Evening star., 1945-02-09

the south flank and Monday seized
the west end of the Urft River dam,
a few miles to the south.
The Urft is smaller than the
1,080-foot long, 180-foot high Sch
wammenauel Dam, but it is strate-
gically important because its pent-s
up waters would likely wash out the
larger dam downstream.
Jockeying for Position.
Elements of another division,
meanwhile, picked their way through
mineflelds on the north flank of the
18th in an effort to hold off German
attempts to reinforce its troops pro-
tecting the biggest dam.
The past two weeks have seen q
jockeying into position to get the
dams, which the Allied command
knew were integrated sectors of the
Siegfried defenses, capable of flood
ing out everything from here to
Roermond, SO miles north.
A young American lieutenant who
swan in the Roer River as a boy
first gave the Allied high command
the tip that the Germans planned
to unleash the flood waters on the
advancing Americans.
1t. Kaufman, who in 1899 was
locked in concentration camp In
Germany and then was released
through the aid of American friends
followed up his tip by uncovering
detailed German plans for the Roel
flooding.
Told Commanding Officer.
More than two months before the
American armies reached the Roer
1t. kaufman recalled that just be-
fore leaving Germany, residents near
Dueren were puzzled by the sudden
construction, on orders of Berlin, OF
the huge Schwammenauel dam on
the Roer, which already was con-
trolled by the Urft dam.
He told his commanding officer,
who sent him on through Army
channels to the commands Of both
the United States 1st and 9th
Armies.
Il was born and raised in a small
town few miles south of Dueren," !"
1t. Kaufman said. after getting
out Of concentration camp and pre-
pairing to leave for America in 1899
I visited the area and every one
wondered what the Nazs were build
ing the big dam for, and when got
up here with the American Army
remembered the DAM"
1t. Kaufman said he and his sis
ter managed to get out of Germany
because American friends aided
them, and he went to Philadelphia
and lated joined the Army.
"As soon as Aachen was taken, !"
he said, II went to the power COM
pany there with some men who ran
sacked the Offices.
Found Detailed Plan.
1--WE went through the offices and
found detailed plan on what would
be the result of flooding the Roer
Valley. It was stuffed under a pile
|of papers"
The German study of the flooding
had been made after the Royal Air
Force blew up the Mohne and Elder
dams.
Several times before the German
winter offensive, Gen. Eisenhower
had sent out air forces to try to
destroy the dams, which then would
have isolated German divisions west
of Dueren and flooded countless
German towns.
The structure of the dams-the
base of the biggest Is 985 feet wide
and antiaircraft defenses saved
them from the bombs.
Just week ago the 18th and 9th
Divisions began chewing their way
through the Siegfried Line while the
lst Infantry and the 82d Air-borne
farther south were battling Ia
weather % cold that wounded frose
to death Il left On the battleneld
more than . few minutes.
The 9Th broke through ct Mons-
chau and met only light resistance
all the way to the Urft Dam.
Shielded by Tons of Earth,
Coming In from the north, thu
18th captured half dozen. towns
block by block until 1t REACHED