ONE MILE FROM RHINE

Southland Times, Issue 25546, 14 December 1944, Page 5

ONE MILE FROM RHINE

Swift Advance By Allies

(Rec. 10.30 p.m.) LONDON, Dec. 13. The American 7th Army, under Lieutenant-General Alexander M. Patch, after a rapid advance of eight miles in almost as many hours through northern Alsace, is now only 14 miles from Karlsruhe, which is over the Rhine. The Americans are now fighting a mile from the west bank of the Rhine. This lightning advance has taken the Americans right through the Maginot Line, where they met surprisingly weak opposition. Karlsruhe is a town Of great industrial importance, manufacturing small arms and other war equipment, and is also a big communications centre. The German News Agency states: “The American 7th Army has launched a new offensive with 15 infantry divisions and several tank divisions on a 60-mile front against the Siegfried Line between Saareguemines and the upper Rhine, east of Hagenau. The Americans, with two strong wedges, are trying to outflank the forest area of the northern Vosges foothills and the Hagenau forest.” FIGHTING IN SELTZ The American troops are novi fighting in the village of Seitz, just over a mile from the Rhine and 13 miles north-east of Hagenau, says Reuter’s correspondent with the 7th Army. Jumping off before dawn from Sufflenheim, the Americans made a dash through the Maginot forts and pillboxes against remarkably weak opposition. The Germans had not manned the defences and the Americans found civilians living in some of the massive forts.