Central Group of Forces
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The Central Group of Forces was a formation of the Soviet Armed Forces used to incorporate Soviet troops in Central Europe on two occasions: in Austria and Hungary from 1945 to 1955 and troops station
Soviet officers in the Libavá training centre, Olomouc Region, winter 1985
Soviet soldiers on a stroll in Prague, May 1945
A Victory Day Parade at the group's headquarters, 1984
Allied-occupied Austria
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At the end of World War II in Europe, Austria was occupied by the Allies and declared independence from Nazi Germany on 27 April 1945, as a result of the Vienna offensive. The occupation ended when th
Central Group of Forces
…districts but located outside the Soviet Union. The Central Group of Forces was created around that time from the 1st Ukrainian Front to control troops in Austria and Hungary, and did so from 1945 until 1955, when Soviet troops were withdrawn from Austria after the Austrian State Treaty was agreed. Its first…
Soviet soldiers taking down a Nazi sign in Austria
Elderly civilians in a "warming room" in the British zone of Vienna, c. 1945–47.
Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov (left) meeting Austrian Chancellor Julius Raab (right) in Moscow, April 1955