Evening star., 1945-02-09
MAP ON Page A-4.)
BY the Associated Press.

MAP ON Page A-4)
By the Associated Press.
PARIS, Feb. 9-The Canadian
1St Army's powerful new offen-
sive today penetrated at least ~
miles into Germany and well into
the Siegfried Line, forming the
northern jaw of an Allied pincer
drive against the Ruhr.
Burning Kleve, northern terminal
Of the Siegfried Line, was immi-
nently menaced. The new attack
front widened to miles. Formid-
able forest defenses in the Reichs-
wald, considerably weakened by a
terrific artillery and air lombard
ment, were being mopped up swiftly.
Five German and two Dutch towns
fell. More than 1900 Germans, in
cluding two battalion commanders,
surrendered
Reuters quoted a radio dis
patch as saying Allied parachute
troops had landed in the Reichs-
wald Forest.)
U. S. 1st Army Advances.
The American 1st Army IS miles
to the south advanced to within
a mile of the vast Schwammenauel
Dam, controlling flood waters on
the Roer Rivera barrier to the
Ruhr and the Cologne plain.
The Sd Army advanced to within
q mile of Pruem and reached the
Pruem River miles inside the
Reich.
The French 1st Army broke the
last German opposition south of
Strasbourg and drew up to the Up
per Rhine banks on a 9O-mile front
from north of Strasbourg to Switz-
erland.
Like an avalanche which moves
slowly at first, Gen. Eisenhower's Of
fensive along the western front was
gathering power.
German broadcasts said the Ca
nadians had preached Nazi lines in
a large-scale offensive. The weight
of Allied attacks on other fronts also
was said by Berlin to be increasing.
Momentum Unchecked.
The British and Canadian troops
of Gen. Henry Crerar's Canadian 1st
Army were fighting less than miles
from the elbow of the Rhine. In
fantry, flame throwers and tanks
met tough opposition in spots, but
at no point were the Germans able
to check their momentum.
The British, cracking into the
Reichswald from the northwest, ov-
erran Galgensteen and advanced be-
yond it. The Canadians after a
rough fight in Zyflich advanced well
to the east of it in the deepest new
penetration of Germany within
miles of Kleve
Kleve is the northern terminal of
the permanent Siegfrlend Line de-
fenses. It lies IS miles northwest of
Duisburg, gateway to the industrial
Ruhr-always Germany's main ar
senal, but of increased Importance
now that the Russians have overrun
the industries of Silesia and the
United States Sd Army has inter-
dicted much of the Saarland's pro-
duction.
Drive on Grand Scale.
The Canadian 1st Army offensive
was in grand scale force and it. was
the first time that the 1st Army,
heavily bolstered by British troops,
had been turned from its left-hank
anchor role and hurled eastward
against the Reich.
The Canadians smashed across
the fiat, sodden German frontier
roughly at the same distance north
west of Dusseldorf and the Ruhr as
the American break-through toward
the Rhine southwest of the Ruhr.
At least in it's first stage, the new
onslaught of Gen. Crerar's troops
was focused along a Smile stretch
of the Nijmegen-Kleve road skirt
ing the northern edge of the As
square-mile Reichswald to the Nil
megen-Venlo road past the south
western end of the fortified forest.
Kranenberg on the Nijmegen-
Kleve road, a mile and half inside
Germany and S miles from Kleve,
was captured In the deepest re-
ported penetration. The town is 8
miles from the Rhine.
Other Towns Overrun.
Along with Kranenberg, Gen.
Crerar's shock troops overran Wyler,
Zyfhich, Erlehom, Bruk, Denheuvel
and Gelgensteeg-some on the
Dutch and some on the German
side of the border.
Resistance was spotty on the
north side Of the Canadian attack
but stiff around Bruk, on the edge
of the Reichswald farther south
Enemy troop trains moving up to
the periled sector were under at
tack by Allied airmen. The Often
sive was powered by creeping ar
tillery barrage, guns firing wheel
to wheel.
The Germans had dug intricate
mazes of trenches and tank traps
and laid extensive ninef1elds.
Casualties were described ofncially
as light. Every indication was that
the Germans were caught by sur
prise, at least by the force Of the on
slaught, which was preceded by an
11-hour barrage and bombing and
straf1ng attacks by. at least l,5OO
Three additional men from
the District area haDe been