In front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, I, like tourists from all over the world, waited to watch the world-famous Changing of the Guard: in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, a glass sentry box on each side of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, stood two solemn-looking gun-wielding sentinels, holding vigil for the martyrs day and night.

This is the "No. 1 post in the country" known to Russian women and children, and the hourly changing of the guard ceremony has become a must-see scenery for tourists.

At the time of the change of guard, three soldiers walked solemnly from the east side in a neat Russian-style stride, holding a rifle with a bayonet facing the sky in their left hand. The Russian step is quite exaggerated, the height of the feet is parallel to the ground, the sound of each step landing is quite sonorous, and the sound of the soldier's right hand returning to his chest hitting the middle of the rifle forcefully every two steps makes it more and more inoffensive and sacred! This is the changing of the guard at the first post on Red Square.

Looking at the solemn expression of the soldier, I couldn't help but turn my gaze in the direction of Lenin's tomb. I think of those world-famous military parades on Red Square!

The Great Military Parade on Red Square – refers to the Russian military parades held on Red Square in Moscow on May 9 and November 7.

May 9 commemorates the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, and November 7 commemorates the military parade on Red Square on November 7, 1941.

On May 1, 1923, the Soviet Union held its first military parade on Red Square in Moscow, and it was also the first May 1 International Labor Day parade in the Soviet Union.

After World War II, the Soviet Union established May 9 as Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War and decided to change the date of the military parade from the original May 1 International Labor Day to Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War.

May 1 International Labor Day turned into a large-scale parade celebration.

On October 25, 1917 (November 7 in the Gregorian calendar), the Bolshevik armed forces led by Lenin launched a general attack on the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, the seat of the bourgeois Provisional Government.

On November 7, 1941, the Soviet Union held its most historic military parade.

During the Battle of Moscow, the Germans concentrated about 1.8 million men, supported by 1,700 tanks and 11,000 artillery pieces, to launch an offensive aimed at capturing Moscow, known as the Typhoon Plan.

By mid-October, Moscow was in danger and Lenin's body had been moved to Tyumen, 2,000 kilometers away.

Stalin was well aware of the significance of this military parade in the midst of the crisis in which the German army was approaching the city. Every year on November 7, the Soviet authorities hold a huge military parade on Red Square in Moscow to commemorate the October Revolution. Moscow and the world really need this parade to boost morale.

Stalin summoned Zhukov on November 1, and Zhukov told him that at this time, the Germans could not launch a large-scale offensive that would directly threaten Moscow.

However, he also noted that the Luftwaffe could become active, and he suggested that fighter jets from nearby fronts should be drawn to strengthen Moscow's air defenses. The Russian army has 550 aircraft at the airfield near Moscow at the first level of combat readiness, and the anti-aircraft gunners are also on high alert at all times.

In previous years, the parade would begin at 10 a.m., but this year Stalin allowed Artemev to decide on the most suitable start time and not announce it to anyone else until the last minute.

The commander of the Moscow garrison, Kuzma Sinilov, who had tried to keep the purpose of the frequent training activities a secret, told his troops that they were preparing for a major inspection in mid-November, after which they would be sent to the front.

Nevertheless, many officers and soldiers guessed that the real purpose of the training was a military parade, because the celebration of November 7 every year has long been a household name.

On November 7, 1941, a huge military parade was held on Red Square in Moscow, the Soviet Union. Hundreds of thousands of Red officers and soldiers walked across the rostrum to be inspected by Stalin and other Soviet party and government leaders.

Stalin stood on Lenin's tomb under the Sbasky bell tower in the Kremlin to inspect the Soviet Red Army and gave an inspiring speech:

He called on the Moscow military and civilians not to evacuate and to hold on to the city. Stalin said: "The soldiers, commanders and political workers, partisans of men and women of the Red Army and the Red Navy, the whole world is watching you as the main force capable of destroying the German aggressors. The peoples of Europe, in slavery, look at you as their liberators. The great mission has fallen on your shoulders. Do not fail in this mission! The war you are fighting is a just war of liberation. ”

In his speech, Stalin stressed that Russia was not fighting alone with Germany, and he also stressed that the Red Army was fighting a just war aimed at liberating its compatriots.

In his speech, Stalin also mentioned some of the heroes of history, such as Aleksandr Nevskiy, Dmitriy Donskoy, Kuzma Minin, Dmitriy Pozharskiy, Aleksandr Suvorov, and Mikhail S. Mikhail Kutuzov.

After Stalin's speech, the audience erupted in applause, which lasted around Red Square.

The troops saluted and the orchestra began to play the Internationale. After the music, the troops began to parade and the drummers played military music, followed by the military songs handed down from the Civil War.

According to Artemew's recollection, the entire review lasted almost an hour.

This military parade greatly boosted the morale of the Soviet military and civilians.

The officers and men of the Soviet army under review began to pass through Red Square, from where they would go directly to the outskirts of Moscow, dozens of kilometers away, to fight the invaders!!

Many of the soldiers who had come to the army for inspection and were about to leave for the battlefield were dusty and sloppy in clothes. The hiking phalanx, which had no time to practice, was also very untidy. Therefore, some Soviet historians jokingly called it the most "unsightly" military parade in the history of the Soviet Red Square military parade.

However, in the eyes of many historians, this is a "miracle in a winter" created by the Soviet military and civilians.

A Soviet historian once said: "It is clear that the German army has arrived at the city of Moscow, but Moscow is still calm and calm, and even holds the annual military parade of the October Revolution, which is undoubtedly a sign of Moscow's bravery and wisdom."

The military parade on Red Square showed the courage and confidence of the righteous army in defeating evil, and greatly boosted the fighting spirit of the Soviet officers and men and the determination of the people of the whole world to win the war against aggression.

All the radio stations broadcast Stalin's speech and the parade, narrated by the famous spokesman Yuri Levitan. On the whole, the celebration of the 24th anniversary of the October Revolution and Stalin's speech of 7 November received a very good response.

When the parade began, radio waves spread the news of the parade from Red Square to the rest of the world, including Berlin, Germany.

The German general confessed at the post-war trial that no one around Hitler had reported to him about the military parade on Red Square, and that he had heard it on the radio by chance.

When the parade march and the sound of neat steps sounded, Hitler did not react until the deafening Russian slogan "Ula" came out on the radio, and he did not understand what was happening.

Hitler immediately rushed to the phone and ordered his men to connect to the headquarters of the German Army Group Center, which was located on the Moscow front. He first severely reprimanded Field Marshal von Bauck, commander of Army Group Center, and then asked the commander of the 2nd Luftwaffe to answer the phone, give the latter 1 hour to atone for his crimes, and demand that the scene of the military parade in Moscow be blown up to pieces!

Marshal of the Soviet Union Rokossovsky, who participated in the Battle of Moscow, said of the significance of the 1941 military parade on Red Square: "For the Soviet military and civilians, this military parade was unexpected and exciting. Although it was a traditional military parade in form, it had a very different meaning, and it showed the contempt of the Soviet people for ***. Although victory is still far away, the people have already seen the dawn of victory. For *** elements, this military parade is like a bolt from the blue. ”

A frenzied Hitler mobilized 2,000 planes to bomb Red Square. Despite the fact that the sky was full of goose feathers and snow, which was not suitable for flying, the German plane forcibly took off.

As they approached Moscow, they were fiercely blocked by Soviet fighter planes and anti-aircraft artillery units, and the heroic and tenacious Russian troops withstood the frantic German onslaught. During the air battle, there were even several Soviet MiG-1 fighters that directly crashed into the German aircraft.

In the end, not a single German bomber managed to fly over Red Square, and not a single shell landed on Red Square. Instead, 25 planes were shot down by the Soviets, and the remaining German aircraft group had to flee back to the base in a huff.

The Soviet military parade on Red Square in 1941 has been called the most daring military parade in history.

In November 1941, the German front-line troops had reached the city of Moscow, the German scout units could already see the spire of the Kremlin, and the defense of Moscow was also, the last front of the Soviet Union, if Moscow was lost, the Soviet Union would no longer exist.

Despite the fact that the Soviet troops were most fully prepared for the German offensive, holding a military parade at such a grim moment undoubtedly required extraordinary courage and determination on the part of the leaders!