ARMOURED FRONT.

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

ARMOURED FRONT.

BROADENED AND STRENGTHENED NEW OFFENSIVE OPENED. CANADIANS CROSS YSSEL. (N.Z. Press Association —Copyright.) (Rec. 12.10 p.m.) LONDON, April 11. Field Marshal Montgomery broadened and strengthened his armoured front of 20 miles south of Bremen today, while British and Canadians on the western flank crossed the Yssel River and headed toward Apeldoorn, and Polish armour under Canadian command thrust within 15 miles of the North Sea in a drive toward Emden. The Associated Press correspondent at Field Marshal Montgomery’s Headquarters says that General Crerar’s British and Canadian troops opened a new offensive late to-day in an effort to quickly liberate Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

Other correspondents report that the German 7th Paratroop Division, after fighting one of the bitterest rearguard actions on the left and centre of the British 2nd Army front, south-west of Bremen, has given up the struggle. Paratroops this afternoon were pulling out as fast as they could go, leaving only mines, demolitions and roadblocks to slow up the British infantry’s advance toward Gdenburg and Bremen.

It was a day without spectacular gains for the British troops, but the 7th Armoured Division, continuing building up for the battle of Bremen, cleared out Wildeshausen and captured Harpstedt. The 11th Armoured and 6til Airborne Divisions paused briefly along a fi-ont of 30 miles north-west of Hanover.

The Canadians crossed the Yssel in Bufaloes after an artillery barrage of 30 minutes, while fighter-bombers attacked gun-sites around Apeldoorn.

The disclosure that a crack Polish armoured division is serving with the Canadians is tire first indication of their whereabouts since the announcement that they were manning positions on the Maas last winter. They went into, action at Koevorden two days ago, after t which they advanced 30 miles northward and north-east-ward. f

General Hodges’s spearheads are tonight 48 miles from Leipzig after advancing 22 miles to Killeda, which is 16 miles north-east of Erfurt, say correspondents with the Ist Army. Other elements, jumping off from Clingen, gained seven miles' north-east-ward. Resistance was described as scattered and prisoners were numerous.

First Army forces in the Ruhr pocket reported that .the Germans were surrendering in large groups, upwards of 50 at a time, hut there was a lot of sabotage and subversive talk among the Germans in the Ruhr. Three of_General Patton’s armoured divisions and at least six infantry divisions began a new thrust this morning, say correspondents with the 3rd Army. The 4th Armoured Division drove 12 miles, and the 6th Armoured Division 15 miles before a black-out was imposed on details of their progress. Correspondents earlier reported 15mile gains along a 60-mile front between Erfurt and Coburg, which havi been captured. Germans stubbornly resisted American infantry in woods south of Erfurt, but the Americans edged slowly into the outskirts of the city, suffering very few casualties.