Crews of Soviet IS-2 heavy tanks and T-34 medium tanks celebrate Victory Day in Berlin on May 9, 1945. The famous image, titled "Victory!", captures the relief and joy of soldiers whose long road to Berlin had finally come to an end.
Victory at Last
This famous photograph shows the jubilant crews of Soviet IS-2 heavy tanks and T-34 medium tanks from the 104th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment, part of the 7th Separate Guards Heavy Tank Novgorod–Berlin Brigade, celebrating in Berlin's Tiergarten Park on May 9, 1945. After nearly four years of relentless fighting, the soldiers who had crossed thousands of kilometers from the Soviet Union to the German capital could finally celebrate the end of the war in Europe.
Among the men pictured is Guards Senior Sergeant Alexey Shmelkov, a T-34 crewman whose smile captures the emotions shared by countless Soviet soldiers on Victory Day. For many of them, the celebration came after years of continuous combat, enormous losses, and the destruction of their homes and families during the German invasion.
The Tanks That Reached Berlin
The photograph brings together two of the Red Army's most recognizable armored vehicles. The T-34, celebrated for its mobility, reliability, and balanced design, became the backbone of Soviet armored forces throughout the war. Beside it stands the heavily armed IS-2, whose powerful 122 mm gun was designed to destroy fortified positions and engage Germany's heaviest tanks during the final offensives of 1944–1945.
Although these machines became enduring symbols of Soviet victory, the image reminds us that victory ultimately belonged not to steel, but to the crews who fought inside it. Behind every tank stood soldiers who endured exhausting campaigns, harsh weather, and some of the fiercest battles of the Second World War.
A Carefully Crafted Wartime Photograph
The famous image titled "Victory!" was created by combining two negatives made by Soviet war correspondents Mark Redkin and Anatoly Arkhipov. Composite photographs were not unusual in wartime journalism, where photographers sometimes merged separate exposures to create a single image that faithfully conveyed the atmosphere and emotion of historic events. The resulting photograph became one of the best-known visual symbols of the Soviet victory in Berlin.
Technical photo data:
📝 Source of information: Soviet wartime archives
📍 Location: Tiergarten Park, Berlin, Germany
📅 Date of photo: May 9, 1945
📷 Photographers: Mark Redkin and Anatoly Arkhipov (composite photograph)
Recommended literature:
- Steven J. Zaloga — T-34 Medium Tank 1941–45
- Steven J. Zaloga — IS-2 Heavy Tank 1944–73
- Antony Beevor — Berlin: The Downfall 1945
- David Glantz — When Titans Clashed
- Soviet IS-2 tanks Berlin 1945
- T-34 tank crew celebration
- 104th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment WWII
- Red Army victory Berlin
- End of WWII Europe 1945
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