CLOSING ON MUNICH

Evening Star, Issue 25470, 28 April 1945, Page 7

CLOSING ON MUNICH

AMERICANS THREATEN NAZIS' BiRTH PLACE REGENSBURG STRONGHOLD OCCUPIED ARMOURED SPEARHEADS GROSS AUSTRIAN FRONTIER (Rec. 10.25 a.m.) LONDON, April 27. Regensburg, the northern stronghold of Hitler's southern reduobt, 45 miles west of the CzechoSlovakian frontier, fell to-day to Third Army troops, says a correspondent. Regensburg (or Ratisbon) guards the road to Munich, the cradle of the Nazi Party, 62 miles to the south-west. . Its chief contribution to the German war machine was the manufacture of aircraft at the Messerschmitt works and latterfy jet-propelled planes at the Qbertraublmg factory. It also has an oil refinery. Regensburg is a vital rail junction on the lines running north to south and east to west. It also has an inland harbour and a large airfield. It has been heavily bombed by Allied aircraft both from the west and from Italy. Americans of the Seventh Army are now less than 40 miles from Munich after armour made an 18mile dash to enter Amberg, 20 miles south of Augsburg.

Other,elements reached a point sis miles north of Augsburg. General Devers's troops in the centre of the long front captured vMemmingen, 34 miles from the Austrian frontier. They liberated more than 4,000 Allied iprisoners.

General Patton's Third Army forces closed up to the Danube on a front of 80 miles from Kelh&im to Deggendorf. Third Army infantry captured Furth, thus closing the Chamfurth. gap through the Czech mountains bordering Germany. The Americans at Cham captured Kesselring's 15-coach private train, says the Associated Press' correspondent on the Austrian border. The officer in charge of the train stated that the train was en route to Regensburg'to bring Kesselring out. He did not know whether Kesselring was still in Regensburg. The same correspondent says that Eleventh Armoured spearheads crossed the Austrian border at the little hamlet «f Lackenhauser, four miles north of Gegenbach. The column, instead of meeting enemy opposition, was greeted by flower-throwing civilians and inn-maidens holding up huge steins of frothy beer. White flags fluttered from quaint houses. The column negotiated the last six miles to the frontier without opposition, although planes attacked the column all the afternoon. They were beaten off with tank guns.

In Southern Germany, German troops are being very badly mauled by General Patton's and General Patch's forces, says a correspondent at Supreme Headquarters. They are also carrying out operations on the Czechoslovak border. Ingoldstadt has been captured, and American troops are now 40 miles north of On the right, Seventh Army troops are only IS miles south of the Eiller canal and 20 miles south-east of Augsberg. General de Lattre de Tassigny's forces have reached Kronstadt. On this side of Stuttgart the large pocket of some 500 square miles has been almost cleared. The clearing out of the remnants is being continued between Basle and Kronstadt. but the Germans are fighting stubbornly. ~ On the Maritime Alps front French troops are 6till making progress, and are five miles into Italy.