Marshal of The Soviet Union 1945 Victory Parade Cap
The Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 was held by the Red Army after the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War. This was the longest and largest military parade ever held on Red Square in the Soviet Capitol of Moscow, involving 40,000 Red Army soldiers and 1,850 military vehicles. The two-hour parade, held in the rain, was reviewed by Marshal Stalin. There have been 41 Marshals of The Soviet Union since the rank was created in 1935. Several of these men were executed by Stalin before WWII ended. The cap shown here was introduced for the Marshals of The Soviet Union as part of the M-1945 "Victory" Parade uniforms, so-called because they were first worn at the various parades celebrating the end of WWII. While very similar to the M-1943 parade cap in style, the M-1945 was sewn from a blue-green napped wool fabric very similar to the color used by Czarist military officers. However, instead of being called Czarist Green", this shade was now "Wave Green", in order to establish its proletarian credentials. The gilt bullion embroidery was identical to that used on M-1943 caps; as were the gilt cords and brass general-grade buttons, the black visor and the red wool band and piping. The same M-1940 brass and enamel cockade remained in use until 1955. This particular cap is believed to be one of three which personally belonged to Marshal of The Soviet Union Klimenti Voroshilov. These caps are very rare since only 13 Marshals of The Soviet Union were entitled to wear this "Victory" cap in 1945. That included Stalin himself who can be seen at the parade wearing the cap.
Marshal of The Soviet Union Georgi Zhukov at the 1945 Victory Parade
Stalin & Zhukov wearing "Victory Caps" at the 1945 Parade
