THIRD ARMY LOCKED IN FIERCEST BATTLE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 213, 8 September 1944, Page 5

THIRD ARMY LOCKED IN FIERCEST BATTLE

MOSELLE STRUGGLE Strain On U.S. Supply Lines Near Breaking Point N.Z. Press Association—Copyright Rec. 2 p.m. LONDON, Sept. 7. Reuters correspondent with the Third Army, In a dispatch received late to-night, states that two new bridgeheads across the Moselle, one below Metz and the other in Toul area, are both firmly held. General Patton's Third Army is locked in the fiercest battle they have experienced since they left the bloody hedgerows of Normandy, says the Daily Telegraph correspondent on the Moselle front in a dispatch dated this morning. The Germans, in strength, are looking across from sheer wooded heights on the western bank of the Moselle and fighting with every weapon they possess, and they seem to have plenty. This is no rearguard action, the correspondent adds. The Germans for several days and nights have been rushing pellmell from Verdun towards the German border, hounded all the way by General Patton's spearheads, but the strain on our supply lines had nearly reached breaking point when advanced forces reached the vicinity of Metz. General Patton's Army could not continue without hundreds of tons of supplies, which are still far J behind.

Yon Kluge, taking advantage of the situation, rushed picked S.S. troops to form a complete line in strength overlooking the Moselle. The attack continues and the view here is that it is only a question of time before our heavy artillery has reduced the German positions. Then we can continue to advance across the Moselle and begin the battle for Germany.