Evening star., 1944-12-24

mored fingers as to the defending
Yanks.
Although the extent of the Amer
lean blows in Luxembourg were not
disclosed, a dispatch from Asso-
ciated Press Correspondent Roger
Greene, cabled from British-Cana-
dian headquarters, said there was
reason to believe the enemy's big
push had lust about shot its bolt" "
16 Miles From Frontier.
In lifting the new security black
out the Allied high command an
nounced that the lower German
wedge had reached to within 16
miles of the French frontier at
Libramont.
Libramont is five-way road
junction Is miles southwest Of Bas-
togne, where an American garrison
still was holding out. A front dis
patch also said the Germans had
occupied Mohret. an intervening
town 10 miles northeast of Libra
mont
American transport planes escort
ed by fighters swept low over be-
siege Bastogne, on the important
Liege-Arlon highway. and dropped
supplies within the city to the Yank
troops. Pilots of the escorting
planes said the supplies parachuted
safely down to the garrison.
Another front dispatch filed by
Associated Press Correspondent
Kenneth L. Dixon said embattled
doughboys holding the northern
flank of the German wedge were
too bloody obstinate" to give an
inch yesterday despite powerful and
repeated enemy attacks.
His dispatch gave the definite
the German drive had
slowed down somewhat and said
the Germans were hurting in more
tanks on the southern side in an
effort to widen their salient dipping
toward Northeastern France.
Courageous, Harrassing Battle.
From within the area overran by
The Germans filtered fantastic
stories of isolated American tank
and infantry units fighting a cour-
ageous, harrassing battle behind the
lines" Mr.. Dixon's dispatch
said.
The German drive to Libramont
represented l6-mile advance from
oy-passed Bastogne. far less than
the previously reported l5-mile-a-
day pace of the Germans. Libra
mont is ~ miles south of st. Hubert
In the Freyr Forest. another sector
reached by the Germans.
On the basis of the Headquarters
the Germans now
hold a 22-mile-long north-south
W ed e inside Belgium, between
Marche and Libramont, and have
driven 40 miles beyond their Jump
off positions on the eighth day of
their winter offensive.
The western side of this wedge.
however. is not solid German held
line, from all indications, but merely
three major spearheads which have
reached the focal points of Libra
mont on the south, ST. Hubert in
the center and Marche in the north.
American troops also apparently
hold areas east of these towns. with
in the bulge.
Silent on Nazi Report.
Supreme headquarters was silent
on German broadcasts that 1t. Gen.
George S. Patton's Sd Army had
driven so hard against the southern
flank that the entire Won Rundstedt
push westward had been slowed.
Associated Press Correspondent
William F. Boni reported for the
first time that the tip of wedge
which the Germans had driven to
Habiemont, west of Stavelot and 18
miles south from Lege, had been cut
off by the Americans.
The Germans, however, had sue
ceeded in bringing up artillery and
were trying to blast a hole in the
lines OF the doughboys who had
stopped Won Rundstedt's first steel
wave. BY Thursday the Germans
were pouring in tanks for another
try.
Supreme headquarters described
German losses in manpower and
equipment as unquestionably high.
German prisoners-and there were
few of them so far-conceded that
their losses were bloody.
Yank Losses Heavy.
There was no attempt to mini
mize American losses. Groups as
large as battalion had been over
Whelmed. Some still held out in
side the German lines, hoping to be
rescued by counterblows.
Elsewhere along the front. the
Allied winter offensive was stale
mated.
Supreme headquarters said the
Sd Army had withdrawn from Ems
dorf, at the Saarlautern bridgehead
across the Saar River in the West
ern Saar Basin.
1t added that German broadcasts
saying American bridgeheads had
been abandoned at Dillingen, three
miles north Of Saarlautern. and at
Saarlautern itself were unfounded.
Enemy patrols which crossed the