Evening star., 1944-11-27
MAP on Page A-4.)

By the Associated Press.
LONDON, Nov. 27.-Americans
Of the 1st Army advanced a mile
today and captured Frenz, IA
miles inside Germany and 25
miles short of Cologne, while men
of the Sd Army extended their
front inside the Reich to 10 miles
at the western fringe of the in
dustrial Saarland.
1t. Gen. Courtney H. Hodges
troops also drove into Hurtgen at
the edge of the forest by that name.
German resistance was strong; the
enemy's cannon and antitank fire
was especially heavy. The weather
was relatively clear following over
whelning Allied air power to sup
port the infantry and churning
tanks. Hurtgen is 2712 miles south
west of Cologne.
1t. Gen. George S. Pattons Sd
Army fought through Maginot Line
fortresses on a sector southeast of
the new penetration into Germany,
moving within miles of the Saar
border.
CorriE0r Broadened.
Seventh Army troops broadened
the Strasbourg corridor to nearly
Is miles and spilled through the
Saales Pass to open a new route
to the French city at the Rhine
They were within miles of still
another clean break through the
Vosges Mountains in the Ste. Marie
Pass east of st. Die.
Heavy fighting continued in the
Aachen sector, where assault teams
Of the United States 1st and 9Th
Armies closed in yard by yard on
the Germans Roer River line from
Julich to Duren, miles to the
southeast.
One goal Of the 1st Army is to
break clear of the Hurtgen Forest
and drive into more maneuverable
country, where their tanks will be
able to give the infantry close sup
port The Americans have almost
reached the edge of the forest, but
are not yet clear of it. A staff Off
Ger said last night, 1--WE definitely
are not out of the forest. The Ger
mans are fighting stubbornly, with
no indication yet of any collapse"
10 Forts Captured.
In their drive toward the in
dustrial Saar Basin, Sd Army troops
captured 10 forts in the Maginot
Line and outf1anked another.
At the northern end of the 400
mile western front the British I'd
Army probed into the formidable
western defenses of the Dutch border
city of Venlo, gateway to Ger
many's Ruhr.
The Dutch had thrown up some
of these defenses against the Ger
mans in 1910. The British still had
to cross an antitank ditch Is feet
wide and S to feet deep. The
enemys once dangerous salient west
of the Mas River had been cut to
three or four isolated pockets of
troops.
Other British troops on the north
ern flank of the battle area beyond
Aachen gained a 500-yard stretch
OF high ground overlooking the Wurm
Valley north of Geilenkirchen.
Saales Pass Cleared.
In Alsace, American 7th Army
troops who pushed through the
Saales Pass spread out on the Rhine
plain 10 miles southwest of Stras-
bourg. The pass was cleared yes
terday in swift advance between
the Upper and Lower Vosges and
this advance virtually boxed off $50
square miles of the forests of Do
maniale.
In Strasbrug itself French units
under 1t. Gen. Alexander M.
Patch's command captured two en-
emy generals and squeezed the Ger
mans back to compact bridgeheads
on the western ends of three great
Rhine spans which, according to
latest reports, still were intact. Forts
Ney, Petain, Kleber and the others
in the ring around Frances eastern
pillar city were captured.
Maj. Gen. Wilhelm Ullersperger
fort system commander, was caught
trying to get back to Strasbourg
from one of the forts south of the
city. Maj. Gen. Franz Vaterbot
Strasbourg operations commander
and' his chief of staff, 1t. Col. Will
ling, Kaiser, also were captured.
5 More Tanks Destroyed.
The 9th Army of 1t. Gen. Will
liam H. Simpson destroyed five more
tanks on the approaches of Julich
This raised its total for the often
sive to 141, many straight from fac
tories to the front. The 9th en-
countered heavy opposition, includ-
ing dug-in tanks at Koslar, just
west Of Julich. The Germans fired
white prosperous shells on the 9th
Army's left flank.
Gen. Patch's 7th Army fought
Tt00 additional men from the |
District area hupe been reported
killed in this Udr. See ron the