THREAT OF DEATH

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 82, 4 October 1944, Page 5

THREAT OF DEATH

SPUR TO GERMAN TROOPS

Rec. 12.40 p.m

RUGBY, October 3

The fighting north of Aachen has been hard and bitter, and one German prisoner who was brought ih said that units in the line had been warned that if any man retreated he would be shot and if a company retreated every tenth man would be shot. Some of the fiercest fighting was ■centred round the village of Rumburg Where a strongly defended, moated castle had to be cleared room by room. The castle had been included in the Siegfried Line defences, and the outer walls were gun emplacements which had to be overcome before infantry scaled the brickwork. The moat, which was shrouded by trees, had on the other side lofty castle buildings from which the garrison kept up a raking fire. Infantry flung grenades into the lower rooms and then proceeded' to. clear the enemy from the building systematically. For over five hours the . grim struggle continued within the castle, but by the afternoon the last opposition within had been silenced. A correspondent at SHAEF says there'is still a paucity of news regarding the American attack north of Aachen. The fighting continued today, and gains were made, particularly in the vicinity of Mechstein, a town inside the German border, which has been subjected to heavy bombardment. .The resistance, however, is very strong. South of Aachen there has'been an exchange of fire on a fairly large scale, and counter-attacks launched from west of Hurtgen were beaten off. Hurtgen is on the edge of the forest of Rotgen. The .wooded area eleven miles north-west of Trier, in the area of Echternach, has been cleared, and some progress made..

A few miles north of Metz, Third Army troops gained useful high ground in the area of Maizieres, north of Metz on the West side of the Moselle River. Our troops are forcing the enemy through the forest of Paroy, which is five miles north-east of Luneville. South-west of Bac-cai-at, in the area of Anglemont, a counter-attack with infantry and tanks 'was beaten off.

Operations in Holland are being held up by appalling weather. Our troops there have been subjected to no further counter-attacks, and everything is fairly quiet in the ArnhemNumegen area. On the west of the salient there is little change, and on the, Antwerp-Turnhout Canal front Polish infantry and armour are in operation.

The British Secondhand Canadian Armies, between them, have taken 140,345 prisoners up to September 20. —8.0. W.