Evening star., 1945-01-23
Il or More Towns
Are Seized on
Western Front
MAP on Page A-3.)
By the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
PARIS, Jan. 23.-American 1st
Army tanks plunged into st.
With at dawn today and Ameri-
can fighter -bombers for the sec
ond straight day continued re-
lentless attacks on German COL
umns routed from the Ardennes
salient.
There was house-to-house fight
ing in st. With, but the 7th Armored
Division was expected to capture
that last Belgian road center from
the Germans momentarily.
BY midday, the United States 9th
Air Force had destroyed 302 trucks,
four tanks and armored vehicles and
damaged 119 other tanks. That
raised the two-day aerial toll on the
fleeing Germans to 4,583 pieces of
heavy equipment, enough for an
entire panzer army. 1t surpassed
the destruction in the Falaise Gap
last summer.
British Near Roer.
The British I'd Army to the north
moved to within less than miles
of the Roer and the road junction
of Heinsberg, capturing nine towns
within 80 miles of Dusseldorf.
The American Sd Army closed
swiftly against the ramparts OF the
Siegfried Line opposite the Our
River, bounding Germany and Lux
embourg. In all, 81 or more towns
fell to the Americans, British and
French-the latter moving up
through deep snow into the Colmar
pocket south of Strasbourg.
A lst Army staff officer estimated
the Germans had suffered at least
$50, 900 casualties and lost from 800
to 800 tanks since their offensive
started in mid-December. Prison.
ers alone passed the $4,000 mark.
Khe Americans entered ST. With,
important communications center,
just a month and two days after
Field Marshal Won Rundstedt cap
tured the town along with thousands
of Americans
Entire Perimeter Under Attack.
st. With is the hub of seven high
ways and two railroads and the Ger
mans until yesterday had fought
desperately to hold it, their last
stronghold of any consequence In
the last to 6 mile strip of the bulge
The whole perimeter of the Ar
dennes salient was under attack and
the Germans rushed up tank ele-
ments in an effort to hold back the
attackers while pulling out the last
Of their infantry and supply columns
On the southern flank of the
Ardennes, American Sd Army troops
pulled up to within a mile of Wan
den and the German border in ad-
vances ranging up to miles.
The British to the north menaced
the last major German road center
west Of the stream by moving to
within 2 miles Of Heinsberg.
The Germans still were pressing
against the United States 7th Army
in Northern Alsace, but Supreme
Headquarters said that the front
from Bitche to Haguenau to Stras-
bourg remained substantially un-
changed, with actions limited to
local engagements. There was no
confirmation of Berlin declara-
ton that the Germans had cap
tured the major base of Haguenau,
Is miles north of Strasbourg.
Nu1hn C,,hr,rhc 0,,A
French Poilus attacking the
southern rim of the Colmar pocket
cleared out the main suburbs. OF
Muihouse and reached Cernay. They
overran German strongholds else
where along the line.
cThe Germans asserted that
besides Haguenau they had cap
tured Niederbronn, Reichshof-
fen, Woerth, Surburg and Soultz
and had broken through the
Maginot Line on a 40-mile front.
They said, moreover, that the 7th
Army "is in full retreat"
(Other Berlin broadcasts ex-
pressed concern that Gen. Eisen-
hover appears to be doing
everything to start new western
offensive" to synchronize with the
Russian ohensive.)
First Army patrols which entered
st. With at daybreak had been
checked temporarily by road blocks.
On the south, elements of the Sd
Army's 17th Air-borne Division
closed to within miles southwest
of the town.
The 7th Armored Division and
supporting infantry captured Hun
nangen last night and moved over
the intervening 1,500 yards into st.
With early today.
The loss Of st. With would rob the
Germans of the last remaining
strategic advantage gained by their
December offensive, which before
yesterdays massacre had cost them
10000 casualties, 600 tanks and
assault guns and ITO planes by AL
lied count. Beyond st. With there
is no natural defense zone short
Of their original starting point.
The retreating Germans were sub
jected to terrible attrition by the
Allied air forces and by American
artillery, moving close behind the
infantry Heavy shellfire was poured
into Nazi ranks from Long Toms
and heavy howitzers.
The 84th Infantry Division en-
tered the road junction of Beho, Z
miles southwest of st. With. To the
west OF st. With the 30th Division
captured Neider- -Emmels and Ober-
EmmelS.
The IA divisions of 1t. Gen. Sir
Miles G. Dempsey's British I'd
Army captured at least nine towns
i One additional man from
the District area has been
reported killed In this ,cdr. See |
@On the Honor Roll" Page AZ.