The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-02-13
Potton's s Men Get Gotewoys
(Continued from Page D
ogne plain.


 The river still was running over its banks at number of points as a result of the partial demolitions of the Schwammaneul dam below Aachen, and there was no confir- nation of an Atlantic radio report that the three Allied Armies already had opened their attack
 On the U. s. Third Army Front, It. Gen. George s. Pattons troops rooted out the last German snipers from the Siegfried line stronghold of Pruem and extended their bridge heads across the Our and Sure ! rivers below that town, completing the second liberation Of Luxem- bourg.
 Veteran Scottish and English troops, fighting under the Canadian First Army Command, were out in front of Gen. H.D.G. Crerar's of- fenSive, pounding the Germans back steadily beyond the west wall an- chorS of Kleve and Geppen and the : Reichs forest between the two towns.
 2 Sporadic street fighting was con- { tinuing inside Kleve early today, as the Scotties shot and beyoneted a few remaining Nazis from scattered strongpointS in the southwestern edge of the city. All organized re- sistance had ended in Kleve, how ever, although the Nazis blew up the lock gates of the Spoy canal, which bisects the city, in last de- liant gesture.
 Strong armored forces already were 2 1..2 miles south of Kleve on the road to Goch, where they fought their way into the town of Haul 5 1-2 miles from Goch. The Ger mans threw in one strong counter : attack at Hau yesterday but were 2 driven back after a sharp fight. < Other German tank and infantry z forces countered along the south eastern end of the Reichs forest east of Kessel, three miles northwest Of Goch. English and Scottish units advancing eastward from captured Gennep crossed the Niers river in the Kessel area, rolled back the Ger man armor and pressed forward toward Goch.
 Hekkens, two miles west of Kessel was taken in the advance.
 The breakthrough at KeSsel crack. ed the Niers river segment of tho new German defense line and ap. peared to have ended all Nazi hopt for successful stand short of Gocl itself.
 At the northern end of the attacl front, Canadian troops battlec b through waist-deep flood waters tc cut the railway line linking Klev' < with Elten, on the east side of tht , Rhine.
 ' More than 100 miles to the south , Patton's Third Army troops wer' { swinging in through the Pruen , breach in the Siegfried line witt growing power, threatening to forc' a general German withdrawal to thu Rhine, 40 miles to the east. The Americans inside Pruem wer' under heavy fire from German ar tillery, mortars and small arms, bu Tank spearheadS were stabbint across the Pruem river north anc south of the town with the toughes of the Siegfried line defenses be. hind them.
 Thousands Menaced
 The capture of Pruem and it highway network menaced the posi- stion of thousands of Germans hold : ing the Siegfried line to the south { west and observers believed tn, NaziS would have to pull back to tn, Rhine quickly or risk costly fligh later over secondary roads in al : area where the best highways ar, none too good.
 Twenty-one miles southwest o Pruen, units of the U. s. Fourth di { vision broke into Vianden, capturini the entire half of the town lying ol the Luxembourg side of the Ou river. Sizeable enemy forces remain ed in the German side of the town but they were under heavy artiller. z and rifle fire and were not expected to make a prolonged stand there.
 At the southern end of Patton offensive front, Third army force linked up their two bridgehead across the Sure river opposite Ech { ternach and Wollendorf into a Solit 10-mile salient putting almost tw' miles into German soil.
 The only major action reported from the U. s. Seventh Army iron in AlSace was 8 stiff American cOlnter-attack across the Mode river that gained some ground or both sides of Hagenau. Hard fight ing also was continuing inside Ober hoffen, few miles to the southeast after German infantry forces haC succeeded in forcing their way bach aako the factory area.