2 thoughts on “April 25th, 1945 – The 69th Division Links with the Russians in Torgau – WWII Anniversary Post”
In 2002 my unit (Civil Defense) was deployed there when the Elb flooded. We were standing as close to the spot where the Allies linked up as possible, actually a couple of hundret meters away underneath the River that had burst its banks and was threatening to spill over the dikes. It felt strange to stand on such historic ground, watchingmanother, yet more natural, event. I asked my men if any of them were aware of the historic significance of that place and none of them knew or even even seemed to care. Sad how easy history can be forgotten.
BTW: I later learned that the Army and Federal Police helicoter that were supporting us (and prevented us from getting any sleep) were flying from an old airfield that had been the base for the only German ramming squadron. Those men were flying aircraft with armoured airframes and meant to crash themselves into allied bomber formations. By this time figuter cover was so good that conventional attacks stood hardly any chance of getting through to the bombers. In the end very few of the pilots actually tried to acomplish their mission and those who did were too poorly trained to achieve anything.
Thanks for the great comment. I one day hope to visit the site to view the site myself.
I’m actually quite friendly with a b-17 veteran who was a witness to the ramming. He saw two German fighter planes inexplicably smash into the formation ahead of him. His narrative was included in a book on the subject. Small world.
Portraits of War 
In 2002 my unit (Civil Defense) was deployed there when the Elb flooded. We were standing as close to the spot where the Allies linked up as possible, actually a couple of hundret meters away underneath the River that had burst its banks and was threatening to spill over the dikes. It felt strange to stand on such historic ground, watchingmanother, yet more natural, event. I asked my men if any of them were aware of the historic significance of that place and none of them knew or even even seemed to care. Sad how easy history can be forgotten.
BTW: I later learned that the Army and Federal Police helicoter that were supporting us (and prevented us from getting any sleep) were flying from an old airfield that had been the base for the only German ramming squadron. Those men were flying aircraft with armoured airframes and meant to crash themselves into allied bomber formations. By this time figuter cover was so good that conventional attacks stood hardly any chance of getting through to the bombers. In the end very few of the pilots actually tried to acomplish their mission and those who did were too poorly trained to achieve anything.
Thanks for the great comment. I one day hope to visit the site to view the site myself.
I’m actually quite friendly with a b-17 veteran who was a witness to the ramming. He saw two German fighter planes inexplicably smash into the formation ahead of him. His narrative was included in a book on the subject. Small world.