FURIOUS ASSAULT

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25054, 18 November 1944, Page 7

FURIOUS ASSAULT

STRIKE INTO REICH AERIAL SPEARHEAD JIOVE OVER MUD AND SNOW (M 5.35 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 16 Tie greatest fury of the opening jte,of the Allied assault was along (is 50-mile belt from the area of Tenlo to the region of Aachen—the me facing the Germans' most important industrial areas —where the "mystery" American Ninth Army attacked in conjunction *ith Lieutenant-General Courtney Hodges' First Army. It was stated at Supreme Headquarters that the Ninth Army is attacking ling a nine-mile arc between GeilenMen and Eschweiler. Within two hours of opening the itfick Ninth Army forces captured amy preliminary objectives, including three small towns, says the Associated Press correspondent. Many of the objsctives were taken ahead of schedule. Terrific Bombardment One correspondent with the Amerianj says- that in dry, fairly bright leather, infantry, who for many days had been dispersed to attacking points, !*gan to strike east into the Reich, 'foe guns first laid down a terrific tombardraent. General Hodges had fen ready for this attack for a week, hi bad weather for ground support tad delayed the offensive. After a heavy attack by Fortresses Md Liberators, massed guns boomed rot a terrific crescendo. At 11 a.m., jiththe artillery still giving supporting tha ground forces began to move over ground which rain had twncd into rivers of mud and slush on tort of;the front and with snow still Bering the ground here and there. y>MB has been snow and low ceiling (loud for a fortnight.

»»., fe®P ear .' iea d of the new offensive, iim„i i Allied bombers and fighters of the land forces in the ' artillery. Two great w »■ Wid .American air fleets, sent of.l j®,Britain, laid down a barrage k. ' eaß t 8000 tons of bombs or. targets 20 m,T r arc stretching north to east 41 miTes ahead of Aachen. Master Bombers ( *er 9 linr\ ra l ,er Command despatched WW. bombers, escorted bv 250 C«t n • attacked the fortified oftiu- nren ' J l, '' c h <i«d Heinsberg. LIJ 10 f, 1200 American heavy Altera i, 110 ? uare escorted by 450 SL a l ta S ked tactical targets in »«hwei.er area. VlL officiall y stated that the R.A.F, k W& l con t r olled throughout by {Hick* e £®' ,T ho reported that all ftesj a../® highly concentrated. The *« iatf??. at . 101 }, aviation cprrespon?B'ter fmv! 313 1 t^e fi rs t time the torm it in „ ? rs has been officially used, Control A V Q, lDn P va^on - These bombers eiJ tifv iv x s t a Se of the attack and A laL 6 tar * ctsfte Rr^ S i Sa '• rom a correspondent 'tUck o„ '' T 1 :niU ' d Press says the m E" ed b - v the Ninth Army, General Wiif° nini o^ ( ' LientenantNe»WinL ai £ S l m P so "- ends the gnesshiff Geraian intellj|> Suess «* *loag ilxae, Tl» Ninth i'lt

Army has not previously been, committed to a major attack, but most probably all of its units are seasoned ones. The way in which the Allied Supreme Commander, General Eisenhower, shuffled them probably contributed to the defeat of German intelligence, some of these units having been shifted from one army to another four times since D Day. The Ninth Army arrived in England soon after .D Day. It was originally the Eighth Army, but General Eisenhower changed its name two days later in order to avoid confusion with the famous British Eighth Army. It was originally planned to keep the Ninth -Army in England until October, but the speed of the Allied advance after' the Normandy break-through changed the timetable. The Ninth Army then took over the Brittany operation and the siege of Brest from September 5. After cleaning up Brest, the Ninth Army moved into Luxemburg for a time before taking up its present position. Lieutenant-General Simpson, who has a great reputation as a thorough organiser, ordered at_ least 40 plans for the present operation before he was satisfied. General Simpson, commander of the United States Ninth Army, saw service with the American Army in France in the last war, when he was chief of staff of the 33rd Division. During this period he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honour. General Simpson, who is 56, is a graduate of West Point. EDGING TOWARD METZ NO GERMAN WITHDRAWAL ENEMY RETAKES TWO FORTS LONDON. Nov. 16 There is still no sign of a general German withdrawal from Metz, says the British United Press correspondent with the American Third Army. The Americans tonight are edging forward yard by yard through the suburbs, bypassing dangerous forts, which are still firing. The Germans have retaken Fort Hubert, four miles west of Metz, which the Americans captured yesterday, and also Peltre, three miles south-east of Metz. The German news agency states that the battle for the possession of Metz has begun. Powerful American. attacking formations, converging against the city from the north and south, have penetrated to the forefield of the fortress. Renter's correspondent reports that an advance of 10 miles east of Thionville has carried the Third Army forces to the vicinity, of Obernaumen, which is three miles from the German border. A later message states that General Patton's Third Armv has captured Lacroix, three miles from the German frontier. AACHEN SECTOR GOOD WEATHER WANTED LONDON, Nov. 16 "We have been standing by six flays for this attack," says the Daily Express correspondent with the American First Army in the Aachen sector. "Airmen, infantry and § artillerymen have been glumly staring into the skies, from where there has been no gleam of sunshine but only snow, sleet and flying bombs. Daily there have been conferences of weather experts at General Hodge's headquarters. "Then this morning the mists cleared and a faint patch of blue appeared. There is onlv one thing sure about this attack— notning is lacking m equipment for it. If only the weather holds the chances are good." GREAT OFFENSIVE LONDON, Nov. 16 The Dailv Mail describes the Allied operations 'as a great offensive which bears all the signs of aiming at a knock-out blow before the New leal. This is the greatest aggregation of strength that the Allied Supreme Commander, General Eisenhower, has so far employed. Only the Canadian First Army today is not reported to be m action. GERMAN SHIP SUNK (Reel. 11.30 P.m.) LONDON. Nov. 17 A Moscow communique announces that torpedo planes of the Soviet Baltic Fleet sank a 8000-tpn German supply «Wja to m bwp o& Ess®*