ALLIED COMMUNIQUE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 65, Issue 154, 12 April 1945, Page 5

ALLIED COMMUNIQUE.

MORE CROSSINGS REPORTED.

ADVANCE IN RUHR POCKET.

(Rec. 2.0 a.m.) LONDON, April 11. To-day’s communique from Supreme Allied Headquarters says:-

“The Allies in Holland occupied Deventer against strong opposition. We also captured Rijsen Nijverdal, Haselunne, and Sogel. “We made more crossings of the Weser River at Hoya and Nienbufg (between Bremen and Hanover), and advanced several miles to the east. East, and north of Neustadt (northwest of Hanover), we gained 10 miles.

“We cleared Hanover and cut the Hanover-Brunswick autobahn. “We are under five miles from Brunswick.

“Armoured forces captured Othfresen, seven and a half miles north of Goslar (25 miles south of Brunswick), which was entered by infantry. Our forces captured Einbeck (20 miles north of Gottingen). Armoured units reached a point 14 miles north-east of Northeim (12 niiles nojth of Gottingen). “Other armoured forces entered Nordhausen (70 miles west-south-west of Leipzig) and Clingen (20 miles east of Muhlhausen). Infantry captured Duderstadt (12 miles east of Gottingen) and Heiligenstadt (12 miles south-east of Gottingen).

“We entered the Plauen area (60 miles south of Leipzig), in the vicinity of Rodau, seven miles west of Plauen. We reached Unterneubrunn. “Armoured elements moving southeast from Meiningen reached points under six miles from Coburg and under 15 from Bamburg. We closed around Schweinfurt from three sides against heavy artillery fire. “Strong enemy pressure was exerted against the Crailsheim- salient (50 miles west of Nuremburg). House-to-house fighting continues in Heilbronn.

“We established a bridgehead over the Koclier River and gained upwards of five miles south-east of Karlsruhe. “In the Ruhr pocket we advanced southward to the Ruhr River just east of Essen. We captured several small towns on the western edge of Dortmund. We contained two very strong counter-attacks north-west and west of Dortmund. Armoured units took Honigen, 24 miles east of Dortmund. To the east, infantry reached a point one and a half miles west of Meschede. We cleared Siegburg and advanced five miles north-east of the town. “The Allies on Sunday and Monday took 44,395 prisoners.”