22 Feb 2023 Garand Picture of the Day

[Mark in Rochester]

US infantrymen race to the Elbe river in an M8 Greyhound armored car - Germany - April 1945

The first contact between American and Soviet patrols occurred near Strehla, after First Lieutenant Albert Kotzebue, an American soldier, crossed the River Elbe in a boat with three men of an intelligence and reconnaissance platoon. On the east bank they met forward elements of a Soviet Guards rifle regiment of the First Ukrainian Front, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Gordeyev. The same day, another patrol under Second Lieutenant William Robertson with Frank Huff, James McDonnell and Paul Staub met a Soviet patrol commanded by Lieutenant Alexander Silvashko on the destroyed Elbe bridge of Torgau.

On April 26, the commander of the 69th Infantry Division of the First Army, Emil F. Reinhardt, and the commander of the 58th Guards Rifle Division of the 5th Guards Army, Vladimir Rusakov, met at Torgau, southwest of Berlin. Arrangements were made for the formal "Handshake of Torgau" between Robertson and Silvashko in front of photographers the following day, April 27.



In an arranged photo commemorating the meeting of the Soviet and American armies, 2nd Lt. William Robertson (U.S. Army) and Lt. Alexander Silvashko (Red Army) stand facing one another with hands clasped and arms around each other's shoulders. In the background are two flags and a poster

William D Robertson tells the story of his meeting with Alexander Silvashko on April 25 1945 on the river Elbe near Torgau : Patrik Tschudin : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive



Dr. William Dean Robertson
BIRTH 7 Jan 1924
DEATH 23 Jan 1999 (aged 75) Culver City, Los Angeles County, California, USA
BURIAL Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA
PLOT Columbarium 6 Section I Stack 23 Niche 3

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