The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-04-02

nster, big medieval cathedral
lily north of the Ruhr, and threat
ening another entrapment of Ger
man forces remaining in Holland.
The American Seventh Army, at
the other end of the long Western
Front, smashed along the river
Main to a point As miles from the
Nazi shrine city of Nuremberg and
within 124 miles of Munich. Spear
heads of both the Third and Sew
enth armies were within 100 miles
of the Czechoslovak frontier.
The Allied armies, now linked
solidly from one end of the front
to the other, either held or had
cut off at least 10000 square miles
OF the Reich.
The work of COMPRISING the big
Ruhr pocket-a rectangle contain
ing approximately 1900 square
miles-began Immediately, with the
First Army crossing the Sieg riv-
err west of the town Of Slogan in
new northward development of
the Americans original Remagens}
Erpel bridgehead.
Associated Press Correspondent
Hal Boyle, with the First Army,
said between $4,000 and 100000
German troops were believed to
be trapped in the Ruhr, possibly
30, 900 of them combat soldiers and
the others service and supporting
troops.
German soldiers were surrender
ing by the thousands. and those
who undertook to withdraw were
being strafed and bombed by Al
lied tactical air forces sweeping
back and forth over the battle
zones. Bad weather Sunday kept
the enemy from full brunt of Al
lied air power, however.
The Germans loosed heavy flax
barrages in an effort to protect
troops pulling back from Holland
"a withdrawal which Supreme Al
lied Headquarters said had not yet
become fun-scale-and shot down
"a out of $50 British fighterbomb-
ers attacking eastbound enemy
transport.
The junction of the First and
Ninth Armies was completed at
$3.50 pm. at Iippstadt. rs miles
due east of Vessel and IS miles
west Of Paderborn as the Second
Armored Division OF the Ninth Ar
my met undisclosed elements of
1t. Gen. Courtney H. Hodges First
Army.
This disclosure broke momentari-
~ the security silence which has
masked the mighty drive of 1t.
Gen. William H. Simpsons Ninth
Army during most of the rs miles
it has covered in less than week.
The Fourth Armored Break
through" Division of 1t. Gen.
George S. Patton's Third Army
made the closest approach to Ber-
lin, smashing along the Frankfurt
Berlin superhighWay to the area
of Nesselroeden, eight miles east
of Eisenach and 1872 miles from
the German capital. Third Army
troops also were 100 miles from
the frontier of Czechoslovakia.
For the first time since the Al
lies began their series Of break
throughs east of the Rhine, the
Germans were reacting with or.
ganized resistance. particularly in
the Paderborn and Kassel areas.
Yet there was no indication from
any quarter that any of Gen. Eisen-
howers nine Allied armies had
been stopped.
Front dispatches said the Ger.
mans had begun to withdraw from
Holland and during the day tanks
of the Canadian First Army adj
vanced as much as ten miles east
of Anthem.
Because of the news blackout
under which Field Marshal Mont
gomery's armies were operating,
less was known about the British,
Canadian and American forces Of
the 21st Army group than Of other
armies along the Western Front.
But there was reason 20 believe
|Montgomery's forces were threaten
ing the entrapment of all Germans
still in Holland.
British armor was at least 10
miles beyond the Rhine Saturday
and Associated Press Correspon-
dent Pugh Moore said advances
measured up to Is miles today.
Some columns were said to have
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