The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES" GISBORNE, FRIDAY, JANUARY 5, 1945. BATTLE OF SALIENTS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21604, 5 January 1945, Page 2

The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES" GISBORNE, FRIDAY, JANUARY 5, 1945. BATTLE OF SALIENTS

The battle of the Ardennes has developed into a battle of salients as j the American Third Army carves its | way doggedly north-west towards the} centre of the German bulge .in Bel- j giurn. A new and significant factor,! reported to-day, is the American First j Army’s surprise attack against the northern flank of Rundstedt’s salient, apparently with the object of driving a deep corridor to link up with the Third Army coming from the direction of Bastogne. The danger to the German forces through the tremendous pressure exerted! by the Allied armies along both flanks, and now by the two-way drives, which threaten to cut the bulge in half, has apparently dictated the withdrawal of the blunted Nazi armoured spearheads westward towards the centre of the bulge for regrouping.

General Patton’s tank battering-ram, which smashed a corridor through to relieve the besieged American troops in Bastogne, has hammered its way deep into the enemy salient. It is aimed at the important road com- ! munications hub of Houffalize, dominating traffic west in the centre of the bulge, the seizure of which would disrupt, if not sever, main-route contact \yith the enemy forces farther west and minimise their chances of escape, j The menacing potentialities of this southern Allied salient from the German viewpoint are reflected in the fact that Rundstedt has flung in five infantry and five Panzer divisions, probably the greater proportion of his armoured strength, in an attempt to halt the American slicing push. Allied observers in the battle zones are emphatic that the initiative has not yet passed to the Allies in the Ardennes, but agree that their prospect of regaining it are more favourable. All the signs are that the biggest and toughest battle, for which both sides have been making tremendous preparations, will be fought soon in the bulge before the fate of Rundstedt’s offensive is finally sealed. The sparring by the rival armies for openings has given no real clue to the intentions of the Germans. Their moves might be preliminaries to a withdrawal to shorter lines or preparations for a renewed offensive. According to an American staff officer, there is no evidence that Rundstedt has given up the big ideas he' held at the start of the offensive which has merely been blunted. The German attack against the American Seventh Army in the Saar Basin front is a typical Rundstedt strategical move to take advantage of the anticipated weakening of Allied strength on this sector, through the switch of Third Army forces against the south side of the Ardennes salient. The Nazis have achieved a degree of penetration of the Allied lines up to seven miles, between Sarreguemines and Bitche, enforcing the Seventh Army’s withdrawal from the hold on the narrow 20-mile strip of Reich territory to the Lauter River line along the French-German border, but they did not gain the tactical surprise they seized at the opening of the offensive against the First Army. The Germans are fighting hard for elbow room in the area of the penetrations which present Rundstedt with a strategic spring board to strike west into Ihe Lorraine or south into Alsace. The Americans, realising the threat of concentric pressure to their communications are countering the thrust with tactics similar to those which succeeded in the Ardennes.