The Wilmington morning star., 1945-03-22
Enemy Faced
With Loss OF
100000 Men
First Army Has Enlarged
Bridgehead Along
Seig River

PARIS, Thursday, March L.
up American tanks crashed
through the great German che
mical center of Ludwigshafen on
the Rhine today as the U. S. Third
and Seventh armies continued to
grind disorgAnized German for
ces west Of the river in the NAV
of disaster that may cost the en-
envy as many as 10000 men in
killed, wounded and captured.
1t. Gen. George S. Patton's rae
ing Third Army plunged straight
through Ludwigshafen and reach
ed the Rhine inside that city Of
10000 population. They sent an
other column slashing southwark
to the highway junction OF Neus-
tadt, where it was within 10 miles
OF another junction with the Sew
enth Army-a new giant potential
trap around the Nazis.
At the same time, Doughboys of
General Courtney H. Hodges U. S.
First Army east of the Rhine, re-
inforced by armor fU the first
time since the original crossing
two weeks ago, enlarged the Re-
magen bridgehead northward as
much as three miles and famed
out along a seven mile stretch OF
the Seig river which flows into
the Rhine north of Bonn.
Pattop's Third Army, still rum
ming wild, made advances of as
much as ten miles during the day.
cleared 20 towns and entered four.
Thousands of prisoners were taxi
en-.
Ludwigshafen, fourth big Ger
man city entered or taken by the
Third Army in two days. was
pierced by an armored division
which headquarters has not iden-
titled. Another column Of the same
division also reached the Rhine
mile north of the city afteS
an eastward thrust of 7 IL miles.
Fleeing German troops blew UP
the imposing bridge which con-
nected Ludwigshafen with its twin
industrial city Of Mannheim on the
east side of the river.
Other Third Army tanks SIAM
peded the Germans between the
Rhine-ban& cities Of Worms and
Mainz, overrunning town after
town. However, Mainz itself still
was largely in enemy hands.
Neustadt, important highway
center Is miles southwest Of Lud-
wigshafen and IS miles west Of the
Rhine at Speyer, was entered by
the Tenth Armorcd Division, which
yesterday had smashed through
Kaiserslautern.
This drive within 10 miles of
the Seventh Army threatened to
crush thousands of German troops
against the saW-toothed line of
1t. Gen. Alexander M. Patch's
American and French troops now
fighting fiercely inside the Sieg-
fried deferses between Lauter-
burg and Fir.nasens.
In that area, where the only
semblance of organized German
resistance west Of the Rhine was
being displayed, Nazi regular
troops were desperately trying to
hold open an escape corridor to
the river.
Prisoners were pouring In by
the thousands and, with the ex.
ception of 30-mile stretch where
the Germans were clinging to
Siegfried Line detenses against
the Seventh Army, the enemy was
in complete rout., The Third
Army alone had seized 3,275 Ger
man towns and cities since it
started its present offensive
March 10.
AS this phase of the Allies
great Western Front offensive rae
ed toward its conclusion, the Ger
mans declared that American,
British and Canadian forces north
Of Cologne were about to open
a new about attack across the
Rhine "at any hour An Asso- .
ciated Press dispatch said the
Nazis were moving great mum.
bers OF troops into the area.
American heavy bombers knock.
ed out II German airfields east
OF the Rhine opposite Field Mar
shall Montgomery's Allied armies.
A German broadcast said the Ger
High Command expected the AL
lies to land parachute troops in
the area and had made neces-
sary preparations.
Gen. Hodges First Army troops
pushed out more than three mile,
at the northern end of their
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