QUICKLY OVER

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21580, 6 December 1944, Page 3

QUICKLY OVER

BLERWICK TAKEN VENLO’S BRIDGEHEAD PROGRESS dTtHE SOUTH LONDON, Dec. 4. Men of one of Britain’s finest regiments to-day hold Blerwick, which is actually a suburb of Venlo, though on the west bank of the Maas, stated Reuter’s correspondent outside Venlo. The British troops are to-night cleaning up the last of the Germans in barns and ruined houses in Blerwick.

The whole operation of wiping out what was expected to be a formidable bridgehead of Venlo toook less than 3G hours. There is still some artillery fire from the woods inside Germany, just across the Maas, but it is much less than wss expected. American Ninth Army forces today strengthened their grip on the section of Julich west of the River Roer, and cleared up resistance in the sports stadium, which is now the western side, says Reuter’s correspondent with the Ninth Army. The stadium had been converted into a strong-point designed to block our progress towards one of the finest potential crossings on the Roer River. Our approaches to the stadium were limited by the fact that surrounding low ground was flooded by the rising waters of the Roer. Our troops at one point stood neck-deep in -water, waiting to creep out into the German positions.

General Patton’s troops were tonight within 6£ miles south-west of Saarbrucken, the great hub of German communications in the Saar, says the British United Press’ correspondent with the American Third Army. Another force is seven miles south-west of Saareguemines. Street fighting continues in Saarlouis, which the enemy is shelling heavily. American engineers loaded a captured German tractor with 70001bs. of time-fused dynamite, and sent it in against the walls of a fort near Strasburg, causing a terrific explosion. It is believed that few of the „arrison cohid have survived.