<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II" id="mwzw" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="World War II">World War II</a>: The <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninth_United_States_Army" id="mw0A" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Ninth United States Army">U.S. Ninth Army</a> under General <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hood_Simpson" id="mw0Q" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="William Hood Simpson">William H. Simpson</a> crosses the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbe" id="mw0g" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Elbe">Elbe River</a> astride <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdeburg" id="mw0w" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Magdeburg">Magdeburg</a>, and reaches <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangermünde" id="mw1A" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Tangermünde">Tangermünde</a>—only 50 miles from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin" id="mw1Q" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Berlin">Berlin</a>.