The Wilmington morning star., 1945-03-05
First Drives
To Two Miles
From Cologne
Berlin Says American Ef-
fort Blocked; No
Confirmation

PARIS, March 4.-(P)-The U.
S. First Army drove within two
miles of the Rhineland capital Of
Cologne today as the Germans
claimed they smashed full
scale assault by Ninth Army
inks and infantry trying to plain
bridgehead on the Rhine's east
bank near Dusseldorf and Kre-
field.
Berlin broadcasts, without any
Allied confirmation, told OF tanks
attempting to cross the Rhine on
Duesseldorf's south bridge
previously blown up-and in the
area of Krefeld, where early to-
day the Germans destroyed the
famed Adolf Hitler superhighway
bridge at Uerdingen.
Associated Press correspondent
Hal Boyle reported that American
patrols last night got across the
Rhine over the 1,400-foot bridge
at Verdingen, and then returned
shortly before the enemy touched
off thousands of tons of dynamite
and blasted the structure into the
Rhine. This could be the source
of the German Krefeld reports.
The First Army sent tanks
plunging to the Rhine a few miles
north of Cologne, splitting the
defenders. Those south of the
arrnored column were falling
back into the city, so choked with
rubble that enemy columns had
trouble reaching the only bridge
still. intact across the Rhine.
One American force was but a
few hundred yards from Colognes
suburb of Loevenich, which is a
mile and a half from the city
proper. AS one division after an
other drew up to the city's ap-
proaches, a dispatch from that
front declared that Cologne lis
ours when we want it,
Hitler's Peoples army on
whom he had relied for an epic
stand comparable to Stalingrad,
was surrendering with hardly
shot being fired as infantry crept
closer, and tanks and bulldozers
crunched through debris-strewn
villages near the outskirts.
The U. S. Ninth and Canadian
First Army were crushing the
mauled remnants Of three Ger
man armies fleeing across the
Rhine. The enemys hold on the
west bank of the Rhine there had
shrunk to an area only ten miles
long and six miles wide.
The Ninth Army, battling nine
miles northward in a bid to smash
thousands of crack parachute
troops, stormed into Duisberg's
cross-Rhine suburb of Homberg
in an attempt to seize its bridge
and break into that great Fuhr
basin port.
Other forces swung around Hon.
berg, manufacturing city of
1000 population, and reached the
Rhine in an effort to capture the
railroad bridge just to the north.
The Americans held almost UNI
broken control Of 20 miles of the
Rhines west bank along its wind
ing course from Dusseldorf to
Homberg, and German broad
casts declared that Duesberg,
Dusseldorf and Cologne had be-
come front line cities" with all
three under artillery fire.
The Ninth Army's 84th Division
has fought half mile into HON.
berg and to the south was close
to the Rhine directly opposite
Duisberg.
Antitank guns were wheeled up
along the Rhine and were blast
ing German pillboxes on the east
bank, while heavy guns farther
back kept up a relentless cannon
aiding.
The magnitude of the German
collapse and the disorder of the
retreating troops was such that
the next few days were expected 10
determine whether the enemy can
rally on the east bank of the Rhine
and prevent an Allied sweep across
the river.
The Canadians and Americans
were driving in rapidly from the
west. The Canadians also reached
the Rhine by capturing Vynem
north of the German anchor city
OF Xanten and were pressing SOUTH
ward along the river only eight
miles from the Ruhr crossings a
Vessel.
Among towns captured on the
west was Issum. seven miles from
a highway bridge at Rheinberg,
Hheingberg also was imperiled by
Continued on Page Two; Col. 81