Imperial Valley press., 1945-02-09
Canadians Launch
.SIashing Attack
Tanks Lead Off;
On to Cologne

PARIS, Feb. 8. (UP)-
Armored and infantry divi-
sions of the Canadian First
army broke into the northern
flank of the Siegfried line
Friday in a full-scale offens-
i've that carried forward al
most five miles on a six mile
front aimed squarely at the
German Ruhr and Rhineland.
Advancing steadily behind
a screen of flame-throwing
tanks, veteran British and
Canadian infantrymen spilled over
the German border southeast of
Nijmegen and drove several spear
heacs deep into the Reichswald
forest.
Vanguards of the attacking force
were reported halfway through the
forest early Friday, imperilling the
twin strongholds OF Cleve and Goch
that fern the northern anchor of
Germany's west wall.
First army paratroops, fighting as
infantrymen, were reported to have
pushed almost five miles into the
forest from the west to within about
four miles southwest of Cleve and
5la miles northwest of Goch.
German resistance, softened and
in. some places paralyzed by a thun-
dering Allied aerial and artillery
bombardment. showed few signs of
stiffening Fricay morning ~ hours
after the start of the offensive that
promised to set the whole western
front ablaze.
RUSH IN RESERVES
Aerial reconnaissance indicated.
however, that the Germans were
recovering from their initial sur
prise and were beginning to rush
reserves in the threatened area.
At least seven towns, two of them
German, were captured in the first
IL hours of the advance and one
Allied column on the northern flank
of the assault line was reported
less than three miles from the Rhine
crossing town of Millingen.
The outer belt of the Siegfried
Notifications already had been
cracked and field dispatches indi-
Gated that the flooced, Soggy ter
rain was proving almost as great
a barrier as the Germans to the
Allies forward progress.
Headquarters spokesman made it
clear that the big push was on to
break open Germany's western
front in coordination with the Red
army march on Berlin from the
east.
The combined Anglo-C Canadian
forces of General H. D. G. Crerar's
Canadian First army went over to
the attack against the northern
corner of the Siegfrieo wall at a
moment when jittery Nazi spokes-
men were predicting an offensive
farther south on the British Sec
ond and American Ninth army
fronts.
HEAD FOR COLOGNE
Berlin said the British and Amer
ican armies maSsed along the Roer
were deploying for a grand assault
on the Cologne plain.
Still farther south, the American
First army broke through the Sieg-
! fried cefenSes covering the Roer
river dams while Lieutenant Gen.
eral George S. Patton's Third army
/ preached the west wall on an eight
mile front before Pruem and won
10 crossings of the Sure and Our
river lines between Luxembourg
and Germany.
At the bottom of the Allied front,
all organized German resistance
enced suddenly in southern Alsace,
where a combined French and AM
erican army cleared out the Colmar
pocket after more than a month OF
fierce fighting.
The Canadian First army offens-
i've opened shortly after midnight
Thursday morning when a great
fleet of British heavy bombers
thundered across the battle lines
! to splatter more than 1000 tons OF
bombs Gown on Cleve and Goch.