American and Soviet Troops Meet on the Elbe

At Tehran in 1943, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin had coordinated plans for an invasion of France and a Soviet offensive that would prevent Germany from shifting forces freely between fronts. [1] [2]

The bridge at Torgau lay broken in the Elbe when an American patrol reached the town on 25 April 1945. Soviet troops stood on the opposite bank. After confused signals and gunfire, the soldiers found a way to communicate and climbed onto the damaged structure to meet. [3]

The armies had advanced across Germany from opposite directions: American troops pushed east while Soviet forces closed around Berlin. Eisenhower had told Stalin in March that his forces would advance toward the Elbe, helping the commands avoid accidental clashes as their fronts converged. Earlier on 25 April, another American patrol had already reached Soviet soldiers near Strehla. [4] [2] [3]

At Torgau, the commanders arranged a further meeting. The bridge encounter was reenacted for photographers the next day, and pictures of the handshake circulated around the world while heavy fighting continued in Berlin. [3] [4]

Related Diplomats

1. Andrei Gromyko [5] [6] [7] [8]

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• Russia and the United States