On this day in military history…

1945 - Soviet troops, advancing from the east, and US forces, advancing from the west, first made contact on 25 April near the German town of Torgau on the River Elbe. This historic milestone is commemorated as Elbe Day and signified the nearing of the end of the war in Europe.

1941 - Adolf Hitler orders the conquest of the island of Crete, the first mainly airborne invasion in military history.

1915 - The Anzacs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) landed around Ari Burnu on the western side of the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey, with the loss of 5,000 casualties. The landing site became known as Anzac Cove.