SOVIET TROOPS CAPTURE VIENNA, AUSTRIA

On this day in 1945, Soviet troops captured Vienna, Austria. As a major city in the Third Reich, Vienna had been bombarded continuously for the year before the arrival of Soviet troops, and many buildings had already been damaged or destroyed.

The Soviet offensive on Vienna took four weeks, culminating with several days of bitter street combat. Eventually, Red Army forces were victorious, liberating the city from the Nazis and raising the Austrian flag over the Vienna City Hall for the first time since 1938.

"Giving the Past a Future, One Story at a Time."

WWII Veterans History Project