On the morning of Wednesday 25 April 1945, a forward patrol of G Company of the 273rd Infantry of the US 69th Division moved slowly along the Mulde river, a tributary of the Elbe. Every soldier knew the war was nearly over, and having got this far no one wanted to take unnecessary risks. At about 11.30am, they came across, first, a horseman, and then several officers and soldiers of the 175th Rifle Regiment of the Red Army. The Soviets offered their American allies vodka. Toasts were drunk. Although this was a historic moment, there were no cameramen present. So the event was staged again two days later at the small town of Torgau on the Elbe, about 85 miles south of Berlin.
This time, a group of Western reporters and newsreel cameramen were flown in, and they recorded the event for posterity. The soldiers from two worlds finally met officially, the Americans having advanced from Normandy eastwards, the Soviets from Stalingrad westwards. Again the Soviets offered vodka, the Americans cigarettes. Toasts were drunk to Stalin; then to the new US President, Harry S Truman; then to Churchill. The Americans were surprised to find women in the advanced Red Army units, including snipers. A concertina was produced and there was some dancing. The Russians were impressed at the mechanised power of the Americans. While they were mostly on horseback, the Americans were driving jeeps and other lightly armoured vehicles. The men and women shook hands and swore to do all they could to ensure their two countries would live in peace and friendship together. This would be remembered as the ‘Spirit of the Elbe’. Sadly, it did not last long.
Victory in sight
The key decisions about what would happen to post-war Germany had been taken two months earlier at the major ‘Big Three’ conference at Yalta. From 4 to 11 February, the US, British, and Soviet delegations had met in the splendid Livadia Palace, the summer home of the Tsars in the Crimea. The ailing Franklin D Roosevelt was visibly unwell; Churchill was exhausted by the pressure of more than five years of war; while Stalin was exuberant as his armies advanced on Germany. There were several disagreements at Yalta, including over the future of Poland and the make-up of the nascent United Nations organisation. But overall there was much agreement, and Yalta marked the high point of Allied collaboration in World War II.
