The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1945-04-27
Radio Contact Made
With Reds--Report
(NEA Telephoto)
Continued from Page H.

firmly controlled by the British, but
the surviving Nazis, led by the port
commander, General Becker, were
strongly entrenched in the park
area behind a ring of 88-millimeter
guns, apparently bent on a suicidal
stand to delay the opening of the
port.
There still was no word of the
impending juncture of the Amer
lean First and Ninth armies with
Russian troops in the narrowing
corridor west and southwest of Ber-
lin.
All signs indicated, however, that
the link-up could be made almost
at will, and some observers believed
1t would be announced Simultaneous
ly with the fall of Berlin.
With the Nazi capital and the
northern redoubt based on Bremen
and Hamburg falling to pieces, it
was becoming increasingly probable
that the last great battle of the
war would be fought in the south,
with American, French and Russian
armies meeting in Berchtesgaden for
the kill.
Patton's 18th armored division
sheered off from the direct mar.h
on Berchtesgaden toward Linz late
late yesterday, apparently aiming
down the Danube valley to envelop
Hitler's citadel from the esst and
join forces with the Russians.
Nazi Caught Mapping
Field dispatches said the startled
Germans were caught completely off
guard by the sudden shift eastward
and not shot was fired as the fist
American tank columns rolled across
the frontier into Austria.
The Nazis called on their battersd
LuftWaffe for last desperate try at
Mailing Patton's speeding armor,
but they failed completely despite
dozens of savage strafing runs.
All along the American line of
march German civilians stared in
sullen incredulity at the passing
parade of power, as unwilling 70
believe the Yanks could have pene-
trated so deep into the Reich. But
not single Sniper fired from the
thick forests and the German army
itself appeared to have vanished.
Almost 40 miles to the west. Pat
tons 26th infantry division was fol-
lowing up rapidly in the path of
his speeding armor, moving down
to the Danube at Deggendorf, Al
miles southeast of Regensburg and
80 miles due north of Hitler's birth
place at Braunau
Regensburg itself was virtually
surrounded by doughboys of the
65th and list divisions who pushed
out ~ to four miles south of their
Danube bridgeheads on both sides
OF the city, and its fall was ex-
pected imminently.
Still farther west, other Third
army tanks and infantrymen crossed
the Danube at IngolStadt after
beating down weak German resist
ance in the town and rammed
southwark less than 40 miles from
Munich.
The Third army strike for Mu
mich was coordinated with a blazing
armored drive on that Nazi strong
hold by American Seventh army
troops to the west.
Stalled momentarily in their
Danube bridgehead south and SOUTH
east OF Dillingen, the Seventh
Army's 18th armored division dashed
out ten miles and more to reach q
point five miles due north of Augs-
burg and IS miles northwest of Mu-
Mich.
simultaneously, the 44th infantry
division, spearheaded by fast ar
mored task forces drove 10 miles
due east from its Iller river bridge
head, captured intact bridge over
the Wertach river at Turkheim and
entered Auberk.
There the Yanks were 20 miles
south of Augsburg, site of a num-
Der of big aircraft and Diesel en-
CINE plants, and Is miles due west
of Munich.