The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-01-15
Capture Of Belgian
 Base Near At Hand
Continued from Page lJ

German counter blows below the town drove the Vanguard of the Trird Army out 0; Noville, five miles south of Houffali2c, only a few hours after the town was cap- tured.
 Ice. snow, bitter cold and fog which prevented air support slowed down the concerted drives by the First Third and British Second armies which were squeezing the Germans out Of the salient,
 Vanguards of the three armies were barely two to four miles from Houffalize early today and closing in from all sides at a speed that fore shadowed It's capture within a mat ter of hours.
 Strong German rear guards cover- Ing the town were reported trying desperately to flee over secondary roads to St. With, IS miles to the northeast, where Marshal Karl Won Rundstedt was rallying the rem nants Of his battered armies for an- other stand
 (Front and Shaef reports did not make clear the situation west oi Housfalize or whether the new juno tons of the armies had cut off any German troops. The best informa- ton indicated, however, that th' pressure on the sides of the Salien' had squeezed the Germans eastward and most If not all Of them hat withdrawn to or beyond the latera line through HouffaliZe.
 St. With itself the last German stronghold on Belgian soil, was men, aced by American First Army col umns fighting slowly down across the northeastern shoulder of tht salient from the Malmedy- -Stavelo' area.
 Field dispatches said the First Army troops had captured L!gneau highway junction slightly mort than six miles north northwest o' St. With. and fought their way into Thirimont, seven miles north of St With. Half of T'hirimont was report ed in American hands this morning after a day and night of savage fighting, with German tanks ant Infantry still counter-a attacking II force.
 Bad Weather
 Bad weather grounded the Alliet Air Forces early today, and the Ger mans used the respite to the full tt help extricate the threatened Panze' divisions holding the center Of tn, salient
 The juncture of the American First and Third armies was effected at an unidentified spot between L' Roche and Houffalizc almost month to the day after the start 0 the German counter offensive tha split the American fronts and forcet a division of It. Gen, Omar N. Brad ley's l2th army group command.
 Units of the British Second Army rushed down from the north whel Field Marshal Sir Bernard l.. Mont gomery stepped into the breach, als were in contact with the two Ameri can armies west of Houffalize.
 A strong task force Of the U. $ Second armored division, pushin down from the First Army's north ern flank, made the nearest ap proach to Houffalize this morning driving down the main hlghWa from Grandmenil to take WilognC 2,s miles to the north. The Secont armored column pushed on south o Wilogne against spotty German re sistance and may already nav reached Houffalise.
 German resistance was crackin all around Hollfalize under the re lentless Allied pounding, but fiel' dispatches said the NaziS still Wer fighting fanatically to prevent al American breakthrough at St. Vltl that would envelop most, if not al of their covering forces to the west
 Marshal Karl von Rundstedt ap peared to have written of tn thousands of NaA infantrymen an scores of tanks still fighting a stub born rear guard action aroun HouffalIze in an effort to extricat his hand picked SS Panzer dtvi sions from the collapsing salient
 Roads damned
 The few secondary roads leadin eastward from Houffallze that ha not been cut by the Allies were re ported damned with German armc and motorized columns racing bac toward the Seigfried line to escap destruction at the hands of tn converging Aermican and Brits armies.
 Headquarters observers indicate the wtly Rundstedt was hoping reform on a line extending alon the German border from the s With area to Vianden, 25 miles the south.
 The German withdrawal VI aided early today by heavy grouIl fog that shackled the Allied a forces and prevented a reptaition yesterdays heavy aerial assault thi filtered the Ardiennes with u wreckage of hundreds of Nan tanl and troop carriers.
 The main weight of the America attack again fell upon the n0rtl namkAs.va nrrpaNP ef kf4A aniiank WyffAf