Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-11-19
War Review
About Drive Opens
Against Germany .
By Ho,card p. Bailey.

Starting with the capture, Mon.
day. of one of the outlying fort,
of Metz by 1t. Gen. Patton's Amer.
lean Sd Army, the whole front sud.
denly famed into action and the
American 9th Army, so far shroudec
In mystery, was committed to the
offensive and before the week was
out mad given an excellent account
OF itself.
There seemed every reason, after
a week of intense action, to interpret
the present action as the launch.
Ing of Gen. Eisenhower's winter
offensive which most observers be-
lieve will never stop until Germany
surrenders.
The German Saar Valley border
has already been crossed by advance
units of Patton's army, while units
of the LIST Army have moved to
within 20 miles of Cologne on the
Rhine.
Six Allied armies operating on
the western front are in action and
moving forward powerfully, though
in the middle of the 400-mile line
resistance is strong.
The pattern of the action toward
the Saar began to take form the
week before when Patton had
columns moving ahead on both
sides of the fortress city of Metz
and bending in toward each other
IN an enlightenment effort.
Move Into Metz.
All during last week there were
evidences that the Nazis we're pull
ing defenders out of Metz and
supplies also were being withdrawn.
This was reflected later in the week
in the crumbling of Nazi resistance
as fort after fort fell and finally
Yesterday Patton's men moved into
Metz itself where barricaded Ger
mans were expected to fight from
street to street.
In the meantime, motorized units
crossed the border into Saarland
and advanced miles onto German
soil.
Both Monday and Tuesday prin-
cipal action was in the area around
Metz and there was no indication
that grand offensive was immi-
: nent. In fact, the American 7th
Army was subjected to a heavy
counterattack in the approaches to
Vosges Mountain passes, German
effort which was beaten back Tues
day by American artillery with
heavy loss to the enemy. The
American LIST Army front in the
Huertgen Forest area was limited
to patrol activities as were the Brit
ish and Canadian fronts in Holland.
Suddenly, on Thursday the por-
ton of the front closest to Cologne
burst into shattering action as $500
planes rained down destruction and
death on the German defense lying
between the American LIST Army
and Cologne. In an L-shaped area
Is miles long and 10 miles deep,
northeast of Aachen, 2,400 American
and British heavy bombers dropped
1000 tons of augmentation and
antipersonnel bombs to pave the
way for the offensive which was
launched less than two hours after
the first bombs fell. 1t was at this
time that the 9th Army was sent
into action after being moved 300
miles across France, Belgium and
Holland to reach the front. During
> this massive maneuver, the lines of
communication of the other armies
on the western front were crossed,
but with little or no delay in keeping
supplies and reinforcements moving
forward to the other fronts.
Long Lines of Prisoners.
Soon the familiar long lines of
prisoners began moving toward the
rear and everywhere there were
signs of sagging enemy resistance.
There were reports that at least
100000 Allied troops were ranged
along the front with fully as many
waiting to move in when needed
The Nazis were said to have 100000
attempting to hold the tottering
lines. AS the week ended, the Amer
lean list and 9th Armies were fight
Ing side by side as they sought to-
expand the break in the Siegfried
Line and push forward toward the
rich Rhine Valley.
On the left flank the British I'd
Army advanced more than II miles
in Holland in three days and ex-
banded its control of the banks
of the Mas River. Yesterday the
British struck the enemy flank in
Germany 13 miles above the Ameri-
can sector in Aachen.
Far to the right, the Germans!
burned the town of st. Die, first
town in the Vosges Pass of Saales.
which was only mile from Gen.
Patchs advance units. while strik-
ing toward Belfort Pass the French
LIST Army was only 8 miles from
the town of Belfort itself.
During the week also occurred
one victory which in itself might
not seem Notwithstanding in its i'm
portance but nevertheless will have
a decidedly adverse effect on the
japanese, who, incidentally, were
praised during the week in a speech
attributed to Hitler but read by
Himmler during the unexplained
and now long-continued absence of
Hitler from the public eye.
British planes finally caught up
with the German battleship Tirpitz
and sent her to the bottom in shall
low water off the coast of Norway
The elimination of this powerful
German battleship, Hitlers last
now frees large and numerous units
of the British feet, which had been
required to guard conveys from
possible raids by the Tirpitz, for
use against the japanese. and their
transfer to waters in the Pacific
areas will be rapid.
After the sinking of the Tirpitz,
light British units intercepted an
1l-ship German convoy headed
north in Norwegian waters and sank
9 of the enemy craft and forced the
10th ashore. Fire from coastal bat
teries against the British was spec
tacular but ineffective.
Some retaliation against the
British in the form of the new W.
bombs occurred during the week, but