Evening star., 1944-08-28
Yanks Cross Marne> Take Meaux
In Drive % Miles East Of Paris;
Germans Cut off in South France
Nozis Yielding
Beyond Capital
Without Fight
MAP OF, Page A-5.)
By the Associated Press.

VANP Wv = wye N-o'
By the Associated Press.
SUPREME ALLIED HEAD
QUARTERS, Aug. 28.-American
troops, sweeping in a wide arc
threatening German lines of re-
treat into the Reich, have
crossed the Marne and captured
the town of Meaux in the loop
of the historic river, % miles
east of Paris.
The Germans were yielding with
out fight as the Americans swept
on through Meaux unchecked, Sedan,
famous battlefield in 1870 and 1910,
was los miles to the northeast.
Toward the sea the British estab-
lished fifth bridgehead across the
Seine, swinging their forces across
the river near Louviers, between
Vernon and Point de L'Arche.
For the first time in this war
American troops were fighting on a
battlefield of the World War. Meaux
marked the high tide of the Ger
man attempt to take Paris in Sep
tember, 19l4-an attempt which
ended with the Allied victory of the
first battle of the Marine when the
Paris taxicab army stemmed the
German tide.
Attack Swinging North.
The town is "a miles southwest
of Chateau-Thierry, where Amer
ican troops in the Second Battle of
the Marne held the Germans during
the fateful days of June and July,
1918, and took part in the counter
offensive launched on July Is.
Attack Swinging North.
The whole Allied attack today was
swinging north on or across the
Seine River along almost the whole
200 miles from its source to the
sea-
Between Paris and the English
Channel. American, British and
Canadian armies deepened four
bridgeheads over the Seine and have
doomed Rouen, where Joan of Arc
was tried and burned Rouen, 18th
city of France with 122,8OO popu-
lation, now is the center of Ger
man resistance, such as it Is.
The Allies also virtually doomed
the great port Of LIE Havre and
have opened the way into the Ger
mans flying bomb belt in the Pas
de Calais area farther north.
The American bridgehead was at
Nantes, the British at Vernon and
the Canadians had two between
Elbeuf and Pont-de-lArche.
Consolidated Front.
American Sd Army infantry was
streaming into the great tank
bulge between the Seine and the
Marine, forming consolidated
front IS miles or more almost due
east of Paris in a great half wheel
around the still exuberant and now
virtually cleared French capital.
The push through Meaux, 10
miles beyond the first-won foothold
along the Marine at Lagny, was de-
scribed as meeting virtually no op-
position. 1t gave the Americans an
assault line from which they could
turn any Marne defense or stab
north in a deep encirclement-or
cut off-of the rocket bomb coast.
To the southeast. one American
column was at Nangis across the
Seine 16 miles east of Melun, a
second was at Provins. As miles
southeast of Paris, and a third
pushed 7 miles north of captured
Nogent to Villenauxe.
Beyond Troyes on the American
right flank, fourth column jabbed
toward Vitry. on the Upper Marne,
IS miles southwest of Verdun, and
less than 100 miles from the Ger
man border.
Reach Romilly Outskirts.
There was no confirmation at
supreme headquarters of an Algiers
broadcast reporting that the Ameri-
cans had reached Vitry-but the
extent of the gain beyond Troyes
was kept security secret.
The Americans closed in to the
outskirts of Romilly, 10 miles east
Of Nogent.
Supreme headquarters said the
whole front of the Seine except in
the last shredded Nazi pocket south
of the Seine mouth. has been
nopped up except for scattered
groups of nowhere more than 1000
Germans and these are being cleaned
out swiftly"
A front dispatch said trap SPELL
Ing death for many Germans was
established in three loops on the left
bank of the Seine in the area of
Rouen. IS miles northwest of Paris.
Scattered elements of five German
divisions, numbering in all perhaps
10000 men. were being pounded
from the ground and air as the Nazis
scrambled madly to get across the
river and join in the retreat to the
east.
Reinforcement Lacking.
This was the last stand of the tag
end Of the broken German 7th
Army and the 18th Army which
came too late to its aid. The Ger
mans pinched into the three pock-
cts in the Seine bends between
Rouen and the sea are attempting
10 cross the river which there
ranges in width from 300 yards to
CSee NORTHERN FRANCE, A-6D
DI