Evening star., 1945-04-01
Western Front
Continued From First Page J

was fighting eastward against stiff
resistance.
The crossing of the French was
made in the vicinity of Speyer.
Seventh Army armored and in
fantry forces which stormed down
the highway toward Karlsruhe,
passed Ketsch and reached Hocken-
helm in a 4-mile dash in which the
French were contacted.
The new United States 18th Army
took its place in the battle lines
at an undisclosede sector of the
front, putting Ave American armies
in action.
The United States 7th Army
struck soft spot in German lines
and surged Is miles eastward,
crossing the Tauber River at two
points IS miles west Of Wuerzburg
and was 130 miles west of the Nazi
shrine city of Munich and only Ct
miles from the Nazi party's old
rallylng grounds at Nuremberg.
May Cut Of Nazis.
lllS COllSGI lcu dSodulU. ny Vic
Americans and the French threat
ened to block the Nazi leaders from
the presumed intention Of making
final stand in the mountain fast
neSseS of Bavaria
The British I'd Army, racing
more than so miles beyond the
Rhine with three armored divisions
in the van, was under a news black
out but was believed either fight
ing in Muenster or midway be-
tween Muenster and the Ruhr's
easternmost city of Hamm.
At the extreme northwestern end
Of the Trans Rhine front, the Ca
madam 1st Army was 10 miles be-
yond the river and driving into Hol-
land with gathering speed, liberat-
ing a half dozen Dutch towns yes
terday afternoon as it closed on Arm
hem.
In the face of this mounting
threat the Germans were clearing
out of all North Holland west of
Arnhem and heading back for the
Reich, Dutch civilians told their lib
orators.
For the Allies, it was the bright
est Easter of the war, for the Ger
mans the gloomiest.
Thousands of Nazis Surrender.
The Germans were laying down
their arms by the thousands. The
1st Army took ll,206 prisoners yes
terday, the Sd Army added at least
10000 more, the 7th took 1900
and the British I'd 1,500 a total
of $4,000 prisoners in 70 hours.
The retreat from the Ruhr had
begur-too late-and fleeing con-
voys were bombed and strafed from
dawn to dusk.
Possibly the last great battle of
the war west of the Ruhr Valley
boiled over the fields south of DORIS
ten, where the 9th Armored Divi-
sion slugged with the cutoff and
doomed German 116th PanZer Divi-
sion.
The I'd Armored Division covered
80 miles in 36 hours to make its
tactical junction with the United
States 1st Army, which was battling
In Paderborn against the first real
enemy resistance since it's break
through from the Rhine six days
ego.
3 Munitions Cities By-Passed.
i 1t by-passed all the big munitions
cities of the Ruhr-Essen, biggest of
them all; Dusseldorf, Hamm, Dort-
nund, Duisburg-and cut across the
fertile fields of the Westphalian
plain at such a clip that one Ger
man headquarters was found de-
ssrted with a half-eaten meal on
the table.
ssIt rolled on through the moon
lisht of Friday night, turning the
battle into an obstacle race with a
determination to end the war and go
home.
sssIt had bulled through a troop
hacked front and dashed ahead just
as it did when it was 1t. Gen. George
s. Patton's outfit in North Africa
and Sicily and in the way 1t struck
across the plains of France and later
aefoss the Ruhr.
In the Ruhr itself, however, back
"a the old bridgehead area, the 9th
Army still was up against some hare
fighting. Despite this tough re.
sistance the 9th's -tnfantrymer
cleared the last German soldier
from Bottrop. only 4 miles north.
west of Essen.
Only Miles From Kassel.
Ken. Patton had two Of his ar.
u0red divisions the famed 4th Ar.