On December 25, at the 97th year of his life, General of the Army Makhmut Akhmetovich Gareev died. For half a century of service, he went from a simple Red Army soldier to deputy chief of the General Staff. Along with the performance of his main duties, M. A. Gareev was engaged in the study of Russian military history and understanding the experience of armed conflicts.
Volunteer Red Army
The future general was born on July 23, 1923 in Chelyabinsk, into a Tatar family of a worker and a housewife. Due to various circumstances, young Makhmut had to change several schools, and then he entered the Leninabad Cooperative College. Also in Leninabad, he got a job in the orchestra of the local cavalry regiment - we can assume that this was the beginning of the military career of the future general.
In 1939, M. Gareev volunteered for the Red Army and soon entered the Tashkent Infantry School. Lenin. In November 1941, junior lieutenant Gareev, after graduating from college, receives his first position - platoon commander in the 99th separate rifle brigade. Later he would be promoted to company commander. The team was responsible for the procurement of spare parts, and ml. Lieutenant Gareev participated in the training of future front-line soldiers.
At the beginning of 1942, Gareev was sent to the Shot course. After their graduation, in June he was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to the Western Front. The commander of a rifle company took part in various battles and set a good example for his subordinates. So, in August, Lieutenant Gareev was wounded for the first time - but continued to command the attack. Good training and personal qualities provided the lieutenant with a rise in the service. In 1942-43. M. Gareev changed the positions of company commander, battalion and operational department of the brigade headquarters.
In the second half of 1944, an experienced officer M. Gareev began serving at the headquarters of the 45th Rifle Corps. With this connection, he participates in the liberation of the Smolensk region and Belarus, and also storms Konigsberg. Already during this period, Gareev came up with new proposals in the field of combat tactics, and such ideas are used in practice.
In February 1945, when the Red Army was preparing to finish off the enemy in his lair, M. Gareev was assigned to the post of senior officer of the operations department of the 5th Army headquarters and sent to the Far East. He will participate in the preparation of the Manchurian operation. The war for him will end only after the victory over Japan. By this time, 22-year-old M. Gareev was already a major and had six military awards.
Theorist and historian
After the war M. A. Gareev continued to serve in the Far East. During the same period, he had a chance to visit China and take part in the construction of the People's Liberation Army. In 1950 he graduated with a gold medal from the Military Academy. Frunze, which opened the way for him to new appointments. In November of the same year, Lieutenant Colonel Gareev arrived in the Belarusian Military District. Service in the BVO began as the chief of staff of a motorized rifle regiment.
The knowledge, skills, experience and personal qualities of the officer to a certain extent strengthened the defense in the strategic direction. M. Gareev made every effort to train his subordinates. In addition, by this time he was seriously engaged in analyzing the experience of past battles and began to form recommendations for the troops for use in various situations. In the same period, the officer takes up historical research.
In the late fifties M. Gareev was trained at the Military Academy of the General Staff and immediately began to use new knowledge. In the sixties, as the commander of the 45th BVO training tank division, General Gareev and his colleagues developed and implemented a system for training troops using elements of the so-called. programmed learning. Later, such methods, which ensured an increase in the effectiveness of training, began to be introduced everywhere.
The general also played an important role in the development of military history. It was M. Gareev who initiated a full-scale study of the Manchurian operation, incl. in order to use the gained combat experience. Subsequently, he worked on other topics in the context of armed conflicts of the 20th century. The main theme remained the Great Patriotic War.
Commanders and staffs
In 1970, Gareev went from Belarus to Egypt, where he held the post of chief of staff of the chief military adviser. The following year, he was transferred to the Ural Military District and appointed chief of staff. In 1974, an experienced military leader was transferred to Moscow, where he received a new opportunity to use his knowledge and skills. In addition, there are more opportunities for historical and theoretical work.
Since 1974 M. A. Gareev serves as the head of the Military Scientific Directorate of the General Staff, and later becomes deputy chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff. In 1984, a new appointment - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR.
In these positions, an experienced military leader was involved in a wide range of issues in the field of further development of the armed forces and increasing defense capabilities. Under him, all the main issues of military development were studied and new programs of this kind were worked out. Much of the ideas and concepts of that time are still at the core of our armed forces.
In 1989, Colonel-General Gareev again went abroad. The operational group of the USSR Ministry of Defense, headed by him, until the fall of 1990 worked in Afghanistan under the administration of Mohammad Najibullah. The task force helped the Afghan army plan and conduct various operations. At the same time, officers and generals were exposed to risks: there were several assassination attempts.
Army General M. A. Gareev retired in 1992. In the last years before that, he served as military adviser-inspector of the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. In retirement, Gareev continued his scientific work in all major areas. In 2008, the Office of Inspectors General was established under the Ministry of Defense. The group of inspectors general included 30 distinguished military leaders, incl. General of the Army Gareev.
Scientist and Academician
In 1995, the Academy of Military Sciences was formed. General Gareev was elected its president, and he held this post until the end of his life. The creation of the AVN ensured the continuation of numerous studies in the field of history and military theory. Now the Academy cooperates with various public and private organizations in the defense sector and makes a certain contribution to ensuring defense capability.
Both during the service and in retirement M. A. Gareev was engaged in scientific activities. For half a century, he has prepared about a hundred scientific papers on various topics, as well as more than 300 publications in specialized editions. His main works were devoted to the history and peculiarities of military operations in the Civil and Great Patriotic War, as well as to some other conflicts. In these works, many documents have been introduced into scientific circulation.
In recent years M. A. Gareev was actively involved in the fight against the falsification of history. Attempts to revise the course and results of World War II pose a great danger, and the AVN, headed by its president, took the necessary measures to educate the population and refute various myths.
Outstanding Warlord
Makhmut Akhmetovich Gareev served in the Red, Soviet and Russian armies for more than half a century and has come a long way - from the Red Army soldier to the deputy chief of the General Staff. And even after retirement, he continued to work and helped build the army. During the years of service, the general was awarded many state awards - among them were the Order of Lenin, four Orders of the Red Banner of Battle and one of the Red Banner of Labor.
The theoretical and scientific work of the officer, and then General Gareev, made a significant contribution to the development of the armed forces and national history. The value of these works and their importance for our army can hardly be overestimated.
December 25 M. A. Gareev passed away, and Russian military science lost a leading specialist in a number of key areas. However, numerous works and the memory of the outstanding military leader and scientist remain with us.
