The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-04-20
Fuerth Taken
In Drive On
Nazi Shrine
Yanks Expect To Com
plete Conquest Of Hit
ler's City Soon

PARIS, Friday, April 90 B -
Triumphant U. S. battle flags
waved today over the inner Ger
man fortresses of Leipzig and
Halle, Nazidom's shrine of Nuern-
berg was encircled and mostly in
American hands, and spearheads
roaring Is miles beyond were 10
miles from Hitler's Munich.
Leipzig. fifth city of the Reich
with a refugee-swollen population
of 1,00,,O $1,000, fell yesterday with
astounding swiftness to the U. S.
First Army.
Shortly thereafter. as Dough-
boys ferreted out the last die-hard
snipers, it was announced that 16
miles to the northwest fortified
Halle, city of 100000, also had
been captured.
The U. S. Seventh Army, driv-
ing against the Nazis' great noun
tain redoubt around Munich, cap
tured Nuernberg's twin city Of
Fuerth, with a population of 85,-
600. The defenders of Nuremberg
itself were pressed back into less
than mile square pocket in the
center of the old walled city from
which there was no escape.
American infantry expected to
celebrate H1tler's seth birthday to-
day by completing the occupation
of this old Nazi partying ground
of 100000 population.
The city was encircled when
American units met south Of the
city and tanks breaking loose rs
miles southwest of Nuremberg
were 70 miles from Bavaria's first
city of Munich, where Hitler
launched the Nazi movement.
One German report said that on
the west flank, the Seventh had
opened a new offensive and had
penetrated into Aalen, 40 miles
east of Stuttgart and 80 miles
north of the Danubian city Of Ulm.
Resembling successes were re-
corded on the opposite end of the
Western Front, where the British
Second Army's armored spear
heads thrust northward 20 miles
to within five miles and easy ar
tillery range of Hamburg, Ger
many's second city and greatest
port.
Driving up to the Elbe river 20
miles southeast OF Hamburg, the
British drenched with artillery
fire the last bridge across the
stream at Lauenburg. thus sealing
off from the rest of the Reich the
defenders of the ports of Bremen,
Emden and Wilhelmshaven.
The U. S.. First, Ninth and 18th
Armies inflicted the worst defeat
of Hitler's armies since Stalingrad
with the final smashing of the
Ruhr pocket, capturing 3l6,930
prisoners and II generals. The fl
nal figure may exceed the 100000
taken at Stalingrad, one Of the
wars decisive battles. Bradley's
report that the 18th Army was in
on the Ruhr cleanup was the first
disclosure of the whereabouts Of
this new army.
The First ard Mint Armies like
wise cleared all tui one-tenth. Of
a second big pocket in the forest
ed Harz mountains southwest of
Berlin. The Ninth Army aloe
took 7,172 prisoners from those
hills, where the German pocket
once was $50 square miles in area.
AS the U. S. Third Army hack
ed deeper into Czechoslovakia dnd
the U. S. Ninth Army beat Oft
small attacks on it's Elbe river
10 4semu1nos ssI!u &c pesqssp!Iq
Berlin, Gen. Omar N. Bradley de-
clared the first phase of his group
of armies offensive beyond the
Rhine was ended.
In that first phase the U. S.
First, Third, Ninth and 18th Ar
mics seized S42,864 prisoners and
wiped out all the German forces
that faced them when the big push
began.
Bradley said there would oe 4
temporary pause for consolidation
"before we 60 into the next"
leaving the uneasy Germany high
command to guess which direction
it would take.
But it was significant that the
world was passed down through
American troops on the Western
Front that a junction with the
Russians-noW no more than S.
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