The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-02-07
First, Third
Armies Gain
Against Foe.
Patton Slugs To Within
Three And a Half
Miles OF Prum

PARIS. Feb. O. UP) The U.
First and Third Armies smash
NJ out two-rnile gains at three
main noints of attack along 40
vii, n;Ip front today as the Germans
f;vod West Wall defenses buckled
and crurbled under the steadily
increasing Allied offensive into
Germany.
L. Gen. George S. Patton's
Third Army Doughboys clamped a
strangle-hold on the entire Elfel
mountain range with gains OF near
" two miles along a front extend
Inc from Schlausenbach, five miles
northwest of Prum, southwest to
Lutzkampen, nine miles southeast
Of St. With.
Pattons men at one point have
slugged to within 3 IL miles of
Prum. United Press dispatch
from the Third Army front report
ed and only a few pillboxes were
left before them in the rear de-
lenses of a Siegfried Line belt
which was two miles deep at that
point.
In this area Patton's men storm
ed and captured the German Sieg-
fried fortress towns of Schlausen-
bach, Habscheid, Lutzkampen and
fought off enemy attacks to regain
the vital road hub Of Brandscheid,
five miles east of Prum, which
commands an important network
Of siegfried supply roads.
Ii. Gen. Courtney H. Hodges
First Army tanks and Infantry to
the north also plunged deeper in
10 crumbling West Wall defenses
with two-mile gain northwest of
Steckenborg. All along the perime-
Ter Of the Monschau sector, Hod-
ges' forces were reported break
ing through the enemy's fixed con-
crete and steel Notifications.
In the eastern tip of the Mon
schau salient, the Americans cap
tured Scneuren, one mile north Of
Schlieden, and came within a half
mile Of penetrating the West Wall
pllbox belt on the Olef river
guarding both the main fortress
towns of Schleiden and Gemund.
Allied Supreme Headquarters
announced that 6,912 prisoners
we're taken in the First and Third
Army drives during the four days
ending February 3, and the crumb-
ing Colmar pocket in the south
has yielded another $500 prisoners
IN the past 48 hours alone.
Northwest of Steckenborg, h e
FIRST Army was aiming straight
al the Germans main Roer river
oefenses after having set the stage
LOT an imminent Allied attack
along 75-mile front in the north
oy Selling control of the Roer river
uam system controlling 10000
'onS OF pent-up floodwaters.
Inc attack against the Roer,
speafheaded by k driving
through heavy German minefields,
.ulled northwest of captured Steck-
eenoorg 10 within one mile of
, nVlmldt and within thre miles of
aaSlhg up with the U. S. Ninth
army along the main Roer river
uhF south Of Duren.
me Germans, finding the Sieg-
V V.eu oelenses unable to stop the
s sanAS' soWed the approaches to
ssVl ,, with the most extended
MI rsios OF anti-tank and anti-person-
Ea w. mines ever encountered by
''Ooges First Army forces.
" At this strategic town, the Ger
sst lls >. are hanging grimly to the
, sa, OF the Urft river dam system
ss1alfolling the 1loodwaters of the
W. i winch barred an Allied at
s .sck in the north until Hodges
t so'pS neutralized the entire sys-
s,lli d og SEEING the key Urftalsper-
"li east OF Ruhrberg.
D, sor months the enemy's pill.
m AT 5s. and strongpoints have been
Poo less a barrier TO forcing the
fsn sl IMAM the drowned earth, de-
eou .1d S system TEN whereby t h e dams
10 + flo Unleash cascade of water
l Ia no @ scores of towns and iso-
river any Allied force across the
pe lne b Berlin radio said that the
w f% Allied offensive in the west,
ms l1" oao6 German military spokes,
Njim t@ front from Duren north to
l syed will not long On ''t be - de- e.