Red Army Day

"Wehrmacht was like a man who had siezed a wolf by both ears - - and dared not let go"

F.v Mellenthin wrote in the essential "Panzer Battles" - Red Army suffered terribly at the combined arms of Wehrmacht for years -- yet Red Army seemed to draw on a nigh inexhaustable supply of men, eager cadre and an ever increasing industrial base that could crank out tons of the dreaded Russian panzer -- the T34.

When Allies did the Normandy Naughtiness on D - Day -- Red Army was devouring nearly 900k Deutsch Wehrmacht in the Destruction of Armee Gruppe Centre -- and began the liberation of Poland.

Less than a year later - - it was Red Army -- not Great Satan or Great Britian that stood knee deep in Third Reich's capitol.

Commonwealth Russia remembers and honors her long ago military bona fides with her Victory in the Great Patriotic War celebrations:

A military parade involving over 9,000 personnel, 103 sophisticated tracked and wheeled military vehicles, as well as 69 aircraft and helicopters was launched on Moscow's Red Square at 10:00 a.m. Moscow time (06:00 GMT) on Saturday, when Russia celebrates Victory Day.

Russia's advanced S-400 Triumf air defense systems were displayed for the first time in the parade.

This year's event is largely considered a rehearsal for a grandiose military parade in 2010, when Russia celebrates the 65th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Pic - "The first Victory Parade was held on Red Square on June 24, 1945 on the order of the then-Supreme Comrade Commander-in-Chief, Joseph Stalin."