The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-03-03

There was no confirmation of rumors that American patrols already had crossed the Rhine in the Neuss area. The reports appar- ently were inspired by vague Lon- don newspaper dispatch stating that two doughboys went across the river yesterday on a reconnaissance mission.
 Neuss and Krefeld both were in American hands after a short, sharp fight against die-hard German rear guards. and It. Gen. William H. Simpsons arrnored and infantry divisions were racing through the Rhineland corridor to the west and northwest hopping up by-passed enemy units.
 Reach Geldern
 American flying columns plunged l6 miles northwest of Krefeld to reach the highway center of Gel dern, only five miles from junction with the Canadians in Kevelaer.
 Several thousand Nazi paratroops. fighting a stiff rear guard action against the Canadians to cover the retreat of their main forces, faced envelopment between the converging armies, but the bulk of the German divisions were reported already on of across the Rhine.
 The remnants of the German 18th Army left in the Rhineland corri-- dor south of Neuss were reported fleeing southward in some disorder toward Cologne, under heavy aerial attack.
 The entire Siegfried Line west Of the Rhine from Cologne to Nijmegen was turned and useless as a de- fensiver barrier for the German Ruhr, and the Nazis apparently were abandoning all of that 65-mile stretch of the Rhine bank.
 Dispatches from the IL S.-sFirsE army front before Cologne, however, said the Germans showed no signs of giving up that ancient fortress.
 The backwash of the German di- visions now pinched off by the Ninth army's spectacular drive to the Rhine at Neuss was reported streaming southward to bolster that already formidable defenses of Col ogne, toward which elements of three First army divisions were con-, vergirg.
 The Americans hammered out gains of as much as five miles on 8 broad assault arc before Cologne. yesterday and captured 2l key road centers on the east and west banks of the Erft river 4n preparation for the climatic assault on the city.
 The biggest advances, however, were won on the Hanks of the Col ogne sector, particularly to the south where the Tanks were thrust ing down toward the Rhine city of Bonn, l5 miles south of Cologne. American heavy guns, armor and l infantry reserves were pouring through the three Erft river bridge heads in great force, however, and the front was broadened to more than 10 miles with aogances north and northeast of Bergheim on the Erft to Buchholz. Niederausen and Bed- burg, seven to B miles from Cologne.
 Units of the American Eighth di- vision finally cleared Moedrath, six miles west of Cologne, after a fierce thyee-day battle and pushed on be- yond the town to within five miles of their goal.
 Cologne Hit Hard
 Cologne itself, raked by more than 5000 tons of British bombs yester- day, rocked and famed continuous ly today under a heavy American artillery bombardment aimed at knocking out the enemy's commun- ications centerS and smashing his arr1ored concentrations.
 There was no indication that the big railway and highway bridges across the Rhine from Cologne had been knocked out, although Amer ican -bombers scored two direct hits yesterday on the Hohenzollern Railway span.
 United Press War Correspondent c. P. Cunningham reported First Army staff officers expected the Ger- mans to put up a house-to-house fight for Cologne after the Amer jeans crack its outer works.
 The city itself was said to be bristling with heavy guns, tanks and machine gun nests hidden in underground Notifications. and First Army spokesman acknowl- edged that the assault might be as hard and bloody as the battle Tor Stalingrad. Their most advanced (Continued on Page D