The Wilmington morning star., 1944-12-22

The War
BY KIRKE L. sl,,pSo,.
Associated Press W. 'oN

Official Allied discIo, analyst
the Nazi counter atta lcSUF e hat
gum had stabbed 10 vit III Bel
n mlles of the vital Liege comm commnll
cations hub had an ominoU u,'lt mum
unless it is recalled that ,' tSo sound
was two days old. ' '"e News
What happened III tbo
quent 4S hours is what resr, Su'Se'
tered. Military security s IGriy i mat
ed the details except for pieos o@ak'
ana frd more ,3 nearly up to d date Ss.
OF front line Information from s ca
respondents drifting back G''l CO.. CO..
the American FRS Ann. ION
mand centers. my CON,
Checking those advicas ~,
maps, there is nothing 10 ir vi The
that the 35-mile deep pund rluleale
American lines there !, N
enough to be menacing' Koy Vide
along its whole northern ~ ' (
have been held or retakar ''' NJ
American troops. '- BY
That First Army Counter
sures' reported in process r asa'
particularly to that front, co Trss
ing the southern perimeter ~ osv n
Aachen bulge and the Lieg " .a le
Maastricht crossings Of the n N. a1o
goes without saying. That s yrssse
OF the counter attack front-tron,al
Monschau east of the Reich t ~.
tier to the point IS miles r. '' VII
west where a Nazi armored sDe a'
head has cut t h e Liege.Bas tpsp.'
Arlon highway in Belgium IN c cSn''
closest to Liege - probably bolss
the key to the ultimate resnIt =,
the bold and risky German Va,
ture. '''
Along that front, American -,
ces currently are reported boIdin.
all important towns and viIIsos,,
including Monschau. Butgenbasb
Malmedy and Stavelot. The IiTs
appears to conform generally IA
the route Of an eastern feeder 4,
the Liege-Luxembourg r9iIv9v
most if not ali of which is !,
American hands to provide omc,
lateral communications at The
front.
The second day Nazi penetrs.
ton southwest of Stavelot, dscIo,
ed by a further limited lifting Of
the Allied news blockade, wa,
westward, not to the north. II is
to the north that the danger 10
Allied communications with the
Aachen bulge lies and it is there
also, within the bulge, that the
whole American Ninth Army and
the left wing OF tn e American
First Army are concentrated.
i Due south of Malmedy Amer.
can troops also held St, With at
last reports, If so, the base Of
the German salient driven across
the Liege-Bastogne highway is less
than 5 miles in width at that point,
1t is dangerously narrow for its
depth, obviously inviting cutting
off attacks from the northern
flank.
Loss of the use Of the Liege'
Bastogne highway along the north
ern section of the front is the
most serious result Of the new
two-day-old German penetrations
1t was a very useful link connect
ing the two wings Of the First
Army: but not an indispensable
one. The Liege-Bastogne railway
and a western loop Of the Lie9e
Bastogne highway running by way
of Marche still closely JON the
north and south elements Of the
First Army well behind the active
front.
Press reports from Allied man
headquarters appear to reflect Al
lied staff acceptance OF the view
of most military writers that ne
German counter attack is oens
contained but still has not been
definitely checked
There is little doubt remaining
however, that the foe has accom-
plishcd his chief indicated purpose
and brought the great AIleo WIS
ter offensive drive at least 10 4
temporary halt. General 1lss III
hower's plans will have to De n IL
cast even if the Nazi drive IN Dr. ~.
GIN and Luxembourg is 1ln'l'