Evening star., 1944-09-12

the Our River boundary line
of Germany and Luxembourg,
within sight of the Siegfried
Line. Germans could be seen
moving into the lines con-
crete pillboxes and bunkers, a
dispatch said.
By the Associated Press.
LONDON, Sept. 1.-TWO Ber-
Unbound American columns
which battered into Germany 70
miles apart were ramming
against the Siegfried Line today.
One 1st Army spearhead thrust
miles inside the Reich from Luxem-
bourg. Seventy miles to the north,
elements of an armored division
crossed the frontier in strength,
stepping off from Belgium east of
the town of Eupen.
Both border plunges were made by
1t Gen. Courtney Hodges lst Army.
Eupen is 10 miles below the Sieg-
friend fort city of Aachen. American
armor burst over the frontier in this
area at 6:l0 pm. yesterday. Tanks
beat forward deeper this morning
The crossing from Luxembourg hit
into the Reich northwest of Trier.
Farther south, 1t. Gen. George S.
Patton's Sd Army cracked through
the old Maginot Line to Thionville,
on the Moselle above French bridge
heads already forged across that
river.
Besides Eupen, the Americans
captured Malmedy. Is miles south
and also on territory incorporated
into the Reich by Nazi decree.
To the north, they seized Fort
Eben Emael, one of the strongest
of the Belgian Liege ring forts
against only moderate Nazi resist
ance, and smashed on within a mile
of the Dutch frontier miles from
Maastricht.
Prisoners Pass 100000 Mark.
The 1st Army's total of prisoners
jumped up $4,000 in a week to
total of l69,706, and supreme head
quarters declared the overall AL
lied bag of prisoners for the cam
paign in Northern France now was
well in excess of 100000" More
than $1,000 have been taken in
Southern France.
A solid front from the North
Sea to the Mediterranean was
formed by junction of Gen. Pat
tons Sd Army and the 7th Army of
1t. Gen. Alexander M. Patch.
In the advance from Luxembourg
doughboys of the lst Army, driv-
ing 40 miles in 48 hours, thrust
into Germany northwest of Trier
They apparently were within to 10
miles of that city, the biggest Sieg-
fried fort center on the lower
Moselle.
Hard on their right flank, Gen
Patton's forces slashed through the
Maginot fort town of Aumetz so
fast its big guns we're found intact,
and carried the battle on to Thion-
vile. This brought the struggle to
or beyond the Moselle along a As
mile front from above Metz to
below Nancy.
Great Battle Shaping Up.
The first great battle of Germany
was shaping up along the Middle
and Lower Moselle.
The Sd Army and the 7th Army
which landed on the Mediter-
ranean linked up near Sombernon
IS miles west of Dijon, welding a
solid front and booming German
remnants still in Central and South
western France.
The American 1st and Sd Armies
were joined by Gen. Patton's cap
ture of Aumetz. % miles northwest
of Metz and 3 miles from Luxem-
bourg.
Allied bombers tore at German
big-gun positions between Thion-
vile, on the west bank of the Mo-
selle, and Metz. Thionville is 10
miles from the junction of the Ger
man, French and Luxembourg
borders.
Not One of Stronger Sections.
The area which was invaded by
the Yanks striking from LuXem.
bourg is not one of the stronger
sections of the Siegfried Line. In
preway days, when the West Wal
was constructed, the Germans
counted for protection there or
the duchy of Luxembourg neutral.
ity, which the Nazis themselves vio-
lated in 1910, and the natural de-
fenses of the region, including the
Ardennes Forest, the razorbacl
hills of Schwarzwalder and Hook.
valid and the river barriers of the
Moselle and the Rhine.
Gen. Hodges motor borne in.
fantry hit the outer line of the
Siegfried system in 25-milt
sweep to the northeast which
liberated the city of Luxembourg
the capital of the duchy. The
great German industrial city oi
Koblenz and the Rhine were from
55 to so miles ahead of the Amer
leans down the valley of the lower
Moselle.
This invasion marked the first
time since Napoleon's day that ar
invading force from the west haC
entered Germany in more thar
patrol strength. The Americans ad-
vsnced behind an artillery barrage
(see WESTERN FRONT, Pg. A-4.)