of troops? But she was. If you use disinformation, an ordinary military trick, then you can do a lot.
What else should be kept in mind? About a month before August 9, the Japanese government approached us with a request to mediate peace talks between Tokyo and Washington. The Japanese promised that for this they would return South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. We could solve our territorial problems politically without losing a single person. Then only the Americans would bear losses in manpower. But Stalin was so consistent in these matters that he considered it a matter of honor to keep his word. He did not accept such a lucrative offer from Tokyo, but entered the war.
- You did not answer the question about the mood of the soldiers.
- Yes, we will return to Koenigsberg. Some of our formations and units began to be loaded onto the train. Nobody knew where we were going. There were intense fights, we were all very tired. Despite this, we were all forced to glue maps of the Berlin and Prague directions - everyone thought that we were going there. But it turned out that we went to Moscow. The echelon of the headquarters of the 5th Army arrived in the capital on May 2. We were at an impasse. But that evening, for the first time in my life, I saw fireworks in honor of the capture of Berlin. And there was a rumor in the echelon that we were going to fight against Turkey. Only when we crossed the Volga did it become clear where we were going after all. We drove very secretly.
– At night?
- No, we drove around the clock, and made stops only at night. No train stations, only far from them, in some dead ends. Not even all the unit and formation commanders knew where we were going. In general, this transfer of such a mass of troops was exceptionally well planned and clearly carried out. By that time, Stalin already unconditionally trusted his generals, did not constrain their initiative.
On the border of Manchuria with the Soviet Union, the Japanese created a very powerful fortified area. In order to destroy it, the front headquarters planned three days of continuous artillery preparation. A day and a half only to open the system of the fortified area - with artillery fire it was necessary to remove the thickets that masked the pillboxes. But the commander of our 5th Army, Colonel General Nikolai Krylov, decided to go on the offensive without artillery preparation. Covertly, advanced battalions.
On August 9, at one in the morning Khabarovsk time, when it was pouring rain, we, under the cover of this downpour, accompanied by border guards (and in training before the offensive, all the forward detachments worked out border crossing routes with border guards many times) crossed the border and captured pillboxes. In peacetime, no one lives in pillboxes. The Japanese lived in wooden houses five hundred or six hundred meters from these pillboxes. And while they jumped out to meet us, the pillboxes were already captured. Without a single shot.
To the north of Gradekovo, where we were standing, there is Mount Camel, Mount Garrison. There, in the area of Gradekovo itself, our UR (fortified area) was located, it was commanded by General Shurshin. And he, in order to cheer up the troops, decided to hold an artillery raid for ten minutes. And when the raid was made, the Japanese jumped out and occupied the pillboxes. The war had already ended, I was driving across the border with a report to the headquarters of the front - the Japanese were still sitting in pillboxes and firing. What does this fact say? If we had not chosen such tactics, as suggested by General Krylov, we would have begun to attack, as during the Finnish war, to break through the defenses, only the fight against the URs would have continued for six to seven months. That's what a reasonable commander's decision means.
Look, there was a million-strong Kwantung Army. Of it, only 690 thousand people were captured. And in total we lost 12 thousand soldiers and officers during this operation. This is for those accusations when we are told that we fought ineptly, filled up the enemy with corpses ... That is why some people in the West do not like to remember our Manchurian operation.
– There is another side of the issue. I will definitely ask him. For now, I still want to hear from you: what were the moods of the soldiers who took Berlin, Koenigsberg, and they were sent to fight also in the East?
“A lot depended on age. To us, young officers... A small digression. On June 22, when the war began, I studied at the Tashkent Military School. We were lined up on the parade ground, and we listened to Molotov's speech. A cadet Garkavtsev was standing next to me. He says: here again, as in Khasan and Khalkhin Gol, while we are studying here, the war will end. We won't be able to fight again.
Garkavtsev died at the end of forty-second, near Stalingrad. I remembered him so that you could understand what kind of mood we, young officers, had at that time. In forty-five I was twenty-two. I'm already a major. And even with some enthusiasm he accepted the news of the war against Japan. And among us were people of an older age, let's call it average. They also agreed: yes, the Japanese need to take revenge. But there were those who spent four years in the war, and before the war, many who had already served their time were not transferred to the reserve. Some of them pulled the soldier's strap for seven or eight years. They had families. They hoped: the war will end, they will return home, and then...
I was not burdened by anything. So the mood was different.
I remember when we arrived at the place, we began to conduct training, we had the battalion commander Georgy Gubkin, he later received the Star of the Hero, began to teach the soldiers: grenades on the hills of Manchuria should be thrown differently than you did near Koenigsberg. There the place is flat, here it is mountainous. Throw it up until it explodes, roll under your feet. Therefore, after pulling out the pin, twist it with your hand twice and only then throw it. We had to teach and front-line soldiers.
But I remembered this in order to pay attention to such a detail: Gubkin told how to use grenades, then he asked: do you have any questions? One fighter was out of action, he was forty-five years old, he asks: when will the demobilization be? Some of my colleagues were very worried about this issue.
- Let's go back to the numbers that you mentioned: almost 700 thousand were taken prisoner, and only 12 died. In the West, they say that the Red Army had such relatively small losses not because its commanders gained the necessary combat experience, pitied and protected people, skillfully used their martial arts, but because after the nuclear bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the Kwantung Army was already demoralized and did not represent such a formidable force as it was before August 6. Surrendered in captivity by regiments and divisions. The Russians did not perform any special feats. What can you say about this?
- When someone wants to justify and prove some kind of stupidity, you can come up with anything. All historical facts refute these statements. I have already given you some of them. If we acted according to a template, and not as we did the Manchurian operation, we would have to fight, in spite of any Hiroshima, for a very, very long time.
But when we arrived in the Far East, we had the experience of four years of war behind us. Our military art was at the highest level. Even today, when you visit military exercises for three or four days, you already feel that you have learned something, but here if for four years “KSHU (command-staff exercises. - V.L.) goes in conditions that are too close to reality ”, then, of course, you can learn a lot. And what we represented in the forty-first - forty-second, and what we represented in the forty-fifth - it was heaven and earth.
And if these skillful actions had not been, then we would have received a “second Gradekovo”. From Mount Camel, the Japanese, who had settled in pillboxes, fired for another six months: they had everything there - ammunition supplies, water, and food ... Everything was there. The war was over and they were shooting.
Everything suggests that it was only thanks to skillful actions that we avoided great losses. And the Japanese were determined to resist. They really resisted. So I had to save the 84th Cavalry Division of General Dedeugly.
– Mongolian division? The surname of the commander is similar.
– No, the commander was an Armenian by nationality. I recently read the book “Armenians in the Great Patriotic War”. There is a photograph of him, a story about him. So, on August 15-18, the division was surrounded - it was to the northeast of Nenani, there is such a Chinese city. The Japanese fought desperately there. It was the same in other places. But the skillful actions of our troops, the landing of a large number of troops in their rear - not by parachute, but by landing, all this had a deafening effect on them. You can judge this at least by such an episode.
In the zone of the Trans-Baikal Front there was a fortress Zhekhe. This, as far as I remember, is a half-million city, a powerful stone fortress. And if it had to be stormed, as they say, head-on, it would take a lot of time and, of course, there would be heavy losses ... But what does the corps commander, General Issa Pliev, do? In the forty-first year, this was even unimaginable.
He takes security guards of seven or eight people, one Dodge car, two Jeep cars. He sits in them and at great speed bursts right into the gates of this fortress, enters the headquarters and says: I called the planes, they are ready to bomb you. If you don't want to be killed all of you, give up. We bargained for an hour and a half, the entire garrison - 25 thousand soldiers and officers surrendered to one general with a guard detachment. That's what commander's audacity and pressure mean.
- But on August 14, there was an appeal by the Japanese emperor that the army should stop resisting.
- It was. But not all garrisons and units of the Kwantung Army received it. Not everyone was going to follow this order. After all, there was another order: the Americans to surrender, the Chinese to surrender, and continue to fight with the Russians. In order for us to occupy as little territory as possible in Korea, Manchuria and other regions of China. Despite this, we have solved all our problems.
There everything went to the fact that there would be great resistance, we would have to bear heavy losses, if it were not for such skillful actions of our command. And all the talk that the Japanese were in a panic and were going to surrender in orderly rows is not confirmed by any facts.
- In the war against Japan, there were two armies - ours and the American. It is clear that at the strategic level, the plans for interaction were somehow coordinated. But was it at the tactical and operational-tactical level? At the grassroots - in the regimental, divisional units?
– I was not then initiated into such interaction. But while working at the headquarters of the 5th Army, of course, I had to see and know something. For example, we were told that the Americans should not enter Port Arthur, the port of Dalniy, that by agreement we should be there. That there will be Americans in Korea south of the 38th parallel. By the way, our battalions of the 25th Army, Colonel General Ivan Chistyakov, approached the northern outskirts of Seoul and stood there for two days until the Americans approached. And when the allies approached, we withdrew our troops beyond the 38th parallel. That is, some details of the coordinated actions were known to us then. But when our troops, units of the 39th Army reached Port Arthur, two American detachments tried to land there in high-speed landing craft. And our fire, however, upwards, not on them, were forced to drive away the Yankees, did not allow them to land on the shore.
Americans, of course, have never suffered from a lack of arrogance. It was believed that they could capture Port Arthur and then not leave from there. Still, the agreements were largely respected. Although Washington did not do much. There was, for example, an agreement that we would participate in the occupation of Japan, that one or two of our brigades would be stationed in Tokyo following the example of Berlin.
Our 35th Army, commanded by Colonel-General Nikolai Zakhvataev, was already training to serve there, and was about to land on the island of Hokkaido. But General Douglas MacArthur, who had a very determined character and great influence in the White House, rejected this US commitment. President Harry Truman, apparently, did not feel very confident, and MacArthur actually personally dictated many questions on the Far East, took all measures to prevent the landing of the Soviet Union on the territory of Japan.
The Americans insisted on establishing their own bases on the territory of the Soviet Union for the war with Japan. For example, in the Kuriles. But it was clear that if they took these places, then at least they would not leave soon. And such proposals were also rejected.
I must say that at the diplomatic level, we did not work in the best way after the war. We shouldn't have slammed the door and left the San Francisco Conference. It was necessary to conclude an agreement or postpone its conclusion jointly with other countries. And since we left, they signed it without us. Now it comes back to us.
- Last question. How did the Chinese population meet you, soldiers of the Red Army? What impression did you get from talking with him, with the Chinese communists? I don't know, wittingly or unwittingly, but you helped the Chinese Communists defeat the Kuomintang and carry out the socialist revolution in the country.
– This issue requires a separate conversation, although in short, this is not a researched topic at all. Not illuminated anywhere. There were a lot of such insidious questions, which neither journalists nor historians have yet got to the bottom of and which are still waiting for their researcher. But what can be said in advance. Probably, nowhere did our troops meet so well, except, perhaps, in Belarus, as in Korea and China.
By the way, one can talk endlessly about the Manchurian operation, how well everything was thought out. But there is a document. The head of intelligence of the 5th Kwantung Army (there was also the 5th Army) reports to Commander Yamada that the concentration of Soviet troops is passing, the depth of this concentration, the length along the front - they worked undercover intelligence. On the report, the resolution of the Japanese commander: "Only a madman can advance in the rainy season." And in August it started to rain. But we chose the beginning of the offensive at a time when everyone thought it was crazy.
This created enormous difficulties for the troops. Supply immediately disrupted
– You can’t drag artillery, tanks…
Everything got stuck in the mud. I myself later saw in North Korea, primarily in Nenan, Girin, Donghua - in these areas. All the villages converged and helped to drag our guns, helped to pull out the tanks, which got stuck, just got stuck in the mud, cars ... From one village to another, the tanks were actually dragged by hand. No one forced them to do this - they hated the Japanese so much that they were ready for anything, just to drive them out of their native land. The Japanese really treated them very cruelly. After all, only once a month was it allowed in China and Korea to eat rice ...
This is a separate issue. But we are often reproached: why didn't you immediately release the captured Japanese, why did you take them to the Soviet Union? I was the head of the operational group in the northern part of Manchuria to control these prisoner-of-war camps, and when our troops were about to leave in forty-five, then they stayed for a few more months, we handed over the first few camps to the Chinese. What did they do? All products were taken away from the Japanese. A Chinese walks past the camp and definitely thinks that it is necessary to shoot at him.
- Japanese?
- Yes, the Japanese were on their knees: do not leave us. There is demagogy, unfortunately, among journalists who say: they illegally took them out, they violated international law... But what to do with 650,000 people? There is no transport to take them all to Japan, and the situation is such that everything around is mined. You can’t leave them here, the Chinese will kill them all - they themselves ask to take them away. When people do not know all the circumstances, they try to make categorical judgments... But in life everything is much more complicated.
Many difficult questions arose. Before the start of the war with Japan, the Soviet Union entered into an agreement with Chiang Kai-shek. On Port Arthur, on the Chinese Eastern Railway, on other issues. The communists were terribly offended. I kept running into the chairman of the Military Council of Northeast China with Comrade Gao Gann, a very clever man, a revolutionary. He expressed extreme indignation about this. But, apparently, the leadership of our country did not really believe that the communists would win in China and considered it necessary to cooperate with Chiang Kai-shek. In general, in the long term, even taking into account the realities of today, it was more profitable for our country if Chiang Kai-shek won there. Weak, fragmented China played into our hands then.
And if the Communists came to power, the Kremlin understood, China would become a powerful centralized power. There will be a lot of joy, but also worries.
– Why then did we help Mao Zedong and not Chiang Kai-shek?
- All the first agreements before the war were concluded with Chiang Kai-shek. And there was such a condition: where our troops are stationed, neither the Communists nor the Kuomintang should go there. How did it happen? Under an agreement with Chiang Kai-shek, in October-November 1945, we were to withdraw our troops from Manchuria. Suddenly, Chiang Kai-shek sees: if we leave, all the cities will immediately be occupied by the communists. It is unprofitable for him, and he does not have enough strength to take our place. He's stuck in the Special District, other places. They also accepted the surrender of Japanese troops. In short, he appeals to Stalin with a request to leave the Red Army where it is. And immediately there is a contradiction with Mao...
There are many papers on the subject that have never been published. Perhaps the time has not yet come. We leave them for future researchers.
On July 23, 2018, the outstanding Soviet and Russian military leader, Doctor of Military and Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor, well-known military theorist, president of the Academy of Military Sciences, chief inspector (general inspector) of the Office of Inspectors of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, retired army general Mahmut Gareev.
Mahmut Gareev
(c) Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
As the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported on July 23, the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, General of the Army Sergei Shoigu, congratulated the President of the Academy of Military Sciences of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Military Sciences, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Chief Inspector (Inspector General) of the Office of Inspectors of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Army General Makhmut Gareev on his 95th birthday and presented a state award.
In accordance with the decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Makhmut Gareev was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky for his services in strengthening the country's defense capability and many years of conscientious work.
Mahmut Gareev has written more than two dozen books, hundreds of scientific papers and articles - all of them are devoted to the country's defense power. Today he continues to successfully manage the Academy of Military Sciences, and also makes a significant contribution to improving the scientific and practical activities of the Russian Armed Forces.
Reference:
Gareev Makhmut Akhmetovich - General of the Army, General Inspector of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, President of the Academy of Military Sciences of the Russian Federation, full member of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, Doctor of Military Sciences, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation named after G.K. Zhukov.
Gareev Makhmut Akhmetovich was born on July 23, 1923 in Chelyabinsk. In 1941 he graduated from the Tashkent Infantry School. He served in the Soviet Army for over 50 years. Member of the Great Patriotic War - on the Western, 3rd Belorussian and 1st Far Eastern fronts. Several times he was wounded and shell-shocked. In the postwar years, he graduated with honors and a gold medal from the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze (1950) and the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR (1959). He was in various command and staff positions in the Far Eastern, Belorussian and Ural military districts. In the Belarusian Military District he commanded a regiment, motorized rifle and training tank divisions, was chief of staff of the combined arms army, served as chief of staff of the Ural Military District, head of the Military Scientific Directorate and deputy chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces. He was in military-diplomatic work: in 1970-1971. was chief of staff of the chief military adviser in Egypt and in 1989-1990. - Military Advisor to the President - Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. The last position was Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. Army General. Currently - President of the Academy of Military Sciences (since 1995), Inspector General of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Public Council under the Chairman of the Military-Industrial Commission of the Government of the Russian Federation (since 2013), Deputy Chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Doctor of military sciences, doctor of historical sciences, professor, full member of the Academy of Sciences of Tatarstan. Author of books: "Tactical exercises and maneuvers", "Combined arms exercises", "M.V. Frunze as a military theorist", "Military science", "National interests and military security of Russia", "If there is war tomorrow", "Contours of the armed struggle of the future", "Ambiguous pages of the war", "My last war", "Afghan suffering", Marshal Zhukov. The greatness and uniqueness of military leadership”, “Commanders of Victory”, “Konstantin Simonov as a military writer”, “Battles on the military-historical front”, a series of essays on the front commanders who ended the Great Patriotic War, and more than 200 other scientific works on the methodological problems of military science, the theory of military art, the methodology of military training and education, military history, published in the USSR, the Russian Federation and abroad. Laureate of the M.V. Frunze and the State Prize of the Russian Federation named after G.K. Zhukov. He was awarded the Orders of Lenin, the Red Banner (1944, 1945, 1967, 1982), the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st Art. (1944, 1985), Alexander Nevsky (1945), Red Star (1943, 1956), Red Banner of Labor (1981), For service to the Motherland in the USSR Armed Forces 3rd Art. (1975), Friendship of Peoples (2003) and 20 medals.
Makhmut Gareev (c) personal archive / "MK"
Newspaper "MK" on the anniversary published an interview with Makhmut Gareev under the heading “The army must be ready to repel any threats”
95 years of Mahmut Gareev: the legendary military theorist spoke about future conflicts
Mahmut Akhmetovich is a man of unique destiny. He was a participant in six wars. His combat path began in December 1942 on the Western Front, then continued on the 3rd Belorussian. He was deputy commander of a rifle battalion, served in the headquarters of a rifle brigade and corps. In 1942, in the battles near Rzhev, he was seriously wounded. Returned to duty. Another severe wound was received in 1944. In February 1945, after the hospital, he was sent to the Far East, where he fought with Japan as part of the 1st Far Eastern Front.
In 1950, Makhmut Gareev graduated from the Frunze Military Academy, and in 1959 from the General Staff Academy. In 1970-1971, he was the chief military adviser in the United Arab Republic (as Egypt and Syria were called for some time). Since 1971 - Chief of Staff of the Ural Military District. Since 1974 - Chief of the Military Scientific Directorate of the General Staff, Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff, since 1984 - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR.
Since 1989, after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, he remained there as the chief military adviser. He played a large role in planning the military operations of the government forces of President Najibullah. The Mujahideen were hunting for Makhmut Gareev. In Afghanistan, he was again seriously wounded.
Since 1990 - military adviser - inspector of the group of general inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Back in the 60-70s, he began to actively engage in military scientific work. Author of more than 100 scientific papers and more than 300 articles and publications in collections, magazines, newspapers. General Gareev was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree, as well as the Order of Lenin, four Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of Alexander Nevsky, two Orders of the Patriotic War, I degree, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, three Orders of the Red Star, Armed Forces of the USSR "II and III degrees, medals, foreign orders and medals.
Mahmut Gareev is a legendary man. Before his eyes and with his direct participation, the power of the first Soviet and then the Russian army was strengthened. Despite his advanced age, he still has a bright mind and an enviable memory. On the eve of his 95th birthday, Makhmut Gareev answered questions from MK.
— You are a participant of the Great Patriotic War. Many of your works and articles are devoted to the analysis of those events. But it's no secret that the military is sometimes reproached for always "preparing for past wars." Is it possible today to say the same about our generals and our army?
— Armies and generals are different. But as far as the Russian army is concerned, I think that we now basically have a correct idea of the possible development of armed conflicts in the future. And the most dangerous thing here is the use of nuclear weapons. This is fraught with the most serious consequences, which I would not even like to talk about. But the country's army must be ready to repel such threats.
Numerous wars of another kind are now being developed: local or so-called hybrid ones. The variety of wars also requires a variety of forms of combat training. It is necessary not to prepare for any one long-familiar form of war, but to practice military operations taking into account everything that may happen in the future.
- In one of the interviews, you talked about your conversation with the King of Jordan. You asked why, in his opinion, the strong Iraqi army fell so quickly under the pressure of NATO forces. And you cite his answer: “If there is no universal military service in a country, if mercenaries are fighting for its interests, then the fighting spirit among the people is gradually eroded.” And how, then, do you yourself feel about the fact that the Russian army is moving along the path of increasing the share of contract soldiers? Should the conscription service remain?
— I think that the contract army has many advantages. This must be taken into account. That is why this method of manning the Armed Forces cannot be cancelled. But in the event of a major war, contract servicemen alone are indispensable. Therefore, universal military service is needed. The contract should not cancel the readiness of the citizens of the country to defend their Fatherland.
That's when in 1941 I entered the military school, there was one guy from Belarus with me. He wrote a letter to his mother, where he asked: “Mom, should I go to a military school?” And this illiterate woman from the Belarusian hinterland in a letter, which was written on wrapping paper, replied: “Son, of course, go to a military school. Well, we shouldn’t hire foreigners to defend our Motherland.” The head of the school then ordered that this letter be read in all companies at the evening check.
In Soviet times, the main advantage - and it helped us win World War II - was that the whole country was preparing to defend its Fatherland. And above all the youth. There were organizations such as DOSAAF, military affairs were taught very seriously in schools. And today we must take into account this experience.
— You were a military adviser in Afghanistan. From the position of an internationalist warrior, evaluate the current participation of our forces in the hostilities in Syria.
- Much is said about the fact that the experience of previous wars should be taken into account. But in fact, both the experience of the Great Patriotic War, and the Afghan, as well as other wars, are already beginning to be forgotten. This should not be.
As for the assessment of the military operations of our Aerospace Forces in Syria, it can only be the highest. They still show excellent training, skill and courage there.
- Do you think that we, as a country that plays an important role in international politics, should participate in such conflicts? Or is it better to sit at home and not go anywhere?
- It is impossible not to meddle if they meddle with us. And provoke from all sides. There are conflicts that are imposed on us, We are required to give up certain state interests. And in such cases we should never make any concessions. We are obliged to defend our interests.
— Do we defend our interests in Syria?
- Yes. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to do this to the full extent, but it is necessary to strive for this.
Olga Bozheva
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| Order of Honor | Order of Friendship | The order of Lenin | Order of the Red Banner | |
| Order of the Red Banner | Order of the Red Banner | Order of the Red Banner | Order of Alexander Nevsky | |
| Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class | Order of the Patriotic War II degree | Order of the Red Banner of Labor | Order of the Red Star | |
| Order of the Red Star | Order of the Red Star | Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" II degree | Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" III degree | |
| 40px | Medal "For Military Merit" | Jubilee medal "For Valiant Labor (For Military Valor). In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" | Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" | |
| 40px | 40px | 40px | 40px | |
| 40px | 40px | 40px | Medal "For the victory over Japan" | |
| 40px | 40px | 40px | 40px | |
| 40px | 40px | 40px | 40px | |
| 40px | Medal "For Impeccable Service" 1st Class | 40px | 40px |
foreign awards
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Mahmut Akhmetovich Gareev(born July 23, Chelyabinsk, USSR) - Soviet and Russian military leader, military leader, retired army general, doctor of military and doctor of historical sciences, professor. military theorist.
Biography
War years
Military service in the USSR
Lecture M.A. Gareev "Russia in the Wars of the 20th Century" On March 25, 2004, a project of public lectures by Polit.ru was opened.
Awards
In 1998 M.A. Gareev became the first laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation named after Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov - for the book “Marshal Zhukov. The greatness and uniqueness of military leadership "(1996)
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- / Lyudmila Ternovaya. IA "Bashinform"
An excerpt characterizing Gareev, Makhmut Akhmetovich
I realized that the woman's life seems to be "hanging by a thread" at the moment, and for a moment her essence was simply knocked out of her physical body.- Well, where is she?! .. - Katya was upset. “She was just here!”
The girl was apparently very tired from such a huge influx of a wide variety of emotions, and her face became very pale, helpless and sad ... She tightly clutched her brother's hand, as if looking for support from him, and whispered softly:
- And everyone around us does not see ... What is it, dad? ..
She suddenly became like a small, sad old woman, who, in complete confusion, looks with her clear eyes at such a familiar white light, and cannot understand in any way - where should she go now, where is her mother now, and where is her home now? .. She turned either to her sad brother, or to the lonely and, it would seem, completely indifferent father. But none of them had an answer to her simple childish question, and the poor girl suddenly became really very scared ....
- Will you stay with us? – looking at me with her big little eyes, she plaintively asked.
“Well, of course I’ll stay if you want it,” I immediately assured.
And I really wanted to hug her tightly in a friendly way, in order to at least a little warm her small and so frightened heart ...
- Who are you, girl? the father suddenly asked. “Just a person, just a little “different,” I answered, a little embarrassed. - I can hear and see those who "left" ... like you are now.
We're dead, right? he asked more calmly.
“Yes,” I answered honestly.
“And what will happen to us now?”
- You will live, only in another world. And he is not so bad, believe me! .. You just need to get used to him and fall in love.
– Do they LIVE after death? – Father asked, still not believing.
- They live. But not here, I replied. - You feel everything the same as before, but this is already a different, not your familiar world. Your wife is still there, just like me. But you have already crossed the "border" and now you are on the other side, - not knowing how to explain it more precisely, I tried to "reach out" to him.
“Will she ever come to us too?” the girl suddenly asked.
“Someday, yes,” I replied.
“Well, then I’ll wait for her,” the pleased little girl confidently declared. “And we’ll all be together again, right, papa?” You want your mother to be with us again, right? ..
Her huge gray eyes shone like stars, in the hope that her beloved mother would one day also be here, in her new world, not even realizing that this HER current world for mom would be nothing more and nothing less than just death. ...
And, as it turned out, the baby didn’t have to wait long... Her beloved mother appeared again... She was very sad and a little confused, but she kept herself much better than her wildly frightened father, who now, to my sincere joy, is a little came to his senses.
The interesting thing is that during my interaction with such a huge number of dead entities, I could almost say with certainty that women accepted the “shock of death” much more confidently and calmly than did men. At that time I still could not understand the reasons for this curious observation, but I knew for sure that it was so. Perhaps they endured deeper and harder the pain of guilt for the children they left in the “living” world, or for the pain that their death brought to relatives and friends. But it was precisely the fear of death that most of them (unlike men) almost completely lacked. Could this be explained to some extent by the fact that they themselves gave the most valuable thing that was on our earth - human life? Unfortunately, I didn't have an answer to that question...
- Mommy, mommy! And they said that you would not come for a long time! And you are already here! I knew you wouldn't leave us! squealed little Katya, choking with delight. “Now we are all together again and now everything will be fine!”
And how sad it was to watch how all this sweet friendly family tried to save their little daughter and sister from the realization that it was not at all so good that they were all together again, and that none of them, unfortunately, there was no longer the slightest chance for their remaining unlived life ... And that each of them would sincerely prefer that at least one of their family would remain alive ... And little Katya was still innocently and happily muttering something , rejoicing that again they are all one family and again completely “everything is fine” ...
Mom smiled sadly, trying to show that she was also glad and happy ... and her soul, like a wounded bird, screamed about her unfortunate babies who had lived so little ...
Suddenly, she seemed to “separate” her husband and herself from the children with some kind of transparent “wall” and, looking straight at him, gently touched his cheek.
“Valery, please look at me,” the woman said quietly. – What are we going to do?.. It’s death, isn’t it?
He raised his large gray eyes to her, in which such mortal anguish lapped, that now instead of him I wanted to howl like a wolf, because it was almost impossible to take all this into my soul ...
- How could this happen? .. Why should they? .. - again asked Valeria's wife. - What do we do now, tell me?
But he could not answer her, much less offer something. He was simply dead, and, unfortunately, he did not know anything about what happens “after”, just like all the other people who lived in that “dark” time, when everyone and everyone was literally driven in with the hardest “hammer of lies” into the head that “after” there is nothing more and that human life ends at this mournful and terrible moment of physical death ...
- Dad, mom, where are we going now? the girl asked cheerfully. It seemed that now, when everyone was assembled, she was completely happy again and was ready to continue her life even in such an unfamiliar existence for her.
- Oh, mommy, and my pen went through the bench !!! But how can I sit down now? .. - the little girl was surprised.
But mother didn’t have time to answer, when suddenly, right above them, the air sparkled with all the colors of the rainbow and began to thicken, turning into an amazingly beautiful blue channel, very similar to the one I saw during my unsuccessful “bathing” in our river. The channel sparkled and shimmered with thousands of stars, and more and more densely enveloped the dumbfounded family.
“I don’t know who you are, girl, but you know something about this,” my mother suddenly turned to me. “Tell me, should we go there?”
"I'm afraid so," I answered as calmly as possible. - This is your new world in which you will live. And he is very handsome. You will like it.
I was a little sad that they were leaving so soon, but I understood that it would be better this way, and that they would not even have time to truly regret what they had lost, since they would immediately have to accept their new world and their new life ...
- Oh, mom, mom, how beautiful! Almost like New Year!.. Vidas, Vidas, is it really beautiful?! the little girl murmured happily. - Well, let's go, let's go, what are you waiting for!
Mom smiled sadly at me and said affectionately:
- Farewell, girl. Whoever you are - happiness to you in this world ...
And, hugging her babies, she turned to the luminous channel. All of them, except for little Katya, were very sad and obviously very worried. They had to leave everything that was so familiar and so well known, and "go" no one knows where. And, unfortunately, they had no choice in this situation ...
Suddenly, in the middle of the luminous channel, a luminous female figure condensed and began to gradually approach the stunned family, huddled together.
- Alice? .. - the mother said uncertainly, peering intently at the new guest.
The entity, smiling, extended its arms to the woman, as if inviting her into her arms.
Alice, is that really you?!
“So we met, dear,” said the luminous being. – Are you really all of them?.. Oh, what a pity!.. It’s too early for them yet... What a pity...
“Mommy, mom, who is this?” the dumbfounded little girl asked in a whisper. - How beautiful she is! .. Who is this, mother?
"That's your aunt, dear," her mother answered kindly.
- Uncle?! Oh, how good - a new aunt !!! And who is she? – the curious little girl did not let up.
She is my sister, Alice. You never saw her. She went to this "other" world when you weren't there yet.
“Well, then it was a very long time ago,” little Katya confidently stated the “indisputable fact” ...
The luminous "aunt" smiled sadly, observing her cheerful and unsuspecting little niece in this new life situation. And that one was merrily jumping up and down on one leg, trying out her unusual “new body” and, being completely satisfied with it, stared inquiringly at the adults, waiting for them to finally go to that unusual luminous “new world” of theirs ... She seemed completely happy again, since her whole family was here, which meant that “everything is fine” with them and there was nothing more to worry about ... Her tiny children's world was again habitually protected by the people she loved and she no longer had to to think about what happened to them today and just waited for what would happen next.
Alice looked at me very carefully and said affectionately:
- And it's still early for you, girl, you still have a long way to go ...
The luminous blue channel was still sparkling and shimmering, but it suddenly seemed to me that the glow had become weaker, and as if answering my thought, the “aunt” said:
“It’s time for us, my dears. You don't need this world anymore...
She took them all into her arms (which I was surprised for a moment, as she seemed to suddenly become larger) and the luminous channel disappeared along with the sweet girl Katya and her whole wonderful family ... It became empty and sad, as if I had lost again someone close, as happened almost always after a new meeting with the "leaving" ...
"Girl, are you all right?" I heard someone's worried voice.
Someone bothered me, trying to “return” me to a normal state, as I apparently again “entered” too deeply into that other world, far away for the rest, and frightened some kind person with my “frozen-abnormal” calmness.
The evening was just as wonderful and warm, and everything around remained exactly the same as it was just an hour ago ... only I didn’t want to walk anymore.
Someone's fragile, good lives had just been cut off so easily, flew away into another world like a white cloud, and I suddenly felt very sad, as if a drop of my lonely soul had flown away with them ... I really wanted to believe that the dear girl Katya would find at least some kind of happiness in anticipation of their return "home" ... And it was sincerely sorry for all those who did not have coming "aunts" to at least slightly alleviate their fear, and who rushed in horror, leaving in that arc, unfamiliar and frightening world , not even imagining what awaits them there, and not believing that this is still going on their “precious and only” LIFE ...
The days flew by unnoticed. Weeks passed. Gradually, I began to get used to my unusual everyday visitors ... After all, everything, even the most extraordinary events that we perceive at the beginning almost as a miracle, become commonplace if they are repeated regularly. This is how my wonderful “guests”, who at the beginning amazed me so much, became almost a common occurrence for me, in which I honestly invested part of my heart and was ready to give much more, if only it could help someone . But it was impossible to absorb all that endless human pain without choking on it and without destroying itself. Therefore, I became much more careful and tried to help without opening all the “gateways” of my raging emotions, but tried to remain as calm as possible and, to my greatest surprise, very soon noticed that in this way I can help much more and more effectively. , while not getting tired at all and spending much less of their vitality on all this.
Rice. 43.
Gareev Makhmut Akhmetovich (Fig. 43) - Soviet and Russian military figure, military leader, army general, doctor of military and doctor of historical sciences, professor. military theorist.
In 1939, he volunteered for the Red Army. He graduated from the Tashkent Red Banner Infantry School named after V. I. Lenin in 1941. In 1941-1942 he commanded a platoon and a company in the Central Asian Military District, studied at the Higher tactical shooting courses for the improvement of infantry commanders "Shot".
Since November 1941 - a participant in the Great Patriotic War. Fought on the Western and 3rd Belorussian fronts. He was deputy commander of a rifle battalion, assistant, deputy chief and chief of the operational unit of the headquarters of the 36th separate rifle brigade of the 33rd army. From June 1944 to February 1946, assistant chief of the operational department of the headquarters of the 45th Rifle Corps, 5th Army.
3rd Belorussian Front. From February 1946 to October 1946 - senior assistant to the head of the department for the use of war experience of the operational department of the headquarters of the 5th army. 3rd Belorussian Front, 1st Far Eastern Front. From October 1946 to November 1947 - senior officer for the study of war experience of the operational department of the headquarters of the 5th army. Primorsky military district.
In 1942, in the battles near Rzhev, he was wounded, in 1944 he was again wounded in the head.
In February 1945, after leaving the hospital, he was sent to the Far East as a senior officer in the operational department of the 5th Army headquarters. In its composition, he fought on the 1st Far Eastern Front during the Soviet-Japanese War in August 1945.
After the war, until 1947, he continued to serve at the headquarters of the 5th Army in the Far Eastern Military District. In 1950 he graduated from the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze with a gold medal. In 1950-1957 - chief of staff of the regiment, senior officer of the operational directorate of the headquarters of the Belarusian military district, commander of the 307th guards training motorized rifle regiment in the 45th training tank division of the Belarusian military district, chief of staff of the 120th guards motorized rifle division.
In 1959 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff with a Gold Medal. Since 1959 - deputy division commander, commander of motorized rifle and tank divisions, chief of staff of the 28th combined arms army in the Belarusian military district.
In 1970-1971 - Chief of Staff of the Chief Military Adviser in the Armed Forces of the United Arab Republic of Egypt. Since 1971 - Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander of the Ural Military District. From February 1974 to December 1977 - Head of the Military Scientific Directorate of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces. From December 1977 to December 1979, Head of the 7th Directorate - Deputy Chief - of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces. From December 1979 to 1984 - Deputy Head of the Main Operational Directorate of the Armed Forces of the USSR.
From December 1984 to 1989 - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces.
Since 1989, he was an adviser to the President of the DRA on military issues after the withdrawal of a limited contingent of Soviet troops from there. He played a big role in planning and carrying out military operations of the government forces of the President of the DRA Najibullah.
Since 1990, he has served as Military Adviser-Inspector of the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Since 1992 - retired.
Actively began to engage in military scientific work in the 60-70s. Author of over 100 scientific papers, over 300 articles and publications in collections, magazines, newspapers. He wrote the books “Tactical exercises and maneuvers”, “M.V. Frunze - a military theorist", "Combined arms exercises", "Ambiguous pages of the war", "My last war", "If there is war tomorrow?..", "Marshal Zhukov. The Greatness and Uniqueness of Military Leadership”, “Afghan Strada”, “Commanders of the Victory and Their Military Legacy”, “Battles on the Military-Historical Front”, “Simonov as a Military Writer”.
In 1998 M.A. Gareev became the first laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation named after Marshal of the Soviet Union
G.K. Zhukov - for the book “Marshal Zhukov. The greatness and uniqueness of military leadership” (1996).
After the creation in 1995 by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of the Academy of Military Sciences, he was elected its president, which he remains to this day. Much is engaged in the study of issues of the history of the Great Patriotic War. Actively participates in scientific discussions, opposes the falsification of the history of the war.
Since 2008, after the creation of the Service of General Inspectors of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, General of the Army Gareev has been the General Inspector.
In addition, Gareev M.A. is Deputy Chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Expert Council under the Chairman of the Military Industrial Commission under the Government of the Russian Federation, Head of the working group of the Russian Organizing Committee "Victory".
He was awarded the Order of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of Alexander Nevsky, the Orders of the Patriotic War of the 1st and 11th degrees, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, three Orders of the Red Star, the Orders of "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" and 111th degree, the Order of Honor of the Russian Federation , the Order of Friendship, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree, thirty medals, as well as foreign orders and medals.
Makhmut Akhmetovich Gareev(born July 23, 1923, Chelyabinsk, USSR) - Soviet and Russian military figure, military leader, retired army general, doctor of military and doctor of historical sciences, professor. military theorist.
Biography
Born in Chelyabinsk in a Tatar family. Father, Akhmet Gareev (born in 1881), is a worker. Mother, Rakhima Gareeva (born in 1892), is a housewife. For a long time the family lived in Central Asia. In 1939, he volunteered for the Red Army. He graduated from the Tashkent Red Banner Infantry School named after V. I. Lenin in 1941. In 1941-1942 he commanded a platoon in the Central Asian military district, studied at the Higher tactical shooting courses for the improvement of infantry commanders "Shot".
War years
Since December 1942 - a participant in the Great Patriotic War. Fought on the Western and 3rd Belorussian fronts. He was deputy commander of a rifle battalion, assistant, deputy chief and chief of the operational unit of the headquarters of the rifle brigade, from June 1944 - officer of the headquarters of the 45th rifle corps. In 1942, in the battles near Rzhev, he was wounded, in 1944 he was again wounded in the head.
In February 1945, after leaving the hospital, he was sent to the Far East as a senior officer in the operational department of the 5th Army headquarters. In its composition, he fought on the 1st Far Eastern Front during the Soviet-Japanese War in August 1945.
Military service in the USSR
After the war, until 1947, he continued to serve at the headquarters of the 5th Army in the Far Eastern Military District. In 1950 he graduated from the Frunze Military Academy. In 1950-1957 - chief of staff of the regiment, senior officer of the operational directorate of the headquarters of the Belarusian military district, commander of the 307th guards training motorized rifle regiment in the 45th training tank division of the Belarusian military district, chief of staff of the 120th guards motorized rifle division.
In 1959 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff. Since 1959 - deputy division commander, commander of motorized rifle and tank divisions, chief of staff of the 28th Combined Arms Army in the Belarusian Military District.
In 1970-1971 - Chief Military Adviser in the United Arab Republic. Since 1971 - Chief of Staff of the Ural Military District. Since February 1974 - Head of the Military Scientific Directorate of the General Staff, Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff, since 1984 - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. Colonel General (30.10.1978).
Since 1989, he was the Chief Military Adviser in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of a limited contingent of Soviet troops from there. He played a large role in planning the military operations of the government forces of President Najibullah.
Since 1990, he served as Military Advisor - Inspector of the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Since 1992 - retired.
Scientific and social activities
Actively began to engage in military scientific work back in the 60-70s. Author of over 100 scientific papers, over 300 articles and publications in collections, magazines, newspapers. He wrote the books “Tactical exercises and maneuvers”, “M.V. Frunze - a military theorist", "Combined arms exercises", "Ambiguous pages of the war", "My last war", "If there is war tomorrow? ..".
After the establishment in February 1995 of the Academy of Military Sciences, a non-governmental research organization, he was elected its president. Much is engaged in the study of issues of the history of the Great Patriotic War. Actively participates in scientific discussions, opposes the falsification of the history of the war. He believes that the desire to challenge the victory of the USSR over fascism is closely connected with the propaganda campaign against modern Russia. Thousands of previously unknown documents about the war were put into circulation in scientific collections edited by M. Gareev. He performed in the program "Directive number 1 - War".
In addition - Inspector General of the Office of General Inspectors of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Deputy Chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Deputy Chairman of the Public Council under the Chairman of the Military Industrial Commission under the Government of the Russian Federation.
Lecture M.A. Gareev "Russia in the Wars of the 20th Century" On March 25, 2004, a project of public lectures by Polit.ru was opened.
On March 3, 2011, he signed the Appeal of members of the public against the informational undermining of confidence in the judicial system of the Russian Federation.
Awards
He was awarded the Order of Lenin, four Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of Alexander Nevsky, two Orders of the Patriotic War, I degree, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, three Orders of the Red Star, orders "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" II and III degrees, medals, as well as foreign orders and medals. In 2013 he was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree.
In 1998 M.A. Gareev became the first laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation named after Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov - for the book “Marshal Zhukov. The greatness and uniqueness of military leadership "(1996)
