Evening star., 1945-02-13
Western Front
Continued From First Page.

the Rhine plain" the German Army
radio said today, 'stupendous forces
massed west of Dueren and Juelich
are to carry our enemies to the
Rhine. Twelve pioneer battalions
are along and huge quantities OF
bridge construction equipment as
we'll as fresh and reconditioned in
fantry forces are awaiting the signal
to strike"
Already 78 combat divisions COM
posed of more than a million troops
have been identified on the western
front. Of these, So are American
divisions.
Last of Luxembourg Cleared.
The last of Luxembourg was
cleared with the capture of Vianden
by the Sd Army, giving Gen. Eisen-
hover a continuous l45-mile front
inside Germany from Karken to
near Saarbruecken.
The Canadians, British and
Scots powering Field Marshal
Montgomery offensive in the north
had plunged clear through the
formidable Reichswald's thick
masses of fir trees to the eastern
edge. Weather was foul. Rains
and foundations from the Rhine
tended to slow the pace of Mont
gomery's divisions rolling up the
Germans west of the Rhine.
The Canadians, called water
rats" because they were wading
and riding amphibious craft
through from l to feet of water
in the lowlands, drove to Griet-
hausen, less than a mile from the
Rhine and 2 from Emmerich. The
town is 101a miles inside Germany
and close to the rail bridge from
Kleve to Emmerich across the
river.
Prisoners passed 5000; enemy
dead were piling up fast on the
water-logged battlefield. The Ger
mans for the first time committed
tanks.
Nazis Triple Forces.
A battle dispatch from the Kleve
front said the Germans had tripled
their defense forces in that area
and now were employing seven crack
divisions. These were the I'd, 9Th
and 7th Parachute; the 116th Panzer
(tank), the 18th Panzer Grenadier
and the 84th and 180th Infantry.
Of these, the 84th Infantry was
mauled severely in opening rushes
of Marshal Montgomery offensive
The 9Th Parachute Division came
from Holland, the 7th from Alsace
and other reinforcements from vari-
Gus parts of the western front.
The Germans counterattacked all
the. way from Kleve to south of the
Reichswald and suffered heavy cas-
ualties, but failed to stop the slow
but steady advances of the Allies
Where his troops failed, the foe
used water in vain efforts to halt
the onslaught. Dykes were blown
on the Rhine at Millingen and
north of Nijmegen.
British troops on the Canadian
south flank thrusting down the
highway to Goch I'll ,700) from cap
tured Gennep hit a wall OF German
resistance near Kessel, 4 miles from
Goch, a devastated center of IL
highways and railroads. Some Allied
units, however, were reported less
than miles from Goch.
Swinging southeast of battered
Kleve without waiting for final
the Canadians captured
Hau, miles below Kleve and within
% miles of Wesel, a city of 25,0O0
and an important highway and rail
center in the northwest corner OF
the Ruhr.
Mile after mile of the northern
front was under water.
At the opposite end of Gen Eisen-
hower's lines, the Germans fought
back into a factory stronghold in
Oberhoffen. near the Rhine, Is miles
north of the Alsatian capital of
Strasbourg.
1t. Gen. Courtney H. Hodges 1st
Army front, lis miles south of
Kleve, was static along the flooded
Roer and at the dams on the head
waters. The Americans reached the
last two dams, the Heimbach and
Ober Maubach, on the Roer head
waters.
I'VE still have only what is off,
cially called domination of two of
the dams, but have physical posses
sion of none of them" Associated
Press Correspondent E. D. Ball re-
ported from 1st Army headquarters
This despite inaccurate and mis-