I have received yours of April 19 concerning the messages to the troops. I am in agreement with the procedure set out by you. My message will run as follows:

"The victorious armies of the Allied Powers, waging a war of liberation in Europe, have defeated the German forces and linked up on German soil. "It is our task and our duty to finish off the enemy, to force him to lay down his arms and surrender unconditionally. This task and this duty to our people and to all the freedom-loving peoples will be fully carried out as far as the Red Army is concerned.

"We salute the valiant troops of our Allies, who now stand on German soil shoulder to shoulder with the Soviet troops, fully resolved to carry out their duty to the end."

The message will be recorded and sent to you immediately. I have no objection to leaving it to the broadcasting authorities in each country to fix the exact time when our messages will be broadcast the moment the link-up of Soviet and Anglo-American troops is officially announced. Nor have I any objection to coordinating our link-up statements with a similar statement by General Eisenhower. Your suggestion that our messages be broadcast first in the respective countries over their own network is likewise acceptable.

April 20, 1945