CAPTURE OF LEIPZIG

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24547, 21 April 1945, Page 7

CAPTURE OF LEIPZIG

Germany’s Fifth City WILD SCENES IN STREETS (N.Z. Pres* Association— Copyright) LONDON. April 19, Nearly all Leipzig has been mopped up, and the remainder is rapidly being cleared, according to correspondents with the American Ist Army. Twenty thousand prisoners have been captured in the city. Apart from a group of obstinate Germans who are waging a “come and get us” war from underground air raid shelters, the fighting is finished. Mothers are pushing prams about in the streets, gratefultnat the struggle lasted only 36 hours. Hundreds of freed British, American. Russian, and Polish war prisoners Jined the streets. They cheered, danced, and wept as the Americans rolled In. When the Americans tossed a box of rations into the crowd, the box was ripped to pieces and women fought for crumbs. « . Reuter's correspondent said that the Allies had the biggest problem yet encountered in controlling nearly 1,000,000 people, thousands of whom were running wild, looting, burning, and pillaging, Leipzig is Germany’s fifth city, and had a pre-war population of 730,000, It fell when two American columns met in the centre of the city on Wednesday night. There js a pocket Of resistance round the city nail, where the commander refused to surrender. The Americans are bringing up guns to blast him from his final retreat.The spectacular drive which WPtured the city began on Wednesday morning, when the A mer i canß broke through numerous belts of self-pro-pelled anti-tank guns, and it ended with some of the weirdest situations of the war, the Germans cheering the entry of the Americans, and an American general demanding the surrender of the city by telephoneFirst A r miy men, in capturing the city, overran one gf the greatest ammunition dumps in western Europe. It contained 27,000 shell? filled with toxic gas. They also seized a large airfield pn which were parked Measerscbmitt 163 jet-propelled aeroplanes. They also captured one of the most powerful radio stations in Europe. The correspondent of the Associated Press said that the Germans made a desperate stand for the railway staUon and underground shelters in the cuys south-eastern part, as well as round the TpW n Hall. Volkssturmers fought alongside members of the Wehrmaoht. German? in underground shelters had to be dug out with grenades and bayonets. . A woman fold the Americans that the 3.5, had formed a band of women Werewolves, who had been assigned the job of pouring scalding water from the windows on to the troops passing below, but a "Daily Mail" correspondent says that smiling German girls surrounded the American tanks and said; ‘it is very, very, good that you have come. You have saved us from the Russians.” ~ ... American infantrymen said that It was the most cordial reception. they had received anywhere since Brittany. Almost the entire population of Leipzig was in the streets on Thursday night, delightedly celebrating the liberation of the city.