The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-04-11
Third Drives
To 50 Miles
From Czechs
Two Armies in Race For
Berlin Are 10 Miles
From Goal

The U. S. Ninth Army, in a neck
and neck race with the American
First Army pushed toward Ber-
lin, quickly toppled Germany's
18th city of Hanover yesterday
and swept on % miles into Bruins
Wick's outskirts at point only
los miles from the Reich capital.
While tank units of the Ninth
also overran Slaughter, site Of the
Goaring steel works 10 miles SOUTH
west of imperilled Brunswick, U.
S. FRS. Army troops in a 4O-mile
advance on the south smashed into
Nordhausen and likewise struck
within ITO miles of Berlin with the
seizure of localities near Auleven.
as miles west of Halle and 81 miles
from Leipzig.
Further south the U. S. Third Ar
my, capturing 285 members Of the
German Foreign Ministry at Much
lhausen, rolled ON and reached
the outskirts of Erfurt and Coburg,
so miles from the Czechoslovakian
frontier in the swelling drive to
split Germany.
Thousands Of Allied war planes
were aiding the explosive advan-
ces into the heart Of Germany and
destroyed 377 German planes dur
ing the day.
In the north the British Second
Army sent tank columns across
the shattered Weser river line north
of fallen Hanover, city of nearly
a half,million population, and
reached the Aller river at a point
within so miles Of Hamburg, great
German port. Berlin said units OF
this army already had crossed the
lower Aller and were only so miles
from Hamburg.
To the west the Canadians plung-
ed within Is miles Of the seaport OF
Emden in their race to close the
last corridor leading into Holland
where between 100000 and 200, 900
Germans are pocketed. Other units
fought deeper into Holland iteslf.
At the southern end Of the 400
mile front curving deep into Ger
many, the U. S. Seventh Army
struck within As miles of the Dan
ube headwaters and the French
First Army captured Pforsheim,
IS miles southeast of Karlsruhe
and % miles from the big COM
munic ations center of Stuttgart.
Elements of the First and Ninth
Army fought savage rear actions
as they compressed the shrinking
Ruhr pocket where 100000 Ger"
mans were trapped. Field dis.
patches said the Germans were fly
ing in old. planes by night and try
ing to rescue key officers and per-
sonnet
General Eisenhower headquar-
tiers, in a broadcast declaring that
German resistance in the west
has collapsed" called on the Ger
man population in the big ports in
the north to keep fanatical Nazis
from destroying what's left OF those
city's dock installations.
1t. Gen. William H. Simpsons
Ninth Army Doughboys riding cap
tured German half-tracks stormed
and captured Hanover, which
gave the current English monarch
ial line to Britain. Troops of the
84th Infantry Division under Maj.
Gen. Alexander Boiling made the
quick conquest of the city which
mostly was a pile of bricks after
five yea1s of constant bombing.
Thousands of the city's peacetime
population of 472.527 still were liv-
ing in the ruins.
Elements of the veteran Both Di-
vision, sweeping around Hanover,
cut the autobahn midway between
there and Brunswick and then
captured Vechelade, only five
miles east of Brunswick. The
stroke put these troops within 10
miles of Berlin.
The Ninth's Second Armored Di-
vision farther south crashed
through hastily erected Nazi
mountain deferses and captured
points only 10 miles from Bruns-
wick as they began epveloping op-
erations against that key road juno
ton city.
The rapid Ninth Army gains put
that fighting outfit only 100 miles
from Russian troops along the oder
river eastof Berlin.
1t. Gen Courtney H. Hodges
First Army tank columns dashing
toward a juncture with the Rus
SLAMS swept eastward Is miles to a
point within 50 miles of the Elbe
river, entering Nordhausen.
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