Evening star., 1945-01-09
MAP on Page A-3.)
By the Associated Press

By the Associated Press.
PARIS, Jan. "a big tank
battle broke out today in blind
ing blizzard 3 miles northeast of
La Roche, where the American
I'd Armored (Hell on Wheels
Division fought for Samree on
the severed main road through
the Belgian bulge.
Other Americans were within a
mile Of La Roche to the north.
The battle was in drifts to S
feet high and in heavy snowfalls.
All along the 30-mile northern
flank of the Ardennes salient, the
Germans were declared by one of
Field Marshall Bernard L. Mont
gomerys staff officers to be on the
defensive and fighting resolutely to
bar the Allies from the one remain
ing escape route from the bulge.
This was the Houffalize-St. With
road, and the American 1st Army
was less than miles from it and
cratering it with artillery.
ID ARMY Driven BACK.
On the southern flank of the vir-
tually winter-bound bulge, German
counterattacks drove back 1t. Gen.
George s. Patton's Sd Army mile
on 3-mile front west of Bastogne
Field Marshal Won Rundstedt ap-
peared to he trying to blast open
communications on the south to
compensate for the loss yesterday
of the La Roche-St. With road.
The Germans threw half a dozen
attacks against American and
French troops in Northeast France,
including one powerful smash
against the French 1st Army south
of Strasbourg. That drive from
Colmar, where Gestapo Chief Hein-
rcih Himmler still was believed
providing leadership and inspira-
ton, was halted at Rossfeld and
Herbsheim, l6 miles from Stras-
bourg.
Despite the paralyzing storm ana
drifts which impeded equally the
attack and the German escape, the
End Division struck heavily at Sam
rec against mobile and dug in Ger
man tanks.
RACES Into Afternoon.
The End is the division which
won fame in North Africa, Sicily,
Normandy and across France. Its
commander is ''Old Gravel Voice,
Maj. Gen. Ernest N. Harmon.
The battle for Samree broke
during the morning and ragged on
into the afternoon. The issue still
was at stake at pm. The Nazis
had dug in number of their own
vehicles to defend the town, which
is on the main east-west road from
La Roche to st. With, broken or
dominated for Is miles yesterday
by the attacking Americans.
To the south 1t. Gen. Jacob l.
Devers' 9Th Army Group blocked
German probing for weak spots in
Alsace and Lorraine. At least tenn
porarily counterattacks by the
American 7th Army were plugging
holes driven by the first fury of the
German diversionary attacks on the
Alsace plain.
Germans Aggressive.
The immediate threat to the
French Rhine city of Strasbourg
lessened, too, although headquar-
ters said Germans 16 miles or so
to the south continued to be ag-
gressive."
Another diversion in Holland was
erased Britons and Canadians
teamed to wipe out a bridgehead
across the Meuse River north OF
Venlo.
The enemy pulled back 1000 yards
before the British I'd Army in the
wild, desolate Ardennes country OF
wooded tracts and steep deflles
southeast Of Marche at the north
west tip of the Belgian salient. but
the spokesman at Marshal Mont
gomery's headquarters said:
There is no sign of German
withdrawal from the tip, however
and Won Rundstedt may only be
pulling back to better prepared
positions.
Five Towns Captured.
Gen. Eisenhower's communioue
named five towns captured in the
shrinking bulge. These were Regne
Sart, Verleumont and Marcourt on
the north and Bonnerue on the
south. Field dispatches listed others
1t was evident that the German.
were at least thinning out thei,
salient at the western tip of the
bulge, even Though there was nc
sign of a general retreat. There
was evidence that the German.
were preparing a stand near st
With, 4 miles from the German
border. That Belgian road cente,
OF 2,459 was in artillery range from