The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-02-17
French Drive On Nozi Ruhr
(Continued from Page D

(COntlnued rom Page D fantrymen moved out of their muddy foxholes while the bombs were still falling up ahead and be- gan roofing daZed Nazi troopers out of the wreckage of houses and earthWorks all along the attack front.
 On their left flank, Crerar's troops captured Huisberden, four miles northwest of Calcar, while other units pushing down the main road from KleVe were reported barely two miles north of Calcar.
 Farther west, British units at tacking down the Kleve-U -Uedem road uncovered a weak spot in the NaZi defenses and won a local break through. They swept in behind the Germans crack 116th panzer di- vision, split the Nazi armor and rolled almost four miles down the highway to within striking distance of the lateral Calcar-Gocn road. At that point they were nearing the crossroads hamlet of Lindhoyen, only three miles northwest of Uedem.
 Scottish riflemen at the center of the line burst out of the southeast ern corner of the Reichs Forest and fought their way more than a mile southWard toward Goch. They broke into Asperden and Hervorst, both about two miles northwest of Goch, and cleared most of the two towns at bayonet point in a matter of hours.
 Hundreds of bomb -crazed Germans were reported sCrrendering, although at some points the NaZi commanders mustered small tank and infantry formations and attempted localized counter attacks, all unsuccessful.
 300 PricOners
 In the first few hours after the bombing, upwards of 300 prisoners were rounded up and the bag was reported mounting hourly.
 About ITO of the captives surren- dcred in group when the ScotS broke into Asperden. They swarmed up out of cellars and pillboXes throughout the town screaming "kamerad' and gave up without a fight.
 Farther west toward the Maas. other British forces expanded their br!dgeheadS across the Niers river and pushed out almost two miles southeast of Hommersum. capturing Muol and driving int othe nearby village of Herboret.
 Preliminary reports on the great aerial strik e,Which extended beyoncl the Canadian First Army front east ward into Germany and south to Alsace, revealed that the Allied tliers destroyed or damaged at least POO locomotives and 1900 railway cars.
 In addition, they were believed to have piled up heavy losses among the Nazi divisions maSsed in the gateway to the Ruhr, and the effec; of the bombing and strafing on the German front-line troops was clear ly evident in the weakened resist ance this morning
 Elsewhere on the long western front, both sides were sparring eau tiously in the pr -limmary phases Of the all-out offensive that was ex- pected to explode irto the German wesV wall at almost any hour.
 There were no major changes on the Roer river front before the Col ogne plain or on the American Third ana Seventh army lines to the south.
 It. Gen. George s. Patton's Third Army troops maintained their initia- tive in the Sure river bridgeheads northeast of Echternach, gaining about a half nile more at soma points into high ground overlooking the Pruem river. Almost 30 miles tc the north, they beat off German attack on the Hermespand bridge across the Pruem river three miles ,,nrt hoact Of tha town of PrlIem