Evening star., 1945-04-26

WITH THE UNITED STATES
Sd ARMY R.-The 11th Ar
mored Division today drove
9 miles farther southeastward
to the vicinity of Furholz,
only 8h miles from the Aus
trian frontier.
BY the Associated Press.
PARIS, April 26.-American Sd
Army tanks rolled down the
Danube Valley today on the
fringe of Hitler's Alpine redoubt
to within II miles of Austria and
100 miles of a junction with Rus
slams west of st. Polten, which
would trisect German armies
and encircle Czechoslovakia.
The massive three-army assault
in the south carried within Al miles
of Munich, threatened with wide
encirclement. and 72 miles of Berch-
tesgaden.
Far to the north the British cap
tured more than half of Bremen,
Germany's largest submarine base,
and resistance was collapsing rapid
ly. The Lowland (52d) Division
fought to the 18th century cathedral
in the heart of Bremen. The Iron
Sd" Division took Thirfield and the
Focke-Wulf airplane factory and
half of the part of Bremen lying
below the Weser River. The subma-
rine pens were not yet reached, but
5000 prisoners were taken.
Just south of Hamburg the Ger
mans counterattacked the Desert
Rats 9th Armored Division, but
were thrown back.
IL Miles From Passau.
At Tittling, the Thunderbolt Q1th
ArmoredD Division of the American
Sd Army was within II miles of
Passau. historic Danubian gateway
to Austria. The Yanks may invade
Austria before the day is over.
The Sd Army. like the French 1st
and American 7th Armies, had
crossed the Danube on a wide front.
Some OF Gen. George S. Patton's
divisions struck east into Czechoslo-
vakia, capturing Eyer (Cheb), where
Hitler made his post-Munich TRADE
annexing the Sudet inland of
Czechoslovakia. Cheb is a city of
51.549.
The Sd Army was in or on the bor-
der of that republic along a 50-mile
front jutting within 35 miles of Pill
sen and its newly bombed Skoda
munitions works.
The French closed on Munich from
the west after destroying the Ger
man 10th Army. Numerous traps
still were being reduced.
Rail and Road Routes Cut.
The threatened entrapment of
Bohemia and Moravia-last uncon-
quered parts of Czechoslovakia-
would be great blow to the Ger
mans. The area is larger and it
contains the last heavy industries
in German hands.
All road and rail routes from the
Pllsen-Prague area to the Bavarian
redoubt were cut except a circui-
tous route through Linz, and the Sd
Army was advancing down the last
So miles to that Austrian frontier
city of 13l.423.
In the center there still was no
official announcement of a linkup
Of the American 1st and 9th Armies
with the Russians. Moscow said
the Red Army crossed the Elbe at
Rieza, % miles northwest of the
Saxony capital of Dresden, at a
point 18 miles from last reported 1st
Army positions. The Russians who
encircled Berlin and Potsdam were
probably as close to the 9th Army
on the Lower Elbe, As miles from
the edge of that expiring city.
Gen. Patton's Sd Army by-passed
the airplane manufacturing city of
Regensburg and crossed the Danube
at three places along an 18-mile
stretch between Kelheim and Sulz-
bach on both sides of the cathedral
city.
His troops moved within a mile
of Igolstadt
The 7th Army moved south and
southeast on Munich along a CO.
mile front against hardened Ger