ADVANCE ON 27-MILE FRONT

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25047, 10 November 1944, Page 5

ADVANCE ON 27-MILE FRONT

GOOD PROGRESS BEING ACHIEVED (Received November 9, 11.10 p.m.) LONDON. November 9 The American Third Army yesterday morning launched an attack between Metz and Nancy and advanced about one mile. They crossed the Seille River at several places and liberated several villages, says Reuter's correspondent at Supreme Headquarters. Fighter-bombers supported the attack, which opened after a heavy artillery barrage. Another correspondent says that on the whole resistance has not been heavy, although the Germans fought savagely at some points. I The operation is developing in appalling weather, but the latest Allied communique confirms that good headway has been made in the valley of the flooded Seille River, which is a tributary of the Moselle. General Patton s forces are across the Seille at a number of points. The infantry have had strong support from artillery, while our planes have made numerous attacks against German command posts ahead of the advance. The offensive is making good progress after having overcome enemy resistance in the initial stages of the attack, said an earlier report. Advancing on a 27-mile front, the Allies are reported to have reached a point 1 2 miles beyond Metz, on the way to Saarbrucken, their main objective. The British official wireless says the troops crossed the Seille at several points in the area of Rouves, seven miles due east of Pont-a-Mousson, against what is described as moderate resistance. Subsequent despatches say the Americans captured Nomency, Moyenvic and 1 1 other towns. Very bad weather deprived the troops of the support of heavy bombers, but dive-bombers were active and the preliminary artillery bombardment is believed to have included the large-scale use of rockets. Nomency, one of the most important places captured, is op the main road 12 miles east of Metz. Another of the places taken is within 35 miles of the great German industrial centre of Saarbrucken. The German news agency commentator Guenther Weber, from the German headquarters on the Western Front, said: "The Allies' great offensive against Germany has started. General Patton's Third Army, in streaming rain, has launched major offensives between Metz and Luneville. One thousand Allied guns put up a drumfire. The attack was launched by six infantry and several armoured divisions. German quarters are sure that General Patton's offensive is only the first act in a great autumn offensive against the Reich and that: the battle will spread to all sectors on the front within a few hours. The German news agency says the Americans have launched a major offensive aimed against the Saar basin, with the bypassing and encirclement of the Metz bridgehead as the first objective.