AMERICAN TROOPS CROSS RHINE

Southland Times, Issue 25618, 10 March 1945, Page 5

AMERICAN TROOPS CROSS RHINE

BRIDGEHEAD ESTABLISHED ON EAST BANK MEN AND MATERIAL POURING OVER RIVER IN STEADY FLOW (United Press Association— Telegraph Copyright) (Rec. 11.30 p.m.) LONDON, March 9. The Rhine has been crossed. Troops of the Ameri- ' can Ist Army have established a bridgehead across the river in the area south of Cologne. This dramatic news is contained in a special communique from Supreme Allied Headquarters. A security blackout covers the operation, but it is known that a firm salient has been won on the east bank.

All reports of the operation, apart from the special communique, come from correspondents with the Ist Army. They state that the crossing was made at Remagen, a small town 12 miles south of Bonn and 23 miles north of Coblenz. The Americans had very light casualties during the crossing. The latest reports state that the Americans in the bridgehead are doing well and expanding the salient. Troops and supplies are pouring across the river in a steady stream.

The German forces on the east bank seem to have been caught off balance by the suddenness of the American attack. The Americans are now pushing forward to get the crossing out of German artillery range. Mosquitoes of the R.A.F. joined in the battle over the Rhine, making several heavy raids on German armour and gun positions in the bridgehead area.

The heaviest fighting on the western front is still going on in the German pocket on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Wesel, north of Duisberg. The fighting here is described by the British and Canadian troops as very bitter. Troops of the American 9th Army have moved up to the south of the pocket. The German paratroopers holding the pocket are trying desperately to keep the crossings at Wesel open as long as possible. A great concentration of German guns on the east bank is pouring shells across the river into the Allied positions. Casualties on both sides are heavy.

The American 3rd Army, now gripping a long stretch of the west bank of the Rhine, has moved nearer Coblenz. The Americans are busy mopping up the large area which their tank spearheads over-ran. The Ist and 3rd Armies are now reported to be less than 18 miles apart.