AMERICAN & RUSSIAN TROOPS MEET AT TORGAU
Torgau, Germany (JFK+50) On April 25, 1945, 80 years ago today, soldiers of the United States Army and of the Red Army of the Soviet Union met at the Elbe River near Torgau in Germany. While the meeting was expected, it was not planned.
The 273rd Regiment, 69th Infantry led by Lt. Bill Robertson arrived in Torgau finding that the Germans had evacuated just a few hours earlier. Cautious Russian troops approached the Elbe River and observed four American soldiers "coming up the bridge."
Lt. Alexander Sylvashko met Lt. Robertson on the bridge and the two officers "patted each other's shoulders."
The language barrier was no impediment to an impromptu celebration just days before the fall of the Third Reich.
SOURCES
"East Meets West At The Elbe," JFK+50, April 25, 2018, www.jfk50.blogspot.com/
"Treat them nicely, 60 years ago U.S. forces and the Red Army met in Torgau, Germany," by Martin Herzog, The Atlantic Times, April 2005, www.atlantic-times.com/
"William D. Robertson tells the story of his meeting with Alexander Silvashko on April 25, 1945 on the Elbe near Torgau," by Patrik Tschdin, July 31, 1989, www.archive.org/
.jpg)
