ARNHEM BATTLE

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 September 1944, Page 5

ARNHEM BATTLE

AIRBORNE TROOPS ENCIRCLED ' MAGNIFICENT DEFENCE MADE Bitter Fighting In Holland

LONDON, September 22. There is bitter fighting all along the British corridor in Holland, now extending north of the bridgehead across the Waal at Nijmegen. The latest report, from a 8.8. C. correspondent, says that forward elements of the British 2nd Army have forged forward towards the airborne forces west of Arnhem, but the British are meeting strong elements of German infantry and anti-tank artillery. The airborne forces are holding strong positions west of Arnhem, aijd the 2nd Army’s artillery is shelling German positions in the area. The airborne forces themselves are under very heavy pressure and are being heavily mortared and shelled by the enemy. But they are holding out and are in good heart. For the fourth day running airborne reinforcements and supplies were delivered to the Arnhem bridgehead yesterday. A Supreme Headquarters spokesman said yesterday that the airborne forces fighting in the Arnhem area had a difficult job and had done magnificently to hold their positions. There was no confirmation of the Paris radio report that the troops from the south had linked up withthe airborne forces at Arnhem. The report was certainly premature. Relentless fighting is raging at Arnhem, where the Allied paratroop force has been encircled since Monday. The latest message to come out of Arnhem was received in London this morning. It had been sent by a correspondent last night, and it said: “Second Army guns have just started shelling enemy targets which we have signalled. On this, the filth day, our force is still being heavily subjected to mortar fire, sniping, machine-gunning, and shelling. They are being asked to do more than flesh and blood should have to endure, but they are holding on and fighting magnificently. When the 2nd Army arrives and relieves this crowd, they may be told one of the epics of the war. In the meantime, they just go on fighting their hearts out. The Germans have brought up loudspeakers and megaphones and are caning on us to surrender, and a bunch ot British glider pilots are yelling thenheads off, swearing abusive replies. More 2nd Army guns are coming into action. They have just knocked out, by a direct hit, a German Mark IV tank which was advancing to attack us. More supplies came in this evening by Dakotas, which flew through a cracking flak barrage to land them just where they were needed.” “PATCH OF HELL”

AIRBORNE FORCE'S ORDEAL.

RUGBY, September 22. Allied airborne troops at Arnhem 'are still in a critical situation, as the British armour from Nijmegen has not yet succeeded in reaching them. Holding out against ceaseless artillery lire, they are suffering casualties. Unfortunately, visibility over Holland and Western Holland was again poor to-day. . . , Good progress was made in the east corridor where the Allies are within a mile of Weert 13 miles west ol Roermond on the Maas. The Americans were forced to give ground by counter-attack on the Luxembourg frontier. A correspondent at Arnhem, wilting on Friday morning, reported: It has been a nasty morning, so Jar. cold and mistv, and the Germans are plastering us plentifully with mortars, big guns and 88’s, which are worse because you don’t hear them corning. Machine-guns have just opened up on the right. In this patch ol hell our men are holding the lew civilian houses that still stand. It is now just live days and five nights without sleep, since we Hew out from England. God knows from what secret source comes the strength of these lighting men and the guts which has kept them going. Only one thing is certain, they will keep going until the Second Array gets here/ More and more, Second Army guns are firing in our support.’ ■ NIJMEGEN STRUGGLE.

A correspondent with the airborne troops.near Nijmegen says: General Dempsey’s troops are rolling over the bridge of Nijmegen which the Dutch Resistance Forces preserved Hom German demolition, while American airborne troops and British armour squeezed the dug-in Nazis ou<. ol the city in a 24 hour battle. Airborne men are slowly mopping up the Germans still strung along both sides o the corridor, which sky troops seized on Sunday. Indications are that the Germans are massing strong forces in the triangle between the corridor and the German frontier. The Germans are charged with the twofold task 01. first Hold the Nijmegen road junction, which is the northern gateway to the Ruhr, and secondly attempting to cut the corridor. They have massed tanks including Tiger and 88 guns in the triangle and succeeded in shelling the road once. Yesterday, the Germans pushed a panzer brigade of tanks and infantry within 500 yards ol the bridge before being driven back by Airborne troops and British armour, which destroyed at least eight tanks. Strong infantry forces, supported by heavy artillery, are still maintaining pressure in another area. They attempted to push through to the road but our paratroops are absorbing the blow throwing the Germans back with heavy losses. American airborne troops and b;itish armour gained Nijmegen with assault boats, under heavy machinefire. They closed on the city from the north while the armour pushed a way past the Waal River, and permanent concrete pillboxes on the south bank. It is reported tnat the Germans attempted to flee from the pillboxes, but were stopped at the north end of the bridge by an S.S. captain waving a revolver. Sniping and isolated resistance are still continuing on the south bank. The airborne force that opened the corridor from Eindhoven north accounted for 2300 prisoners by noon on Thursday, and trucklopds are still rolling in. This force wiped out. killed or captured two battalions ol the Hermann Goering Parachute Trainings Regiment. Hazy cloudy weather has enabled the German Air Force in the west to operate rather more freely. Most enemy planes are from airfields m Germany, but some may still be using Neuwarden in Holland. Allied fighters escorting transport planes.had difAcuity in bringing the enemy fighters to combat in the haze, but 20 German fighters were shot down. ’A strong formation of Fockewulfs was encountered south-west of Cologne and Thunderbolts destroyed ten of them-for the loss of three. The British and Canadian wounded brought to the United Kingdom since D Day number 23,687. CROSSING A STREAM. (Rec. 10.55 a.m.) LONDON, Sept. 22. Troops crossing the Moselle 10 miles south-east of Epinal waded thigh-deep through the stream to es-

tablish the 7th Army’s first fudgehead across the upper reaches of the river, says Reuters co “espondenfi The first crossing was made at dawn above the riverside \J lage A o Aricans A thick mist hid the Ameiicans from the Germans holding a wellscreened position in thick stoning almost to the watei s ed„e. There were brisk skirmishes .as long lines of Americans, canying their rifles over their heads 10l owed their officers through the fastrunning waters with the aid 01. ropes strung between the banks. German opposition close to the liver waned as more men reached the east bank. A substantial bridgehead was secured by the end of the day and the 7th Army could then begin to ran out and continue to press the retreating Germans. Engineers were quickly at work to span the 100 ft stream with a budge for armour and other heavy equipment fording the stream, made necessary by the Germans blowing up bridges as they withdrew to the Vosges Mountains, well north of the Belfort Gap. Allied artillery from behind the ridges overlooking the river gave immediate support to the crossing. Few Germans remain west of this part of the river. Southward, however, the Germans are still reluctant to give ground endangering the Belfort Gap. The German News Agency reported that the Americans had penetrated Remiremont and that heavy fighting was going on lor the town. PROGRESS REVIEWED ARNHEM RELIEF DELAYED RUGBY, September’ 22. British troops which crossed the Waal at Nijmegen met strong resistance some distance north of the river in the Arnhem direction. The airborne forces around Arnhem, therefore, have not yet been relieved. The base of the British corridor, however, was made much more secure.

Friday’s Allied communique states: “The Allied drive northward through Nijmegen continued yesterday against increasing opposition. Our armoured' forces having captured the bridge at Nijmegen, in conjunction with the air-borne troops, crossed the north bank of the Waal and pushed north. Nijmegen has been cleared of the enemy. The base of the Allied salient has been widened on both sides of Eindhoven. We reached Someren on the east (ten miles east of Eindhoven) and are fighting in the area of Wintelre on the west (six miles west of Eindhoven).

“Fighters and fighter-bombers supported the operatons in Holland. Some enemy aircraft were encountered, principally in the areas of Nijmegen and Lochem. Twenty enemy aircraft were shot down for the loss of four of our fighters. “In the Chedlot Estuary we captured Termuezen and are steadily mopping up the .southern bank of the Leopold Canal. “In the Boulogne area the enemy has been confined to high ground south-west of the town. An enemy strongpoint in the Forest de la Creche on the outskirts of the town was attacked T>y medium light bombers. ADVANCE IN GERMANY Troops crossing into Germany from Southern Holland advanced within three miles of Gelsenkirchen (12 miles north of Aachen). In the Stol-berg-Busbach area, east of Aachen, mopping-up is in progress, and we are engaged in house-to-house fighting in Stolberg. East of the town our troops gained high ground. Further south, Allied troops are clearing Hurtzen Forest against moderate artillery fire, and. are also mopping up in ihe area of Lammersdorf (four miles east of Roetgen). Counterattacks have been repulsed, near Diskirch, and one unit destroyed 28 enemy tanks. “South of Metz our forces advanced within six miles of the city. Along the Meurthe River we cleared Luneville, and troops have takegi high ground along the west bank of the river, five miles to the southest. Other units are in the vicinity of Flin, on the Meurthe, five miles to the north-west of Baccarat. Railway centres in Germany were hit yesterday by medium bombers. “The tally of prisoners in Boulogne has risen to 7000. “On the south-western front the Allies advanced from Lure to Malbouhans and Palante. Twelve miles west of Belfort they captured another German, Major-General Redowski. The French were forced to withdraw slightly from Vormondans, nine miles south of Monthei iard. PILES ’OF DEAD. (Rec. 11.55) LONDON, Sept. 22. The British troops who crossed the Nijmegen bridge are still awed by the sight of the bridge approaches, says the “Daily Mairs” correspondent with the British armoured force south of Arnhem. British soldiers. American paratroops and German S.S. men are lying in great piles on the approaches and on the bridge itself. Many Americans are locked in death duels with Germans. There are rifles and ammunition scattered everywhere, mixed up with Americation rations and parachute packs. No British soldier participating m the action for the bridge will forget the courage and grim tenacity displayed by the Americans, who fought, to the death for the bridge so that their British comrades could safely pass over. For every dead American there are six dead Germans. BOULOGNE PRISONERS. (Rec. 10.40 a.m.) LONDON, Sept. 22. Two hundred Germans are trapped on the long mole at Boulogne, says Reuter’s correspondent with the Canadians. These Germans are part of the rapidly-dwindling garrison troops. The Canadian Army in the past 48 hours has taken almost 10,000 prisoners, of whom more than 7500 were captured in Boulogne. The Poles have captured 1700 in the drive to Holland north of Ghent. The German remnants in Boulogne are pinned down to two narrow strips of coast north-west and south-west of the town. They are being hammered by artillery and flame-throw-ers. The Poles are mopping up the west bank of the Scheldt northwest of Antwerp. The Canadians, on the Poles’ left flank, continue to drive towards the Scheldt. The Canadians east of Bruges are trying to advance, but are making little headway against heavy opposition in almost impossible terrain. There are only three gaps in the inundated farmlands, and they are commanded by German guns. " 0 The German News Agency says the British opened an all-out offensive against Calais with heavy artillery and air support.

NEW ZEALAND AIRMEN

(N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent)

BELGIAN TRIALS

LONDON, September 21

AACHEN IN FLAMES. LONDON, September 22. American Ist Army forces are engaged in heavy fighting round Aachen, which is said to be m flaixies* “Allied aeroplanes and artillery were called on yesterday to blast transport taking component's of a German factory eastwards,” says the Associated Press. “Forward observers in the Aachen area saw machinery being dismantled and loaded on a train of lorries and they sent out a call for action.” BELFORT GAP

LONDON, Sept. 22. “The Germans are using more flying bombs at the front,” says the British United Press correspondent witn the American 3rd Army. “Several ot them have exploded in widely scattered areas in the last 48 hours. The use of flying bombs is probably an attempt to boost the morale of the. Siegfried Line defenders. , “Every move to close the Belfort Gap from the front is meeting deteimined resistance;’ says Reuteis coi bridges'and rarpetS the heels The Germans on. Thursday They laid down artillery hie on The aw? which Epinal is surrounded. TANK BATTLES. fPec 1120 a.m.FLONDON, Sept. 22 Press correspondent with the American Army. A new Cmima column apparently into p sition under cover of tog, 1 e , duced visibility to 50ft. .Seven giant German tanks were Knocked out in the first hour’s'fighting. The Germans drove through the light tank outposts, which were badlj mauled, but then confronted American heavy guns and tanks which threw them back. Reuter’s correspondent witn inc 3rd Army says that about 68 German tanks were knocked out in tne 13 st 48 hours, and more than 100 enemy tanks were destroyed in the last five days. The Germans still had more than 100 tanks, many of which are reported to have dug in when petrol ran out. The Americans north-east ol Nancy crossed the Sille River, but were thrown back by a counterattack. STOLBERG CAPTURED.

(Rec. 11.45 a.m.) LONDON, September 22. Stolberg is virtually in our hands, according to a National Broadcasting Corporation broadcast from Germany, which said that rhe Mayor of Stolberg, this morning, came to tne edge of the town, greeted our men, and rode back to the city with them in the leading American staff car. fine Germans are retiring from the town and are attempting to take up new positions further into Germany. u.s.a' police missing. NEW YORK, September 22. The “New York Times’s” correspondent with the United States Ist Army says the disappearance, under ominous circumstances, of three American military policemen, just outside the American-held town Oi Roetgen, emphasises the difficulty o security ’ problems facing Allied troops 'in Germany. It also caused a vigorous combing of the population for enemy agents and German soldiers in civilian clothes who arc filtering through the lines on errands of espionage and’sabotage. The three missing policemen were patrolling in the vicinity of Roetgen, last night. Their bullet-riddled jeep was discovered this morning but there was no trace of the men. There is reason to believe that large nunibers of German soldiers are roaming the countryside in mufti at present.

(Recd. 9.55 a.m.) BELGIUM, (Delayed)

Rocket firing Typhoons again demonstrated their value in support against the enemy when a British force advanced into Eindhoven. Constant patrol of the Typhoons was maintained over the tanks as they trundled along the road, pilots diving down from one thousand feet to ground level, strafing woods on either side of the highway and preventing the Germans taking any effective counter action. To-day I met several New Zealanders in squadrons based on the most advanced airfields, who took part in this operation. Whenever the pilots saw German guns firing, they swooped down like hawks, using rockets and then cannon shells. Often they had to wait patiently until the Germans fired at them and revealed their position. Squadrons of Typhoons were taking off from various airfields every five minutes to maintain this patrol, which the pilots declared to be of greatest value. Three New Zealanders also took part in strafing attacks before the airborne troops landed, shooting up all anti-aircraft positions they could find in order to knock them out and prevent them from firing at the glider trains. One New Zealander was in a section of four Typhoons which flew at such a low level when hitting one gun, that his aircraft collected the debris caused by his exploding rockets. A day or two ago, in order to hold off German reinforcements, the Wing wrecked a whole village on the main road, emptying its cannons into every house which just collapsed in a heap of rubble sprawling over the road. This Wing has the distinction of firing the first rockets into Germany, when a section led by its Wing-Commander sank barges and tugs on the canal at Masseyck.

Military courts will be established to-day for the trial of traitors at Brussels, Antwerp. Bruges. Charleroi, Ghent, Liege, Malines, Mons and Namur, according to a statement by M. Delfosse, Belgian Minister of Justice. quoted by the Brussels radio. “With information from Belgium,” said M. Delfosse, “we prepared while in London dossiers of a great number of traitors. These dossiers will be augmented with information collected in Belgium. We will adhere to legal powers and will not use the terrible methods of reprisal which the Germans have adopted. Many traitors and collaborators have escaped by flight and those sheltering them face serious consequences.” CABINET RESIGNS. (Rec. 10.0 a.m.) LONDON, September 22. Brussels radio says the Pierldt Cabinet has resigned. This is in accordance with M. Pierlot’s undertaking.