A MAJOR BLOW

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25797, 19 March 1945, Page 5

A MAJOR BLOW

MAIN HIGHWAY CUT FIERCE FIGHTING CONTINUES (Rec. 7 p.m.) LONDON,'Mar. 17. First Army forces to-day cut the Cologne-Frankfurt autobahn in two places and also beat back the first German armoured counter-attack in strength, says an American Associated Press correspondent. American infantrymen, north-east of Hoonef for the first time, fought their way astride the motor road, after which another unit after fighting a house-to-house battle through Hovel, cut the autobahn in another area. Hard fighting in the meantime went on at Strodt and Kalenborn, where the Germans have built up strong defences in an effort to prevent the Americans from surging eastward. The First Army’s bridgehead across the Rhine is now 13 miles long and seven miles deep. . The German News Agency to-night reported that the Americans had captured famous Drachenfels (Dragon’s Rock) near Konigswinter, where Siegfried was reported to have fought the dragon. “The bridgehead for the first time has attained operational significance,” said the German News Agency’s military commentator. The Americans have captured over 50 towns and villages in the sparsely settled country east of the Rhine since the bridgehead was established a week ago, says the British United Press correspondent. The northernmost point of the bridgehead is about three rmles north of Honnef. The most southerly is Honnegen, which is nearly four miles upstream from Linz and which has been captured. The Americans are finding their stifTest opposition in the centre of the bridgehead, where the Germans are throwing m tanks, self-propelled guns, and infantry, but the Weid River is not expe.cted to give much trouble. A correspondent with the United States First Army described yesterday as the best day since the Rhine was crossed. He says that the cutting of the Cologne-Frank-furt autobahn in two places is a major blow at the enemy’s hopes of maintaining a speedy reinforcement route to the bridgehead, hut only one of the many successes we have scored all along the line from the bridgehead. By 5 a.m., infantry had pushed on three-quarters of a mile north and north-east of Konigswinter and had taken important high features. They captured (tie village of Petersburg, and by night were sitting on high gTOund, looking down on Konigswinter. They found white flags waving, and 2000 civilians hiding in caves and another 500 in a factory. In the centre, men of the Ninth Infantry Divisicn drove on 1000 yards, but there is. still fierce fighting in Strodt. •' Just below Strodt, other infantry surged forward in general advances up to two miles round the southern half of the bridgehead. They reached the banks of the Weid for about two miles, just below Strodt, and dominated another stretch of similar length, down to Waldbreitbach, where they are only a few hundred yards from the bank. A staff officer said that “the cutting of the autobahn was more valuable than the cutting of the primary rail line. It was by far the chief supply route to the bridgehead, and the Germans used it to bring their forces from the north and south to prevent our expansion. Now, 'his reinforcements are forced back to narrow and pocr secondary roads which mean a detour and will easily be choked by columns of any size. In effect, the breaching of the autobahn cut in. two his forces opposing us.” Aerial reconnaissance to-day indicated that the Germans have already started the flight from Frankfurt-on-Main, ahead of the Seventh Army’s surge which is breaking the Palatinate and Saarland loose from the Reich, says the American Associated Press correspondent at Allied Headquarters. Pilots who overnight continued the terrific aerial pasting of enemy positions reported to-day that key towns are are still flaming, and the smoke Is so dense that the specific results of yesterday’s bombing could not be told. Night fighters strafed convoys trying to take advantage of the darkness to start the escape from the Kaiserlautern area. Convoys were seen headed towards Frankfurt and Mainz. Sunshine for the third successive day made the roads firmer, report Agency coriespondents from the front line. Truck drivers had dusty faces for the first time since the Normandy breakthrough last summer.