The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-10-17
ENEMY'S AACHEN
TRUST REPULSED
Continued from Page One)

Continued from Page One)
Allied sources have not men.
toned Geilenkircnen, TO- miles
north of Aachen, since a. chunk
was torn out of the Siegfried line
there a week ago.
| The. Canadian First army, mean.
while, continued its determined
fight to clean out Nazis from the
50-miIe Schelde river estuary SC
the Allies can use the spacious and
unchanged port facilities Of Ant
werp, only rs miles west Of Cell
enkirchen. -
Another cenyulsive German
counterattack was shattered By
Yank artillery near Weiden, JUS
east of Wufselen, before the in
fantry and armor of two converg
ing First Army columns finally
formed juncture and cut off IA
chen's last, thin contact with the
outside Tonight Nazi planes sped
across the city, lighted by many
fires, and parachuted supplies te
the trapped garrison.
Fifty to 60 German tanks were
estimated to have been destroyed
in the past three days as the en-
envy launched five heavy counter.
attacks in an effort to free Aachen
At least 10 were smashed to-
day.. and there was every indica-
ton the Nazis would be back.
Apar. from today's main Ger
man commensurate against Cru
cifix Hill, which dominates IA.
chen from the northeast, a lesser
but bitter one was sent against
American troops within the rub
bled streets of the city. Members
of the garrison threw themselves
against the American lines shout
ing 'Heil Hitler and were repuls-
ed only after savage, bloody fight
ing. Three-Slundred Nazis were
taken prisoner.
There was no question that the
Germans were making a major Ell
fort to keep Aachen from falling
into 1t. Gen. Courtney Hodges
hands," wrote AP Correspondent
Don Whitehead from just outside
the city. THE First army intends
to make an example of this, indus
trial center as warning to other
German cities that the same de-
struction will be carried to them
if the Nazis use them as fortress
es."
1t. Gen. George S. Patton's Third
Army troops were disclosed to have
abandoned their.l0-day battle for
Fort Driant, medieval bastiou
guarding the French city of Metz.
The dougk1oys withdrew before
dawn Friday from tunnels inside
the fortress after wrecking all in.
stallations they had held through
days of hard, close-quarter fight:
ing. ..s.s .,. 49, .-
An Allied spokesman said nc
more than battalion of Ameri.
cans was involved in the attack
on the fort and declared thai
much valuable informal ton On tbs
construction of forts in the Metz
area was gained by Yank engln.
GERS.
Among the things learned in thu
attack was that the forts guard
ing Metz are so arranged that ar
assault on any one of the chair
brings down interlocking fire from
all the others. It was found. a:
we'll. that the Metz forts, are proc:
against the heaviest field guns
even at pointblank range.
British patrols crossed the Ne
der Rhine on probing expeditions
west of Anthem, where British
para hutists made their epic stanc
that highlighted the Allied thrust
into Holland. Otherwise the Bri
fish Second army front was quiet
except for slow progress toward
the Dutch town of Venray, south
east of Over'o Don. Tommies were
reported within 1000 yards OF
Venray in their push toward the
| Meuse.
The Paris radio reported, with
out Allied confirmation, that Ger
man resistance along the Schelde
estuary in Holland had suddenly
! collapsed and that the entrance
to Antwerp harbor is now clear. .
Field dispatches indicated, on the
other hand, that the Nazis were
holding out along the estuary as
long as possible.
| HT,.,x, ooroha+ x,acca1c and har.