ALLIED ARMOUR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25804, 27 March 1945, Page 5

ALLIED ARMOUR

POURING ACROSS RHINE MONTGOMERY’S BRIDGEHEAD (Rec. 11.20 p.m.) LONDON, Mar. 26. British and American armour is pouring 1 across the Rhine to reinforce Field-marshal Montgomery’s armies on the east bank. The Allied bridgehead is now 10 miles deep at some points, and bridges are being thrown over the river ahead of schedule.

At the northern end of the bridgehead the German strongpoint of Rees has been cleared. The fiercest fighting on the far bank of the Rhine is taking place north-east of Rees. From dawn yesterday the Allied air forces in very great strength attacked German transport, tanks, and troop concentrations in the bridgehead area. Pilots ranging far beyond the battle zone saw little movement on the roads and no signs of any real attempt to reinforce the Germans on the perimeter of the bridgehead. The German forces radio says that the Allies yesterday landed new strong airborne forces north and south-east of Wesel.

The whole stretch of the river where the British Second Army crossed now looks like a mad regatta, with every conceivable type of craft scurrying from one side to the other, says Reuter’s correspondent. One Royal Navy man said: “It would not surprise me to see a destroyer come along at any time now.”