The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-04-14
Third Drives
To 80 Miles
From Soviiets
Y,nks Racing Across Cen
,ral Section Without
Opposition

p.p1s Saturday. April 14-CP9
Tho u S. Third Army severed
II direct reads and railways be-
s sn Berlin and southern Ger
m s" Yesterday with a dazzling
29.mile eastward drive that all out
snlit the Reich in half.
If Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.'
struck with all his wonted Jury
cutting the Munich-Berlin super
hiahwav and two railways and
driving a wedge of steel within
sO miles of the Russian lines and
~ miles of the Saxon capital OF
Dresden.
ING both Berlin and the Czecho-
slovakian munitions city of Pilsen,
and driving hard against the last
lines of retreat over which the
Germans were reported streaming
southwark for Bavaria and the
final big battle of the war
patton's columns, their exact
positions masked in secrecy, were
believed already 80 miles east OF
the western tip of Czechoslovakla
and racing unopposed across the
waist of Germany about 81 miles
north Of that Balkan democracy's
northern frontier.
Rocketing eastward almost I'M
opposed, the Fourth Armored Di'
vision hurdled the Nude river II
miles northwest Of the big commu'
nications center of Chemnitz, whose
fall would cut the last main rail
way leading from Berlin to south
ern Germany and the Bremen
Pass
Farther north, his Sixth Armor'
ed Division was outflanking Der
lin itself, reaching the Nude riv'
er southeast of embattled Leipzig
and about IS miles due south Of
Berlin.
German positions in the wes'
were disintegrating fast.
The U. S. Ninth Army rolled uI
to the Elbe river on 10O-mlle
tront-thrust within As miles O.
Berlin-and fought a roaring bat
tie on the east bank.
The U. S. First Army opened
the battle Of Leipzig, now bypass
ed by the Third Army, and charged
eight miles through it's stiff de
lenses to within seven miles o
the city, where an estimated /,
100000 persons, many of then
bombed out refugees from Berlin
covered in air raid shelters ant
easements.
The U. S. Ninth Army was abou
Us miles from the Russians, ant
the First Army was lis mile
away
Patton's troops were believed t
De cutting straight across German.
81 miles north of the Czechoslc
YAK border, and 115 miles abov
me big Skoda munitions town c
pIsen.
Pilots reported Germans on tn
north German plain in retrea
eastward from as far away a
aueoeck. l35 miles northwest {
Berlin.
Inc enemy on the north Gel
nah plain was in the greatest i'm
mediate peril from the U. S. Mint
urn nThy, Which after crossing tn
s nv thursday, brought up a ste,
III. with one tremendous 6O-mil
1--WE :. mat reached the river mort
" -ae crossings and much close
to Berlin.
+. Inc Elbe bridgehead, ST mile
,r 0'l n.,. me capital, was being bui
NY swiftly as the Germans turne
anu noa.l ralned blows on the America
bp .sl' trying to drive the,
u usek into the river. A field di
t ys'ca said despite the resistanc
s s.e Berlin drive would be resun
oo Pack Of racing Third Army tar
N GlunhS' historic Jena. whe,
vspoleon won one of his create
STORES Jtttsor!es, fell after a short fer,
CIR Ar opposition to It. &c
s s',Ss S. Patton's onrushing forc
suddenly vanished, bols sr1al5 lpie :
p ms1 Of that front that the C.
that ar air force had revolted al
been n s1aunsa Of its pilots h;
troopers. W % (Ellt
, s ,ton,. the First Army front can
BeS story Ct an abortiye = rev revolt Id''
v er,n early in March, q Cen sHrr
"0'nan refugee from the i o c.ni,
"0h''nued on Page Two; Col