WAR OF RIVERS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21581, 7 December 1944, Page 5

WAR OF RIVERS

CLOSELY LOCKED “MUST BE~WON FIRST” HEAVY COSTTO GERMANS LONDON, Dec. 5. Along a line of hundreds of miles, Allied armies on the Western Front are closely locked in a river war that must be won before the operations can revert to a war of movement in the interior of Germany, says The Times correspondent at Supreme Allied Headquarters. The enemy’s Hooding of dykes in northern Holland has caused some readjustment of the Britisn forward positions in the Arnhem salient, but General Dempsey’s rignt bank is as secure as ever on the west bank of the Maas. The enemy must be giving attention to his defences at Venio, though it must be remembered that the Maas, like the Rhine, is a wide river flowing swiftly in spate this season, and most of its crossings have been demolished. Indeed, with the arrival of armoured forces from other parts of the front, the immediate defence of this direct route of invasion is probably stronger than at any time. But the decimation of six German divisions, four of which have disappeared from the line completely, is a rate of attrition that the enemy cannot maintain indefinitely. Old War Maxim Re-written It used to be a maxim of war that attack is far more costly in casualties than defence, but the Allied losses in the present offensive along the whom front are stated to be much lighter than the enemy’s, if the many thousands of German prisoners- are counted. This is thanks mainly to our superiority in air power and artillery. The British are now shelling Venio across the Maas, says Reuter’s correspondent at 21st Army Group Headquarters. There, is still a small amount of enemy activity in that part of Julich which is west of the R'oer River, but the remaining pockets of resistance are being cleared up. Otherwise ail is quiet on the Ninth Army sector. Pilots flying over Saarbrucken have observed big fires, says Reuter’s correspondent with the Third Army. American long-range guns in the past few days have fired nearly 6000 shells against the city. The main targets were the four marshalling yards, forts, barracks and bridges over the Saar. The Americans have established a second bridgehead over the Saar south of Saarlouis. General Patton’s troops have taken 852 towns and villages since the Third Army attack was started on November 8. Americans of the Seventh Army have finally cleared Schlettstadt of the enemy, after 3£ days of bitter fighting. »