The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-12-07
RHINE CROSSINGS

met at Malta in early Febru- ary preliminary to a meeting with President Roosevelt, Prime Min ister Churchill, and Marshal Stalin in the ARGONAUT Conference at Yalta a few days later. En route to the conference, I met General Eisenhower briefly at a secret rendezvous near Marseilles where we discussed the future plans that were later approved at Malta, pro- viding for the closing of the Rhine, the destruction of enemy forces west of the river, the seizure of bridgeheads across the river in the north and south and coordi- mated drives into the heart of Germany. At Yalta the general plan for the final destruction of Nazi Germany was established.
 In executing General Eisen- hower's plan, a coordinated drive by the First Canadian Army from the Nijmegen bridgehead along the watershed between the Mouse and the Rhine was necessary and an attack, by the Ug s. Ninth Army across the Roer toward Dusseldorf was to follow shortly afterward. On 8 February the First Canadian Army began it's attack following heavy air and artillery preparation. In!tally, the Canadian advance was rapid, but flooded terrain delayed the start of the Ninth Army attack, per-. mitting the enemy to concentrate against the Canadians.
 In preparation for the Ninth Army offensive, the Tactical and Strategic Air Forces flew almost 10000 sorties on g February, cov- ering rail and transportation tar gets throughout a the length and breadth of Germany. These blows from British, French, and Italian bases were designed to paralyze the German rail system and iso- late the Western Front. The next day the Ninth Army attack was launched and, although there was some delay in establishing bridge heads over the flooded Roer, the general progress was quite rapid. By March Roermond and Muchen- -Gladbach were captured and the following day armored columns reached the Rhine north and south of Dusseldorf. Mean while, in the Prum-Tr!er area, the Third Army drove across the Our and Saur Rivers, capturing Prum on 13 February. Success sive bridgeheads were established across the Saar and the Kyll Riv- CTS and on 2 March Trier fell to our troops. From the launching of the operations on February to 1 March more than 66,000 Ger man prisoners were captured by the Northern and Central Army Groups.
 Remagen Bridgehead a Windfall
 Advancing on the right of the Ninth Army, the First Army cap tured the ruins of Cologne on 2 March against stout resistance. On the same day clements of it's 9th Armored Division, probing to the Rhine further south, found the LudenGorff Bridge at Remagen in tact and immediately crossed to the east bank, developing a small bridgehead. Such windfall had been hoped for but not expected The prompt seizure and explo.ta- tion of the crossing demonstrated American initiative and adapta- bility at it's best, from the daring action of the platoon leader to the Army commander who quickly re- directed all his moving columns in a demonstration of brilliant staff management. He established powerful clements across the river immediately in accordance with direct orders from General Eisen- hover. The bridgehead provided a serious threat to the heart of Germany, a diversion of incalcula- ble value both to the main effort in the Ruhr and to the reduction of the Saar-Palatinate. It became a springboard for the final offen- sive to come.
 In the meantime, the Third Army was forcing its way through the rugged Eifel hills. By ' March, constant pressure had crushed the German front north of the Mo selle. General Patton's armor broke out and dashed foreward to the Rhine near Koblenz on the 9th. Contact was established with General Hodges First Army units southeast of Remagen, and by II March the Allies controlled the west band of the Rhine from Nijmegen in Holland to it's june ton with the Moselle at Koblenz
 Once the Eifel sector had been mopped up, General Patton was ready to assist the Seventh Army in reducing the Saar pocket. Gen. eral Eisenhower wrote me:
 Tomorrow morning the xxx Corps of Pattons Army begins a local attack in the Trier area as a preliminary to the general at- tack by Seventh Army on the 18th. So far as We can deter mine there is not a single reserve division in this whole area. If we can get quick break through, the advance should go very rapid ly and success in the region will multiply the advantage we have secured in the bridgehead at Remagen. It will probably be a nasty business breaking through the fortified lines, but once this is accomplished losses should not be great and we should capture an- other big bag of prisoners. I have given Seventh Army IA divisions for their part of the job,. and xxx Corps (Third Army jumps off with four. Patton will throw in another subsidiary effort from north to sohth across the Moselle with about four to five divisions
 Saar Pocket Mopped Up
 On IA March General Patton established a bridgehead across the Moselle, southwest of Koblenz. The following day his troops lunged southward from the Mo- selle bridgehead, other Third Ar my forces drove east from Trier,