Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-11-14
Another Metz Fortress Seized,
All Highways Within Gun Range;
Jap Warships Hit in Manila Raid
InfontryForce
3H Miles From
Besieged City
MAP on Page A-14.)
Be- the Associated Press.

LONDON, Nov. 14.-Lt. Gen
George S. Patton's infantry
hacking a new breach in fortifi-
cations south of Metz, today cap.
tured the town of Orpey and
Fort L'Yser, a half-mile to the
northeast, and pushed to with
in 31a miles of besieged Metz.
Even as this fourth fortress fell
and all of Metz's roads OF reinforce
ment or retreat were brought within
artillery range, doughboys on the
left flank of the 70-mile Sd Army
front showed forward in their Mo-
selle brideghead to within Ia miles
Of the German border near the Lux
embourg corner.
South of Metz the 7th Army
pushed forward in Emile gains at
either end of a l0-mile front,
spreading the American attack into
the snow-drifted foothills of the
Vosges Mountains.
Push On Into Woods.
Troops of the 5th Division seized
Fort L'Yser and pushed on into woods
just ahead in the closest approach
to Metz. The assault arc against
Metz from the south now extended
miles from Fort L'Yser to the town
of Corny on the east bank Of the
MoSelle.
Fifth Division units, punching
through Unexpectedly light resist
ance, had captured Fort Aisne and
two of its satellites near Verny yes
terday and seized the towns of
Corny. Pommerieux, Verny and
Liehon.
With capture of Fort Aisne and
the town Of Corny earlier, the
Americans had cut up behind
formidable Fort Driant, on the
Moselle's west bank.
Question of Evacuation.
The speed with which the 5th
Division has penetrated the Ger
man defenses south of Metz raised
the question of whether the enemy
actually plans to yield without a
fight this strongest fortified city in
all Western Europe A dispatch
from supreme headquarters said the
answer to this riddle may come
within the next "a to 48 hours.
Corny is on the banks of the
Moselle, almost due east and across
the river from Fort Driant, which
like Fort iAisne, was one of the
nine main forts in the Metz defense
system. A frontal assault by Amer
lean troops on Fort Driant several
weeks ago failed. The Metz defense
system contains % bastions in all.
On Gen. Patton's northern flank
troops of the Goth Division thrust
ahead 212 miles in their hard wor
bridgehead over the Moselle neal
Koenigsmacher, reaching within ~
miles of the Reich's border. Theil
chief opposition was strong artillery
fire.
Immediately north of Metz the
Germans still posed stubborn resist.
ance in the area of Maizieres.
$500 Prisoners Taken.
Through yesterday, in six days Of
Gen. Patton's new, offensive, $500
prisoners had been taken.
Southeast of Metz, German gains
~ N RI frni1n IN, nnt,pf ~ a rlvS
seeking to save Dieuze were wiped
out by elements of the 26th and 4tt
Armored Divisions and the Amer
leans added another mile in fresh
advances. Doughboys now con-
trolled almost half the Bride anc
Rocking Forest astride a ridge
dominating Dieuze.
Elements of the 9Th Armored
Division rode into Vittoncourt, Il
miles southeast of Metz, in q mile
push and the 317th Regiment of the
80th Infantry in the same sector
won half mile of ground, going
into Arriance, IA miles southeast of
Metz.
There was no explanation why the
Germans yielded the great under
ground Aisne Fort at Verny, south
of Metz, and let the Americans cut
in almost squarely behind Fort
Driant, If they intended to make q
suicide stand for Metz itself. Bad
weather prevented aerial recon-
naissance from learning whether
Metz was being reinforced, or pos
sibly evacuated.
Cross Fire Positions.
Possibly the forts which the enemy
yielded were not needed for a close
siege defense of the city. front dis
patch pointed out. The capture Of
the bastions was not believed te
open an actual gap into Metz itself
as the whole zone is covered by the
cross-fire positions of guns in flank.
ing forts.
1t was believed, too, that between
the captured forts and the city lin