CANADIAN GAINS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25030, 21 October 1944, Page 7

CANADIAN GAINS

WEATHER HANDICAPS KEYPOINTS THREATENED OOSTBURG AND BRESKENS (Reed. 6.30 p.m.) LONDON, Oct. 20 Cloud, rain and raud hampered the attacking Allied air and ground forces on the Western Front yesterday. On the extreme left, First Canadian Army troops advancing into the German pocket south, of • the Scheldt were threatening two keypoints in the enemy's defence line—the inland town of Oostburg and the little port of Breskens, opposite Flushing. The Canadians gave Breskens a heavy mortar bombardment and some elements are reported to have got into the town. Renter's correspondent says the Canadians are half a mile from Oostburg. while the German news agency states that fierce house-to-house fighting js going on at Breskens.

The German guns on Walcheren Island are trying to aid the Breskens garrison by shelling the Canadians. The Canadians made another big stride toward clearing what is left of the German 64th Division from the Breskens pocket yesterday, writes a correspondent with the British forces in Holland. The principal barriers to more rapid thrusts in the Breskens area are mud and poor weather conditions. Fig'iter-bombers supported the ground troops yesterday in spite of the bad weather and also attacked enemy, defences at Dunkirk and a German concentration near the Beveland neck north of Antwerp. The British and Canadians during the week ended October 13 took prisoner 2!)82 Germans. The Canadians on Wednesday took 500 prisoners in the Breskens area. MAAS AREA FIGHTING PARALLEL ALLIED DRIVES LONDON, Oct. 19 British infantry, which moved to the south from Venrai, west of the River Maas, and the British armoured column which advanced to the east across the Deurne Canal, linked up this morning at Veulen, three miles south of Venrai, reports the British United Press correspondent with the Second Army. The Germans continue to fall back, but are putting up stiff rearguard action. The British force is moving parallel to the American armoured columns further south. The Americans were last reported on the railway 11 miles west of Venlo. British tanks are six miles from the town. _ Rain has been pouring down in this area ill the last 24 hours and the mud is now so thick that even concrete roadwavs are quagmires. While the United States and British positions west' of the Maas are being steadily improved, the enemy is to be employing all the available labour east of the river line in an effort to build up the strongest possible defence zone across the river. The corps commander has congratulated troops of the British 3rd Division fighting in the Maas pocket, particularly for bridging a river north of Venrai under shellfire. The 3rd Division ;is mainly Scottish and has been in action almost continuously since D Day. AMERICANS AT AACHEN

LOST GROUND RECOVERED (Reed. 6.30 p.m.) LONDON, Oct. 20 Outside Aachen American First Army troops yesterday afternoon won back all the'ground" lost, during the German counter-attack in the morning. .Street fighting was still going on inside Aachen last night with the.- Americans reported to be holding more than half lie town. American Seventh Army troops in the Vosges foothills- pressed on through Bruyeres toward the German-held heights covering the road to Col.mar. MENTAL PATIENTS

REMOVAL UNDER HEAVY FIRE LONDON, Oct,--!W Some 1700 women patients . were removed from a mental hospital at Venrai, which is under constant German artillery fire, by British ambulances, Dutch civil affairs officials, nurses and nuns, says the Associated Press correspondent with the British Second Army. They were unable to remove 1600 men patients from a near by institution, which is also under heavy fire. . Both the institutions were riddled with shells, first from Allied guns and then from German. Many nuns and their charges were killed in street fighting. ' ~ ~,T An Allied medical officer said: 'You would think the Germans would have made plans to remove the. patients, or at least have called our attention to the hospital. Instead, they planted an 88 mm. gun outside- the women s institution, thus drawing our fire. GERMANS STUPEFIED VOLKSSTURM RECRUITING CRUDITY OF NAZI METHODS (Reed. 6.30 p.m.) . LONDON, Oct. 20 Hundreds of red posters appeared in Berlin vesterday calling on the people to ioin 'the Volkssturm, says the Daily Mali's Stockholm correspondent. Huge headlines dominate the front pages of the newspapers calling the whole nation to arms. However, according to all reports the Germans are stupefied, not exalted. It has brought home, as no other news has done, the weakness of the Reich and the imminence of the Allied onrush. Even more depressing has been ttie brutalitv with which the issue has been put to them. Scheppmann, inspector of rifle training for the Volkssturm, .yesterday said: "Those who will not nglit will be treated as infidels, cowards, traitors and irrcsponsibles." The German press is trying to stimulate enthusiasm for the Volkssturm with lurid stories of Allied ill-treatment. Goebbels said: "The history of mankind shows that there have never been such devilish plans for the systematic slaughter of a great civilised nation as those for the annihilation of the German people which the Allies are cynicallv propounding." the Berlin radio says that recruiting lor the Volkssturm begins on Sunday. Recruits will serve only near their homes or working places. Training will mostly be carried out on Sundays. Formal parades will be kept to a minimum and great emphasis will be placed on political t reliability. FLYING BOMBS AGAIN NINTH SUCCESSIVE N|GHT (Reed. 8.40 p.m.) LONDON, Oct._ 20 Flying bombs were launched against Southern England from the North Sea last night for the ninth successive night. Coastal batteries put up a great barrage. Night fighters were also active" Several bombs were destroyed, but others caused damage and casualties London had a brief alert. Soldiers were caller! out to help in "rescue work when a Hying bomb on Wednesday night crashed on a housing estate in a Southern England town. Some houses were destroyed and many others were badly damaged, . Guns on the east coast exploded soma bombs in mid air. Night fighters intercepted others and shot them into thU sea. •• :,.-.-. ■ ,\