Evening star., 1945-03-25
Western Front
Continued From First Page)

brazenly piled the Rhine-long a
symbol of Teutonic patriotism
feeding tanks, guns, troops and sup
plies into the four Allied bridge
heads scattered along some 200 miles
of the river.
First reports from the front said
Marshal Montgomery's northern
forces had captured 1900 prisoners
and the 9th had taken 700 more.
Field dispatches said the Ger
mans were gathering tanks for an
expected counterblow, but the feel
ing persisted that with the terrific
losses suffered west of the Rhine,
this time the enemy could not stop
the Allied drive.
More than 10000 Allied planes
ruled inner Germany's skies. fer
rying parachute troops, scattering
the ground defenders with bombs,
bullets and rockets or heaping fresh
destruction on already battered en-
emy communication lines to the
flaming front.
Patton Crosses Personally.
| 1t. Gen. George S. Patton, jr.,
crossed the Rhine personally to di-
rect the Sd Army's offensive.
| The Rhine had been bridged by
pontoons both in the Ruhr and the
Sd Armys crossings.
| Alarmed German broadcaSts said
more Allied troops of the air were
descending last night over a broad
front north of the Ruhr, whose loss
will rob the enemy of power to re-
sist.
The long-rested British End Army
out of action since last September
opened the attack by crossing on
the north flank at pm. Friday.
An hour later waves began NOV
ing across on the south flank
In the dark of am. went the
United States 9th Army, and at 10
m. went the Allied 1st Air borne
Army.
Elements of the Canadian 1st
Army also were committed to the
Natural Avenue to Berlin.
Elements of the Canadian 1st
Army also were committed to the
attack, and thus the Allies of the
west put at least six of their nine
armies beyond the broken line OF
the Rhine-Where German strate-
gists had hoped to ward off the
blows that could mean quick de-
feat for Hitler's Reich.
The United States 3rd Army. ex-
plotting to the hilt its surprise
crossing between Worms and Mainz
bridged the river with pontoons
and poured tanks across onto the
mid d-German plain-natural ave-
nue. to Berlin.
The Sd was menacing the indus.
trial cities of Frankfurt, population
$40, and Darmstadt, population
lis, 900, some Is miles south o,
Frankfurt.
The Sd was II miles from Frank
furt and only 7 from Darmstadt
after capturing four east-banl
towns. Berlin said the famed 4tf
Armored "breakthrough" Division
was in on the push, in which Gen
Patton used naval landing craft
just as was done to the north.
The United States 1st Army. be-
tween the Sd and the 4th Allied
armies storming the Ruhr, was
Spearing southwark along the
Rhines east bank after shattering
the Wied River line and was also
ready now to turn its power north
ward to pinch off the Ruhr.
Land of Destruction.
The Ruhr, arsenal of German
military power, was already a land
of death and destruction from one
of the greatest aerial onslaughts In
history.
Enemy military spokesmen, fac
ing the blackest hour in the his
tory of German arms, declared the
Nazi high command adopts the
supreme principle of continuing the
battle no matter what the circum-
Stances. but admitted time was
badly needed to prepare.
| Marshal Montgomery declared
the flower of four German armies
already had been destroyed west OF
the Rhine.
The first intimation to Germany s
IS waiting divisions that the de-
cisive hour was at hand came Fri
day night when Marshal Montgom-
erys big guns, wheeled up to the
very edge of the Rhine, opened up
with the barrage which rocked the
countryside for miles.
65-Mile SmOkescreen.
Then behind a 65-mile smoke
screen so impenetrable that even
the Allies had to use tracer bullets
land powerful searchlights to mark
path, the first assault waves began
to cross.
They moved in alligators and
water buffalos-the sea-going craft
common to the Pacific-in tank and
infantry landing craft with landing
ramps, manned by Navy men espe-
cially trained on the Mas in secret
for naval operation never before
carried out so far from the sea.
There were LCMs capable of haul
ing Sherman tank or 60 men, an6
lLCVPs with the capacity of 35 mer
or bulldozer.
| In 1t. Gen. Courtney Hodges
lRemagen bridgehead, the Americans
1struck forward 1000 yards-nearly
I2la miles-along the Rhine north
lof Coblenz against "a mystifyine
lack of enemy resistance" battle
front dispatches said. They ad-
vanced another 2 miles east of the
Wied River, and captured Rengsdori
and Kurtscheid.
At the northern end of their
cross-Rhine clamp, the Americans
SLICED the Hennef -Altenkirchen
highway 2 miles southeast OF Hen
nef. A Nazi counterattack near
Hennef was repulsec.