The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-01-30
Tanks Annex New Village

New Village
 Continued from Page l)
 Medendorf and Wereth were among the border towns oVerrun by the advancing First Division, all lying in an arc five to II miles northeast of St. With. At least 925 prisoners were taken from midnight Sunday to midnight Monday, First Army headquarters reported.
 The German High Command said American forces broke into our positions after fierce fighting" northeast of St. With. It said the Germans are locked ill heavy fighting against American divisions which are attacking on wide front on either side of St. With.
 To the northwest, Berlin com munique said, Canadian attacks against a German bridgehead in the Gertruidenberg area of the lower MaaS were broken up by artillery fire. The Germans re- ported heavy fighting in that sec tor, and said several Allied attacks were repulsed along the Roer river.
 Suicide Squads
 Nazi suicide squads left to take the full weight of the American on- Slaught were overwhelmed as the doughboyS, Straddling tank turrets and tank deStroyerS, charged head on through their lines. Most of the enemy positions were cleared at bayonet point and at last re- ports the First Division was on or within a mile or so of the border all along it's front.
 South of St. With, It. Gen George s. Pattons Third Army Division now holding most of the Ardennes front, moved up to the Our river line that marks Germanys border with Luxembourg and southern Bill gium.
 One of Patton's SpearheadS forced the river at Oberhausen, nine miles below St. With and pushed ahead into the forefield of the Siegfried Line. A second crossing was re- ported to have been made eight miles farther south, against heavy fire from German machine guns and field artillery.
 Maspelt, four miles south of St. | With, Kalborn, four miles below | Oberhausen, Roder, 3A mics south of Kalborn, and PutScheld, seven miles farther south, all were Cap- tured in the general advance.
 Field reports said staggering quantities of arms and ammunition were moving up into the Allied rear there was every indication that all along the western front and major blows coordination with the Russian offensive were being pre- pared.
 Spearheaded by more than 1,150 American heavy bombers and TOO odd fighters that ripped Up half dozen German railway yards, the Allied air fleets bombed and burned rail and road installations along 400-mile arc from Bremen down to the Swiss border.
 The biggest blow of the day was struck by American fighter-bomb- CTS that bounced on a mile-long columns of German tanks and mo- tor vehicles fleeing into the reich some 10 miles eaSt-SoutheaSt of St. With. The raiders destroyed or dam aged more than half the 2000 vehi- | cles sighted in the area.
 French Take COImar
 There was no official headquarters | report on the progress of the French | First Army attack in Alsace. but | United Press dispatches relayed from Mulhouse through Bern. Swift zerland, said Colmar was taken by the French yesterday.
 The French also were reported | pushing up steadily into the south ern flank of the NaZi salient from 1 Mulhouse, 21 miles south of Col mar German 11-inch guns, the dis patches said, bombarded Mulhouse heavily on Sunday. Causing wide spread damage in residential dis trictS.
 The U. S. Seventh Army front farther north remained quiet for the third straight day as the Ger mans there fell back on the defen- sive after 25 days of furious fighting that gained the enemy some French soil at cost of an estimated 10000 casualties. including 3.300 prisoners. More than l30 Nazi tanks were de- stroyed and 50 damaged in that period
 Seventh Army headquarters also dis"losed that Brig. Gen Anthony C. McAuline. who led the lOlSt air borne division during it's stand at in the battle of the Ar dennes. had assumed command of the 103rd infantry division in Alsacc
 McAuliffe replaced Maj Gen. C. Haffner, Jr., a Chicago banker in civilian life, who relin- quishcd his command because of i'll health.