GOCH’S FAIL IMMINENT

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 February 1945, Page 5

GOCH’S FAIL IMMINENT

GERMANS FIGHTING SAVAGELY COMMANDER CAPTURED (Rec. 11.55) LONDON, Feb. 19. Marshal Montgomery’s troops, today, mopped up two-thirds of the keystone of the Siegfried Line town of Goch, using tanks and bayonets to root out savagely fighting Germans from the ruins of this stronghold, says the Associated Press correspondent on the Western front. Frequently using bayonets, Scots have cleared Goch on the north side of the Niers River, which coils through the fortified town and have mopped up half the area on the western and southern sides of the stream. The Germans are still fighting back stubbornly from the south and south-eastern sections of the shattered town. The Exchange-Telegraph’s correspondent says nothing but a large scale counter-offensive can prevent the fall of Goch, within the next few hours. Last house to ‘ house battles are raging, as both the British and Germans pushed fresh troops into battle during the past few hours. The Germans are continuing to fight doggedly on both flanks of the advance on the west bank of the Rhine and the east bank of the Maas. Front line correspondents report that the British hold three miles of the Goch-Calcar road at the base of their salient. Canadian spearheads farther east, to-day, cleft a way through tough enemy paratroop reinforcements and again cut the road in extremely bitter fighting. Reuter’s correspondent says the Scottish troops moved into Goch so quickly that they caught the garrison commander in bed, and captured him and his entire staff while they still had bedclothes over them. Infantry, under cover of fog, stole m through the western defences which were lightly held and seized the commander, who was wounded in the leg. He confessed that he expected the main attack from the north, so had chosen his headquarters in a house in the south-west of the town. The commander was a Luftwaffe officer, who had recently been transferred to the Army. ALLIED ADVANCE STEMMED Reports from the left flank stated that the Germans have been throwing in all available forces during the past 48 hours, and very stiff fighting is going on on the approaches to Calcar. The Gerinans succeeded in stemming the Allied advance parallel with the floods of the swollen Rhine. The focal point of the fighting is the town of Moyland, and the wooded area around town which has become a no-man’s-land, with Scottish, British and Canadian troops at grips With German paratroops. Both sides suffered casualties in this battle. British forces south-west of Moyland, expanded their bridgehead over the Goch-Calcar road. Welsh troops are mopping up a German pocket north of Goch, on the road to Cleve Scottish units, driving down the east bank of the Maas, towards Venlo, found flooded German defences a difficult obstacle to surmount The defences run from the river 3000 yards inland to Blijenbook Castle, which the German appear to have converted into a strongpoint. Reuter s correspondent at SHAEI says that AFTER GOCH FALLS the pace of General Crerar’s advance should speed up over the broad Rhineland plain, stretching southward, where there is no Siegfried Line and no floods. The Canadian First Army at Goch and the Biitish Second Army at Venlo both are only 27 miles from Duisburg, the gateway to the Ruhr. The Canadians have only the Rhine before them. General Dempsey’s troops have the extra barrier of the Maas, and the pi ospect of outflanking the German defences on the east side of the Maas by a push from the north, presents a picture of full offensive possibilities. The American Third Army troops have launched a new drive into Germany on a 30 miles front from the Luxemburg border. The Associated Press correspondent reports the Americans advanced up to half a mile along the whole front Bad weather has greatly. limited air co-operation. The Americans, driving south-east, have reached points between 7 and 8 miles south-east of Prum. The Echternach bridgehead has been extended and is now about 11 miles long. The division nas overcome 112 pill-boxes m this area. Reuter’s correspondent says United States troops are. through the Siegfried Line on a seven miles stretch in the Echternach area. Other Americans, far to the south, met German tank forces in the Saarguemmes area, in a series of actions- which resulted in the capture of over 1,000 prisoners in the past 48 hours. SEVENTH ARMY PENETRATION. (Rec. 1.55 p.m.) LONDON, Feb. 19. Making their first peneration of German soil in the past two months, General Patch’s 7th Army troops pushed across the Saar River in assault boats east and west of Saareguemines, says the British United Press correspondent. The last time 7th Army troops were inside Germany was last December, during the temporary occupation of the Wissembourg pocket. They have now advanced to a point five miles north of Saarcguemines. It is officially announced that R.A.F. Mosquito bombers to-night attacked Frankfurt.

GOCH PARTLY CLEARED

RUGBY, February 19. Scottish troops, after 24 hours continuous house to house fighting, had this afternoon cleared the enemy from about two-thirds of the town of Goch, says a correspondent at the 21st Army Group Headquarters. The enemy, however, is still fighting grimly to hold on to the part of the town "south of the River Niers, and is not conceding a single inch without putting up a fight. Our infantry, with tanks and flame-throwers, found snipers covering the streets from houses and piles of rubble, and they spent the day winkling them out. Forces that entered the town from the east made better progress and are mopping up. They had fewer built defences to contend with. South of the river, the enemy still has a number of guns, probably self-pro-pelled, which he switches about and with which he is shelling the northern half of the town. Our troops also have been subjected to heavy mortaring at times, but tanks have given valuable support in shooting up these points. The Germans tried the old game of infiltrating back, and, after clearing areas of the enemy our troops were subjected to sniping from paratroopers, who had sneaked back and got into buildings. Another correspondent says Welsh infantry, driving from the North, were clearing the factory and railyards area north of the town. The Goch-Calcar road has been cut to-day in another place and troops making progress, were only 3,000 yards west of the town. The prisoner total since the offensive began is about 9,000 at least, on the Third Army front. General Patton’s men continue toextend the Echternach bridgehead, which is now 11 miles long. The 76th Division gained a quarter of a mile east of Echternach, and are only < a mile from the junction of the Prum and Saure Rivers. Their total bag of I pillboxes is 112,’and they have taken 378 prisoners, since this operation

started. On their left, Fifth Division troops pushed on half a mile to reach Prum, overlooking Holsthum, five miles north of Echternach, and gamed some high ground. Other forces entered Stockight and cleared Hommerdmo- en> Since February 2 the Siegfried Line has been penetrated between Ernzen and Kruchten and in depth the best penetration across the frontier is between four and five miles. There appears to be no more pillboxes ahead of troops in this sector, but field defences are being' anticipated further back. It is estimated that the enemy manning these pillboxes suffered something like 50 per cent casualties, against our comparatively light losses. FIGHTING IN GOCH. LONDON, February 19. Scottish troops with the Ist Canadian Army are now fighting in the German bastion town and road centre of Goch, at the northern end of the Western Front, between the Rhine and the Maas. A 8.8. C. correspondent says that the perimeter defences of Goch were breached on two sides, and it looks as if the town will fall fairly rapidly. On the left flank of the offensive Canadian troops are still meeting stubborn resistance at the approaches to Calcar, about seven miles northeast of Goch. SIEGFRIED LINE BREACHED (Rec. 1.50) LONDON, Feb. 20. Third Army troops are now advancing on a 55 mile front, stretching from a point six miles south-west m Prum to three miles south-east ol Sinz in the Saarbrucken area, says the British United Press correspondent with the Third Army. . General Patton’s troops, m gains up to one mile, cleared and captured seven towns. “The Times’s” correspondent reports that the Americans have. broken clean through a belt of the Siegfried Line over a stretch seven miles, between a strong point at Ernzen, two and a-half miles north of Echternach, and Krutchen, eight miles north-west of Echternach. They have now advanced across the frontier to a depth of five miles. There is _no concrete ahead in the area of the advance. Since the Americans on February 7 thrust across the Our and Sauer rivers into the Rhine province, they have made prisoner 2455 Germans. The enemy has suffered 50 per cent, casualties. American losses were comparatively light. TRANSPORT ATTACKED

(Recd. 1.55 p.m.) LONDON, Feb. 19. The Fighter escort for to-days Eighth Air Force raid swept over Central Germany, shooting up at least 148 locomotives, 364 rail-cars, fifty-four oil-cars, 114 vehicles and five factories. They shot down two •enemy fighters. The Americans lost one bomber and seven fighters.