Soviet T-34-85 Tanks Advance Past a Shattered German Halftrack in the Battle of Berlin, 1945

June 27, 2025 - Reading time: 3 minutes

Two T-34-85 tanks of the 9th Tank Corps drive past a destroyed German Sd.Kfz. 11 halftrack and a Lend-Lease Chevrolet G7107 truck during the Battle of Berlin.

Berlin, Spring 1945.
The Reich is collapsing — and the Red Army rolls forward through the rubble of Hitler’s capital. In this grim snapshot from the last days of World War II, two Soviet T-34-85 tanks from the 9th Tank Corps rumble past the twisted wreckage of a German Sd.Kfz. 11 halftrack, its frame split and broken by heavy-caliber fire.

The contrast is stark. On one side — battle-tested Soviet armor, hardened by years of brutal warfare across the Eastern Front. On the other — a once-proud piece of German engineering reduced to scorched steel. The Sd.Kfz. 11, originally used to tow medium artillery and carry troops, couldn’t withstand the sheer firepower of modern warfare. Whether it was blasted by tank shells, artillery, or aerial bombardment, it met the same fate as thousands of other Wehrmacht vehicles in the dying embers of the Third Reich.

To the right, a Chevrolet G7107 military truck — supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease from the United States — serves as a quiet testament to the global nature of this conflict. The West supplied; the East advanced; Berlin fell.

This photo captures not just destruction — but transition. The war was ending. Empires were falling. And the Red Army was leaving scorched treads over what was left of Hitler’s dreams.

📷 Technical photo data:
📸 Photographer: Unknown Soviet war correspondent
🌐 Source: tankfront.ru
📅 Date: April–May 1945
📍 Location: Berlin, Germany