Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-10-09
MAP on Page AL
By the Associated Press,

LONDON, Oct. 9.-The multi
piled blows of 1t. Gen. Courtney
H. Hodges LIST Army threatened
a 20-mile-wide break through
toward Cologne and Dusseldorf
today as American troopsmen
pinched the Aachen escape gap
to 4 miles or less.
The Yanks were reported fighting
within Aachen itself after sending
patrols and small armored task
forces to feel out the garrison,
which possibly had been reduced
to only $500 last ditch SIS guards.
Three times the Germans counter
attacked up Crucifix Hill northeast
of Aachen in desperate effort to
break the pincers slowly throttling
the city. but each time the dough-
boys hurled them back. The Ger
mans losses were heavy.
(Today's German High Com
mand asserted that tough resist
ance and heavy counterattacks"
had halted American tank forces
attempting to encircle Aachen.
The broadcast communique also
reported heavy fighting north
east of NancyD
18th Army Advances.
To the south 1t. Gen. Alexander
M. Patch's 7th Army moved to with
in miles of Belfort in the strategic
mountain gap fringing Switzerland
and pounded that towns outer de-
lenses with shellfire.
To the north, Canadian forces
staged bold amphibious stroke in
the rear of an isolated garrison Of
5000 Nazis holding on to a sr1iall
pocket among the canals and bikes
south of the Schelde, and landed
just east of the small village of
Hoofdplaat, SO miles west of Ant
werp.
The landing, made before day.
light, was aimed at the relief of a
small Canadian bridgehead across
the Leopold Canal, established three
days ago with flamethrower bar
rage, but beaten back to desperate
position by determined German
counterattacks.
The Germans here were fighting
with their backs to the Schelde
and the flooded Walcheren and
zuid Beveland Islands north of the
river where 1000 to $1,000 Ger
mans were all but cut off by a l.
500-yard Canadian push north of
Antwerp This latter advance to
Calmpthout just outside Korteven
put the Canadians virtually astride
the diked escape road out of the
islands.
Cross Road at Two Places.
Gen. Hodges doughboys, fighting
6 miles inside Germany north of
Aachen, battered their way across
the main Aachen- Gladbach road
at two places and to within tx
miles of Julich, where the main
road from Aachen forks to Cologne
% miles to the east, and to Dussel-
dorf, rs miles to the northeast.
First Army units which advanced
from southeast of Aachen were
within few hundred yards of cross
Ing the main Aachen-C Cologne righ-
way and put under fire this last
escape road in narrow 4-miIe
corridor.
East of the Moselle, lit. Gen.
George S. Patton's Sd Army forces
were making slow progress in burn
ing and blasting their way through
the steel doors and concrete bulk
heads of the Germans underground
strongholds in Fort Driant, S miles
southwest of Metz.
The Sd Army, which hoped of
to a new attack on a 20-mile front
yesterday and struck forward as
lar as z miles between Metz and
Nancy, had captured nine towns in
its initial blow
Aimed at Wiping Out Salient.
Chenlcourt, mile north OF Aion.
court and Is miles southeast of Metz
was added to these eight towns pre-.
viously reported captured. Clemery
Lixleres, Serrieres, Jeandelaincourt
Mo1vrons, Fessieux. Ajoncourt anc
= Arraye ct Han. The attack wa.
aimed at wiping out shallow Ger.
man salient.
To the south, French troops of the
7th Army closed within a mile of the
outskirts of LIE Thillot, 6 miles from
p Bussang Pass through the heart OF
the Vosges, and beat their way be-
yond Campagney, only 8 miles from
the town of Belfort.
Weather over the front was thick
ening again after a weekend clear
= spell permitted some of the mipnti-
est air attacks in the history of war
fare.
However close the LIST Armv,s
deeping assault around Aachen came
to the actual exploitation of a break
through, it was clear that German
resistance had not yet cracked com
!. pletely.
A supreme headquarters commu-
nique said through the Aachen Sec
tor we are encountering consider
able enemy artillery, small arms and
! machine-gun fire.
Deepest Penetration.
The deepest penetration OF Ger.
man soil north of Aachen was al
Oidtweiler within tx miles of Julich
At Oidtweiler and In gains of q
mile southeast of Ofden. 8 miles t.
, fSee WESTERN 'FRONT.'. Pare Al