RACING ON TO BERLIN

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 10 April 1945, Page 2

RACING ON TO BERLIN

THREE U.S. ARMIES PRISONERS POURING IN London April 9. The American First, Third, and Ninth armies are now pushing towards Berlin in one closelyknit force state frontline correspondents tonight. Prisoners continue to pour in and about 50,000 have been captured by these three armies alone in the past twentyfour hours. First Army troops to-day drove into Dunderstadt, approximately 140 miles from Berlin, thus taking a slight lead over the Third Ar,my in the race to Berlin. First Army infantry moving against only scatered groups of disorganised Germans went through Gottingen to take Dunderstadt, while other fast- : oving forces north-east of Gottingen pushed 18 miles to Einbeck, where a German major-general came out to surrender without a fight. Tanks south of Einbeck rolled eleven miles to the west of Northeim, where they met fierce anti-tank fire from road blocks. Farther south still Shermans were held up in a fight with Tiger tanks manned by German “dead end” kids. The first Army yesterday crossed the Leine River north-east of Kassel on an 11-mile front south of Gottingen. British Sixth Airborne Division troops to-day established a bridgehead east of the Leine River to a depth of more than 2000 yards. Two bridges over the river were captured intact. HANOVER AREA Berlin radio stated that Americans had made further advances in the Hanover area as far as the north-western slopes of the Hartz Mountains. Their tanks are developing a twin thryst, one driving direct for Hanover and the other for the Hermann Goering works near Salzgitter and Gosler. FIGHTING IN ESSEN Back >n the Ruhr pocket Ninth Army troops smashed their way into Essen and reached the fringe of Krupps Works, Germany’s largest war plant. They are fighting in streets in the north-west corner of the city. The Third Army to-day consolidated their positions and checked German attempts to start counter-attacks. Ten miles north-west of Mulhausen, infantry advanced up to four miles and reached points four miles north-east and 22 miles south of Gotha and four miles north-east of Suhl. Columns of American vehicles are now moving to Frong over the Frank-furt-Berlin highway. SPECTACULAR DRIVES In north-western Germany after a day of spectacular drives on practically every sector of the British front there is evidence now that German resistance is stiffening. The enemy is trying to form s»me semblance of a line. soft spots have gone hard, but there is little coordination about the enemy’s flabby defensive front. The Germans are setting up screens of 88m.m. and flak guns along the north bank of the Weser and the left flank of the Seventh Armoured Division’s drive in a desperate attempt'to halt the British drive to Bremen. Armoured units after clearing Meppen built a bridge over the DortmundEms Canal where it joins the Ems River. Forward armoured elements are about two miles east of the town. Other forces have reached Tinner, 8 miles north of Meppen, by-passing Hemsen, threj miles northward, which is occupied by the Germans. The enemy is holding out in Wierden, three miles west of Almelo, nearly as stubbornly as at Zutfen. Armoured units from Zutfen are moving up slowly to. ards Deventer. There are Canadian armoured patrols ten miles from Zuider Zee. The Germans are manning the line of the Yssel River from Zwolle south to Deventer and Arnhem. The Germans blew up dykes and flooded an area of 20 square miles between Zwolle and Meppen. Northern Holland west of the Yssel is isolated except for a 25mile causeway across the northern end of the Zuider Zee.