Evening star., 1945-03-23

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Italy, where his troops have stalled
the Allies below Bologna all winter.
Headquarters Blasted.
1t was said at supreme headuuar-
ters last night that Allied aircraft
in a recent attack had virtually re-
duced Won Rundstedt's headquarters
to rubble.
The American 9th, British I'd
and Canadian 1st Armies stood in
massed might along the lower Rhine,
generally half mile or more wide
and up to IS feet deep between
Dusseldorf and Arnhem. The Ger
mans said great parts of the Amer
lean 1st Army were there as we'll:
there was no suggestion from either
side of the whereabouts of the
United States 18th Army and the
Allied 1st Air-borne Army.
The massed power on the lower
Rhine was termed by Berlin the
greatest concentration since Nor
mandy.
The German radio reports of the
northern front were confused and
contradictory. Shortly after mid
night, Berlin said the British and
Canadians launched an all-out as
sault. By dawn, they reported mo
important developments" but indi-
cations that Marshal Montgomery
within the shortest time possible
would launch his grand style at
tack to gain the right bank of the
Rhine. Then further reports said
the assault crossings were started.
Still later reports said Marshal
Montgomery seems to be ready"
At the underlip of the Ruhr, the
American 1st Army's cross Rhine
assault cleared Henef, on the Sieg
River 9 miles east of the Rhine. It's
hold on the left bank of the little
stream heightened to miles. On
the Sieg, the 1st Army was less than
a dozen miles from the Ruhr and
Cologne.
At the southern end of the east
Rhine front, where opposition was
light. the 1st Army advanced up to
miles-rolling up the rivers east
bank toward the Sd Army front.
Sd Army Crossing Imminent.
The Germans said Gen. Patton's
Sd Army had massed amphibious
tanks for an imminent crossing of
the Rhine from the Palatinate. The
1st Army drive up the river would
facilitate such a move.
Gen. Hodges 1st Army captured
more than a score of towns and
villages in the last "a hours and
strengthened his front beyond the
Rhine over pontoon bridges, a
Bailey bridge and a treadway
bridge.
The first wave of German rein
forcements around the Bonn-Rem-
agen bridgehead had fallen off and
their stand around the salient in
inner Germany was deteriorating
slowly. q
Texas and Oklahoma troops of the
Goth Division cleared Mainz and
captured 5000 Germans. The 10th
Armored (Tiger Division, in a Z
mile advance west of Bad Duerk-
helm, took another 5000.
Gen. Patton's Sd Army has count
led 57,905 Germans who surrendered
IN ii days and had many more to be
processed. The 7th Army on the
south had a bag so large it did not
bother to announce its size.
The jaws of the Sd and 7th
Armies were meshing tightly around
the last German stragglers left west
OF the Rhine, bridgeless in that Sec
tor.
The 7th Army's list Division, in
capturing Pirmasens, freed from g.
600 to 5000 French, Polish and Czech
conscript laborers.
Close in on Speyer.
The 10th Armored Division seized
Landau and closed on the Palatinate
capital of Speyer.
Across the Rhine from the Pala-
tinate were such priced cities as
Frankfurt on the Main, II miles
away and within heavy artillery
range; Mannheim (283 ,8O1), a twin
city of Ludwigshafen; Weisbaden
Q72 2,039), miles from Mainz;
Darmstadt Q15, $3.50, IL miles away,
and the storied university city of
Heidelberg, miles away.
Besides capturing Landau, the
10th Armored Division sped miles