Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-03-03
MAP on Page As
e. thsAssociated Press

e. theAssoeiated Press.
PARIS. Mar. German troops
blew up all the bridges across the
Rhine in the Dusseldorf area
last night and early today as the
American 9th Army Widened its
front along the great river. The
new NeuSs Bridge, built in 1929
with loans f1oated from the Al
lies, was among those destroyed.
Meanwhile, other American troops
drove to within miles of closing d
Canadian-American trap on parts
of two German armies.
Destruction of the bridges not
only will block a crossing of the
Rhine-at least temporarily-but
will hamper the escape of the
fleeing German remnants.
Field Marshal Won Rundstedt's d.
visions in the north. making up the
LIST Parachute. and 18th Armies,
were reported In headlong retreat
behind rear-guard defenses.
United States 9th Army men
reached the Rhine at new points on
smile sector, burst through Kre-
field and in northward push
reached Geldern. The latter is 5
miles from the Canadian LIST Army
wheeling Germans back across the
Rhine.
Just to the south United States
1st Army tanks and infantry spread
the battle before Cologne into a
dozen more villages and slammed
within easy artillery range of the
great Rhine stronghold along curv-
ing 20-mile front. Last night they
were Az miles from Cologne at one
point.
Attempt to Cross Rhine Reported.
Earlier Berlin reports said 9th
Army forces were attempting to-
span the Rhine, and unofficial re-
ports reaching London said the
Doughboys already had crossed near
Neuss, suburb of shel-ripped Dues
seldorf There was no confirmation
of this report from direct field dis
patches or supreme Allied head
quarters.
In the middle of the western
front, the American Sd Army driv-
ing toward Coblenz advanced up to
80 miles on a 45-mile front and
seized Is more towns and 4600
prisoners.
Americans and Canadians had
seized fully three-fourths of all Ger
man territory west of the Rhine
and north of Aachen. Field dis
patches said Won Rundstedt was
struggling nightly to hold the
Hochwald gap pivot as a Rhine
escape pathway for perhaps 100000
troops of two German armies in this
area
Ninth Army men cut the road
from Krefeld to the excellent Rhine
bridge at Uerdingen to the north
east. They reached the Rhine at
Gartenstadt and captured Lank
Latun.
Nazis Guarding Bridges Surrender.
At NeuSS, farther south, 1869
Germans guarding the rail and
highway bridges to Dusseldorf had
surrendered to the marching fire
attack of 300 Americans.
The I'd Armored and 83d 1nfan-
try Divisions were either on the
Rhine or within rifle range of 1t
from Neuss to Lark Latun, just
south of the bridge at Uerdingen.
Fischeln, south of Krefeld, fell
as the 9Th Army took 5000 prisoners
yesterday.
Nearly 10000 Nazis have been cap
tured in the Allied offensive toward
the Rhine, but mastery retreat
tactics have saved Won Rundstedt
from slaughter similar to the Falaise
Gap.
Cologne and Dusseldorf were
under artillery fire, and Duisburg
was coming within range.
Other Towns Taken.
Ninth Army troops striking north
east of Krefeld won Bruch, Wach-
tendonk, Sevelen and Nieukerk in
addition to Geldern, the latter 5
miles from Canadian Army van
guards at Kevelaer.
Vicious German counterattackS
forced Canadians fighting in the
Hochwald corridor to withdraw
mile at the eastern end, and they
fell back from wood 212 miles from
the strategic Rhine town of Xanten.
But the Germans were pulling
1See WESTERN FRONT. page A-3)