The problem of fracture initiation at two elastically contacting structural components, subject to applied normal and tangential forces, was analyzed. The fracture initiation load was predicted to depend sensitively on the magnitude of the applied tangential force and the interfacial friction coefficient, and to exhibit important dependencies on the fracture toughness, elastic modulus, and curvature of the contacting bodies. Experimental results obtained on glass and Si3N4conform with the trends predicted by the analysis.