The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-03-29
27-Mile Gain
Near Ciiessen
Made By U. S.
Germans Reported In Wild
Retreat Before
Montgomery !;

PARIS. Thursday, march 2S-!R
Gen. Eisenhower Allied armies
made whirlwind advances up to 81
miles through collapsing German
resistance yesterday as British
tanks broke through north of the
Ruhr and the U. S. First and Third
Armies neared a link-up deep in
side the Reich.
Cities and towns fell in whole
sale lots to infantrylnen following
closely behind the armored spear
heads which had broken complete
ly through the Germans defensive
crust and were overrunning the
Reich under a veil of secrecy that
prevented pinpointing their latest
advances.
The Fourth Armored Division OF
1t. Gen. George S. Patton's Third
Army raced q miles northward
from Hanau to a point only six
miles southeast of Giessen, through
which 1t Gen. Courtney H. Hod-
ges' First Army had passed ear
lier in the day. There was pos
sibility that these two armies al
ready had made a junction in that
area, approximately 225 miles from
Berlin, closing a trap around Nazi
forces still fighting in Frankfurt,
half Of which had been cleared.
North of the Ruhr the Germans
were reported in wild retreat ahead
of British tanks which broke out of
Field Marshal Montgomery
bridgehead, now exploding in all
directions. Montgomery's armor.
with British and American troops
riding on the backs of the tanks,
broke loose on an 11--nile front and
raced down broad highways toward
Muenster and Berlin. Canadian
troops stormed into Emmerich, on
the Rhine near the Dutch border.
The American Ninth Army, still
encountering the fiercest opposl-
ton faced by any Of the seven AL
lied armies east Of the Rhine,
wheeled south into the industrial
Ruhr and smashed through the
northern suburbs Of Duisburg to
the wharves along the Ruhr river.
The U. S. Seventh Army cleared
the northern part of the industrial
city of Mannheim to the Neckar
river while other units drove as
much as 80 miles east of the Rhine
making contact with the Third Ar
nv along the Main river.
Indicative of the close coopera-
ton between the First and Third
Armies, members of Gen. Omar
N. Bra9ley's 18th Army Group.
was disclosure at Bradley's head
quarters that "a strong armored
column had been sent south from
the First Army sector into the
Third Army area in order to speed
UP the Thirds advance. There
was no amplification Of this news,
however.
The Fourth Armored column did
the last IS miles of its spectacular
dash in about 10 hours, meeting
virtually no opposition and run
ming with open throttles much Of
the time. Another column Of the
Fourth drove into Altenstadt, 10
miles north of Hanau, and then
pushed on to the vicinity of Nieder
F'lorstadt. 10 miles south of Gies-
sen. Aschaffenburg, II miles SOUTH
east of Hanau, was cleared Of the
enemy and Third Army troops
crossed the Main there. Wiesbaden,
famous spa west of Frankfurt, also
was taken.
A late front dispatch said Gen.
Hodges had sent First Army ar
mored column driving southeast
from Gfessen to close the gap be-
tween his and Patton's armies. Pat.
tons infantry cleared Bischofsch.
elm, three and a half miles north
east of Frankfurt
Fighter pilots ranging out IN
front of the roaring American tank
columns searching for the enemy
reported they could find only scat
tered targets. Three were no signs
of any German troops or tanks
coming up to meet the swift and
powerful thrust toward Berlin.
| There were not even road blocks
or mines to slow the eastward
surge.
Only. 1t Gen. William H. Simp-
sons U. S. Ninth Army, fighting
grimly into the Ruhr Valley, con.
tinued 70 meet fierce resistance.
Doughboys of the 10th Division can.
tured three great war production
factories as they fought into the
outskirts of Duisberg, and the
bridgehead as whole was enlarg.
ed to 16 miles deep by IA wide. The
18th held the northern area of Duis.
Continued on Page Seven; Col. ~