80: Victory Parade

80: Allied Berlin Parade

80 years ago today (September 7, 1945) the Allies (the British, the French, the Soviets and the Americans) held a Joint Victory Day Parade in Berlin – the Former Capital of Nazi Germany – which had been divided into 4 different Zones of Occupation for each Allied Country.

Senior Officers present at the Parade were Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov from the USSR, General George S. Patton from the United States, General Brian Robertson, from the United Kingdom, and General Marie-Pierre Kœnig from France.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery declined the invitations shortly before the Parade, and sent Patton and Robertson as their Representatives.

Units present included the Soviet 248th Rifle Division, the French 2nd Infantry Division, the British 131st Infantry Brigade, and the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division; the Forrces present came primarily from the local Garrisons.

 The Armored Contingent came from the British 7th Armoured Division, French 1st Armored Division, and U.S. 16th Mechanized Cavalry Group.  The Red Army used this occasion for the first public display of the IS-3 heavy tank, with 52 tanks from the 2nd Guards Tank Army participating.