NEW ADVANCE

Grey River Argus, 17 March 1945, Page 5

NEW ADVANCE

BEYOND RHINE 7th. ARMY’S SAAR DRIVE 3rd. Army Nearer Coblenz (Rec. 1.6). LONDON, March 16. Friday’s communique from Allied Supreme Headquarters said The Allied bridgehead across the Rhine has been increased against strong resistance to a 1 depth of six miles and a width of 11 miles. We have captured Rhondorf, on the Rhine, one mile north of - Honnef. Our units have entered Aegidienberg, three and a-half miles east-north-east of Honnef, at a point 1000 yards from the autobahn to Frankfurt. We also captured a road junction, Rottbitze, four miles east of Honnef. Fighting has continued within that town. Our forces have repelled a tanksupported counter-attack at Kelenborn. Fighting is going on in the outskirts of that town. We have captured Lorsheid, four miles north-east of Linz. We have cleared Hesselen, in the southern sector of the bridgehead, and advanced 400 yards southward. Our forces have crossed the Moselle River south-west of Coblenz. They now hold a bridgehead of a width of nine miles, and a depth of six miles, at a point from nine to 18 miles south--wes tof Coblenz. Resistance against our Moselle bridgehead has been moderate. We have cleared numerous towns and villages. Two small enemy pockets remain north of the Mosello River. We have captured an enemy hospital at Ba'ddertich, nine miles northwest of Wittlich. We gained two and a-half miles to eastward, capturing Heddert and Schillingen, and have entered Kell. These places are 10, 11 and 12 miles respectively south-east of Trier. The resistance was spotty. We have entered Weiskirchen, 13 miles east-south-east of Saarburg, and also Schweiden, Bergen, and Britten, which are grouped eight to nine miles south-east of Saarburg. We have -between Saarbrucken and the' Rhine attacked at many points, and gained upward of three miles in several areas. Our forces along the Saar River, in the vicinity of Saarbrucken, are patrolling within half a mile of that city. We have cleared Uttweiler. and occupied Schorbach, two miles north north-west of Bitsch. We have crossed the Moder River, and entered Offweiler. Only a small part of Hagenau remains to be cleared.' The Allies on the West Front on Wednesday took 4501 prisoners. Ist ARMY NEAR THE AUTOBAHN 7th ARMY’S ADVANCE ON 70 MILE FRONT (Rec. 1.12) LONDON, March 16 A News Agency correspondent stated: American First Army troops launched a strong attack along the whole front of the Remagen bridgehead on Friday morning. Gains of two miles W'ere made in some places. Troops are now virtually astride of of Cologne-Frankfurt highway. Correspondents reporting from the frontline said: Americans are fighting in Hovel, four miles north-east of Honnef, near the junction of the highway and! road from Linz. This junction is the nearest point of the highway in the bridgehead areo to the Rhine. Late on Friday morning Americans in this area had advanced to positions two hundred yards from the highway. The American Seventh Army . is advancing all along a seventy miles front from the east of Saarbrucken to the east of Hagenau. The French troops are engaged in the attack. Extensive minefields are being encountered and are slowing down advance, but a drive is being pushed ahead. The strongest resistance is in the Hardt Mountains. A British Associated Press correspondent stated: American First Army troops advancing one and a quarter miles in the area north-east of L’nz again extended the Remagen bridgehead. The Americans captured four more towns.

Big Gains BY U.S. SEVENTH ARMY SAARBRUCKEN REACHED LONDON, March 15. The 7th Army to-day attacked at many points along a 50-mile front from tne Saar River to the Rhine, gaining a maximum of three miles i within the first few hours against light to moderate resistance, says a front-line correspondent. Elements of the French Army joined in the attack, which began early in the morning. The Germans launched the first counter-attack along the road between Saarbrucken and Forba'ch, but were beaten off. Four waves of American medium bombers supporting General Patch’s troops, struck at 30-minute intervals, ploughing up the Siegfried Line dragons’ teeth south of Zweibrucken, using special 2501 b bombs designed to avoid cratering the ground in the path of Allied armour. After a three-mile advance, forces of the American 7th Army last night lined a six-mile stretch of the River Saar north-west of Saarbruecken. A correspondent says that the Germans made no resistance in a frontier town just north of Forbach, which is seven miles south-west of Saarbruecken. A whole string of little towns fell to the 7th Army. The Germans blew up a bridge across the River Saar a few miles west of Saarbruecken. Further e‘- e st the Germans launched a strong counter-attack with armour against Haguenau, in northern Alsace, 15 miles north of Strasbourg. They failed to dislodge the Americans from new positions on the River Moder. (Rec? 10.30:) LONDON March 16 A correspondent with the Americans stated: Seventh Army patrols are within half a mile of Saarbrucken and are fighting in Habkirchen on the Franco-German frontier, two miles north of Saarguemines. The Seventh Army’s new.attack has resulted in the capture of more than one thousand prisoners. Utterweiler a frontier village, nine miles east of Saarguemines, was cleared after a tank battle. Farther east, troops are pouring across the Moder River, and have reached Offweiler, thirteen miles north-east of Haguenau which itself has been cleared; except foi a f?w Germans in the northern part of the town. US 3rd. ARMY’S MOSELLE ‘ ‘ CROSSINGS.

LONDON, March 15. VArPoc nf the American 3rd Army prossed fromthe north to the south bank of the Moselle on Wednesday by •Si?: The crossings are about eight mHes south-west of Coblenz, and two i lodgements were made on h bank The Germans have already been Seared from 11 towns. General Patton’s' bridgehead across Ihe Moselle is now nine miles long nnri three miles deep. Gams have hppnmade against' light resistance, Sv correspondents with the American 3rd Army- The Americans combined

with a push south-east of Trier _ are now threatening to turn the whole defence line from the north. The ord Army crossed the Moselle at points between Udenhausen, eight miles south-west of Coblenz, and Treis, nine miles farther west. Crossings were made by pontoon bridges yesterday, but “blacked out” until today. The resistance consisted principally of small-arms fire from adjacent towns. Eleven towns were cleared in the bridgehead area'. The German News Agency admitted the Americans had established several minor bridgeheads across the Moselle, and added: Five divisions ’crossed the Rhine into the Remagen bridgehead. Front-line correspondents point out that the Third Army forces operating south-east of Trier have already outflanked from the north the important Saarland towns of Saarlouis and Saarbrucken, against which the Seventh Army units are now moving, and Kaiserslautern and Zweibrucken are also threatened with outflanking as the result of General Patton’s moves farther north. The German News Agency qdotes a Wilhelmstrasse spokesman as saying that the Germans are likely soon to withdraw their,screens into Saarland proper. The Third Army’s Moselle crossings were carried out in artificial moonlight, and evidently took the Germans by surprise, say correspondents with the Third Army; The Americans quickly united two bridgeheads into one large bridgehead. U.S. THIRD ARMY ADVANCES OVER THREE MILES, (Rec. 7.25) LONDON, March 15 The American Third Army bridgehead across the Moselle River is now nineteen miles long and six miles deep, said the British United Press correspondent. (Rec. 10.5). LONDON, March 16. American Third Army troops on Thursday advanced three and a-half miles from their bridgehead across the Moselle. They captured five towns, also clearing one. American pilots are operating over tre Third Army area. It is reported that crowds of eastbound refugees were waving white flags on roads.