The Red Banner over Vienna
On April 12, 1945, the red flag was raised over Vienna by Soviet paratroopers using a balloon. Today, this legendary banner is kept in the Central Museum of the USSR Armed Forces and reminds us of the heroism of the soldiers of that time.
The silk banner bears no inscriptions or military unit or formation numbers—only a star, hammer, and sickle neatly sewn on. The banner's dimensions are unusual: forty square meters (five by eight meters).
In the photo: May 22, 1985, at the Central Museum of the Armed Forces of the USSR. In the frame is the Battle Banner, raised over Vienna during the offensive operation in April 1945. Nearby are participants in those events: paratroopers and veterans of the 106th Guards Airborne Division, whose exploits became part of the great stories Victory. In the first row, sixth from the right is Vladimir Georgievich Anisimov.
My senior comrade, front-line paratrooper Vladimir Georgievich Anisimov, a participant in the defeat of the 6th, told me about this event. tank The SS army in the Lake Balaton area and the assault on Vienna. Vladimir Georgievich supplemented his narrative with photographs and recollections of his fellow soldiers who fought in the battles for the Austrian capital.
The idea of raising the Red Banner over defeated Berlin came to the young head of the parachute service of the 351st parachute regiment (at the end of the war - the 351st rifle regiment) Lieutenant Stomakhin.
In the fall of 1940, 20-year-old A. Stomakhin, a designer at the Kyiv Mechanical Plant, was drafted into the army. He began his service in the 201st S. M. Kirov Airborne Brigade. During the peacetime months, Stomakhin mastered parachute jumps—in the cold and wind, into the forest and onto water.
From the first days of the war, he found himself at the front. In June 1941, A. Stomakhin emerged victorious in hand-to-hand combat with several enemy soldiers. Wounded in the leg, he did not leave the battlefield.
Later, when the Red Army command began to form groups and units for deployment behind enemy lines, Stomakhin—as one of the best paratroopers, with an impeccable knowledge of many systems and types of parachutes—was sent to an officer training course for paratrooper service commanders.
His civilian background also came in handy in the army. Stomakhin designed several devices and simulators for ground training of paratroopers. Then, taking combat conditions into account, he developed a beacon for collecting paratroopers after landing.
When 1945 arrived, Lieutenant Stomakhin had the idea of making a Red Banner and raising it with the help of a balloon over defeated Berlin.
"A worthwhile idea," approved Colonel P.N. Fedotov, commander of the 7th Airborne Brigade. "I support it!"
The search for material for the banner began. It was planned to rise 500–600 meters, meaning the banner had to be made large enough to cover a large area; otherwise, at altitude, it would look like just a small flag.
With the help of the Ministry of Light Industry, they managed to acquire 50 square meters of white parachute silk. Stomakhin dyed the material red and sewed it into a sheet measuring eight by five meters.
Appliqués of a star, hammer, and sickle were sewn onto both sides of the banner's upper left corner. The lieutenant sewed a parachute cord with lanyards into the leading edge—these were used to attach the banner to the rope holding the balloon.
Lieutenant Stomakhin eagerly awaited dispatch to the front—to Berlin. But the 106th Guards Rifle Division, which included his brigade, now reorganized as the 351st Rifle Regiment, was thrown into battle west of Vienna.
To contain our advance, Hitler sent units of his personal guard and the 6th SS Panzer Army, which had recently fought the Americans in the Ardennes, to the Austrian capital. The Soviet command, seeking to protect Vienna from destruction, decided to bypass and encircle the city. Vienna found itself blockaded by our troops.
Then the political department of the 9th Guards Army, which included the 106th Rifle Division, remembered the Banner. The command decided to raise it over the still-unliberated Vienna on the night of April 12—before the general assault on the city. The goal was twofold: to show the Nazis that defense was futile and to orient the advancing Soviet troops toward the city center.
At first, Stomakhin tried to object: “But what about Berlin?” But he was convinced that the capture of Vienna would be a rehearsal for the assault on Berlin.
The group included five paratroopers: Stomakhin himself, Guard Sergeant Sonin, Guard Private Balashov, and two other soldiers. The plan was for the guardsmen to break through to the center of Vienna on a tank and then raise a balloon with a banner.
"However, by the appointed time, at 12 midnight, the tank hadn't arrived," recalls A.E. Stomakhin. "And three hours later, it still hadn't arrived. Actually, it turned out even better than planned: the Nazis would have noticed the tank immediately, and who knows, we might have been able to break through to the center then..."
Dawn was approaching.
"And then," says A. E. Stomakhin, "I made a decision: the winch, seven hydrogen cylinders, the Banner, and the casing—into the one-and-a-half-ton truck. Everyone get into the back, don't fire without orders... Forward!"
The paratroopers drove into the courtyard, unloaded, inflated the balloon with gas, attached a banner to it, and on the morning of April 12, it rose above Vienna to a height of approximately 800 meters.
The Germans couldn't figure out where this banner had suddenly appeared over the city. The small balloon was barely visible, the thin steel cable was completely invisible—only a huge red banner fluttered over Vienna. The enemy fired at it with machine guns and anti-aircraft guns, but they were unable to shoot it down.
Seeing the red flag over Vienna, our soldiers rushed to the assault.
Vienna failed to be captured that day. When darkness fell, Stomakhin lowered the banner, but raised it again on the morning of April 13. That day, Vienna was captured.
By the end of April 14, the group had caught up with the regiment near the town of St. Pölten. Stomakhin went to see the commander.
"Well, what about Berlin now?" the colonel asked.
"The mission remains valid!" Stomakhin replied firmly.
On April 17, the lieutenant was received by Marshal Tolbukhin, commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. After hearing Stomakhin's request, the marshal said:
"The banner raised over Vienna is the Vienna Victory Banner. Go to your regiment and organize a second raising of the banner over the Austrian capital on May 1st!"
The lieutenant felt bitter and, dejected, returned to his men. However, after soberly assessing the order, the soldiers agreed with the commander's decision.
And so, on May 1, 1945, the Victory Banner was once again raised over the liberated city. An official report on this event was drawn up at the Soviet commandant's office in Vienna. The document was signed by: City Commandant Lieutenant General A. V. Blagodatov; Deputy Commandant for Political Affairs Lieutenant Colonel I. A. Perervin; Regiment Commander Guards Colonel P. N. Fedotov; and SAS Group Commander Guards Lieutenant A. E. Stomakhin.
The signatures were certified with seals bearing the Soviet Union's coat of arms. Below was a separate note: "I confirm the above. Mayor of Vienna, Theodor Kerner"—and a seal bearing the Austrian coat of arms.
The veteran paratroopers have developed a touching tradition: every year on April 13, they gather to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Eternal Flame. And the Vienna Banner remains in the Central Museum of the Armed Forces of the USSR to this day.
Filming a movie about Vladimir Georgievich Anisimov
During the fierce battle for Vienna, Guards Junior Sergeant Vladimir Georgievich Anisimov joined the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)—a moment he considered one of the most significant in his life and was proud of until the end of his days. He ended the war with the Order of Glory and the Red Star, as well as the medals "For Military Merit," "For the Capture of Vienna," and "For Victory over Germany." He remained in the army and retired with the rank of Guards Lieutenant Colonel of the Airborne Forces. He was a constant party member and kept both his old and new party membership cards, continuing to do so throughout the 90s. My senior comrade passed away at the age of 99.
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