After the Battle of the Bulge and the success of a massive Soviet offensive in early 1945, Eisenhower sent Air Chief Marshal Tedder to the Soviet Union to help establish a joint strategy for the invasion of Germany. Eisenhower declined to engage the Soviets in a race for the German capital of Berlin, and instead prioritized linking up with Soviet forces as soon as possible. Allied soldiers reached the Rhine in early March, capturing a key bridge near the town of Remagen before the Germans could destroy it. German resistance quickly collapsed, and on May 7, Eisenhower accepted the surrender of Germany.