The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-03-03
interpreting
The War
BY KIRKE L. StNpSor
Associated Press Wa s oN

~ ACSS war Auol,.l
Total collapse of Ger n,'sly' i.
lenses i west of the Rhine -,s'ii !. de-
full swing in what looans IS IN
the war. N'''dS'er Of
The breakup was 50 cor,.,
that cities and VILLAGES |T ~,
score up and down the 5 ny me
lndustrialized left bank of l'' ny
river fell to Allied forces vir4 me
~ without a shot being fired '0'''
From the Bonn area 1nStro.u
on the right flank of the Arsri
can First Army to the We.l,
bridges, the story was the ss Tse'
me whole west Rhineland Sias,
tried Line system of defenses
depth was being turned from +b III
rear. The Canadians and tbe + as
moving left flank of the Am naS'
can Ninth Army in the center
with elements already on ~,
banks of the Rhine, were witbir
a days march or less Of e f,t,
other. Crack German shock dri '
slons were in desperate dangar
of being cut off from escape
1t is doubtful that any Of ~.
eleven rail and road bridsas
across the Rhine, available }os
an orderly German retreat to tbs
east bank when General Fisen
mower launched his troops over
the Roer a week ago, still is com.
pletely open. Most Of them are
IN the Immediate Cologne, Dues.
seldorf and Duisburg areas. Eth.
err Canadian Or American force,
are converging upon them or upon
the highways and rail routes
leading to them from the west Al
a pace that threatens virtual ex.
tinction of the Nazi army still
west of the river.
The full scope of the Allied viz
tory is not yet apparent nor the
effect it may have immediately
on Nazi ability to hold even be.
hind the Rhine for any length Of
time. Presumably the Nazi com.
mander, in desperate straits for
sufficient reserves to meet the
Allied breakthrough over the Roer
has been forced virtually to aban.
don whole divisions shared on
the left bank. He dared not risk
his available reserves east of the
Rhine in an effort to salvage
them. To do so would have ex.
posed the Rhine itself to imme.
date Allied crossing attempts.
Nor is it certain as this is writ.
ten that the Rhine long can be
held without heavy reinforce.
ment drafts on Nazi forces now
deployed in the east in defense Of
Berlin and Dresden where full.
scale resumption of the Russian
offensive at any moment appears
certain. The Red Army break.
through in central Pomerania vir.
tually to the Baltic coast by every
indication finally has paved the
way for that. 1t ended once and
for all the danger of a Nazi coun.
ter drive from the north that
could materially upset Russian as
sault preparations on the Oder.
Neisse front.
There is another factor in the
situation west of the Rhine Of
even greater potential signif-
canoe than the American sweep
! to the river bank and the Cana.
dian forward lunge on the heels
of German forces desperately
racing for safety beyond the
stream. No official recapitua'
ton of the Allied prisoner take
in the last few days is available
but such fragmentary reports as
have come in indicate mass sur
renders in some sectors on the
fronts of all four active Allied
armies from the Moselle Valley
northward.
A crack-up in German army
morale is suggested. There can
be no doubt from eyewitness
press accounts pouring back from
captured cities and towns, al,
most before word Of their fail
came in, that desperate Nazi Ell
forts to rally German civilians
for a fight to the death has prov,
ed a dismal failure. They stood
in sullen docility to await the
orders of their Allied conquerorS'
That may symbolic the begin
ming of the end for the NazlS'