Evening star., 1945-03-23
MAP on Page A-5J
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
PARIS, Mar. 23.-Berlin re-
ported shortly after noon toda,
that Field Marshal Montgomer.
seems to be ready for a grand
scale crossing of the Lower Rhine
on a smoke-shrouded 65-mil'
front from Dusseldorf to Arm.
hem, where German targets were
blasted by massed artillery ane
bombers.
An earlier enemy report said as
sault crossings already had beer
started. Supreme Allied headquar.
tiers maintained a silence; front re-
porters were cramped by security
regulations.
Far to the south 1t. Gen. George
S. Patton's Sd Army captured Mainz
population $4,000 and Landau, 9
fortified Palatinate road center ano
was mopping up the chemical cap
ital of Ludwigshafen Q43,41O.
The 1st Army's East Rhine front
was widened to 81 miles when 1t
Gen. Courtney H. Hodges shock
troops captured the Rhine factory
town of Neuwied t20,320 after cross
ing the narrow Wied River at a
dozen places, Z or 8 titles from Cob
lenz. The 1st Army pulled up to the
Sieg River at the north end of the
salient on a 10-mile frol I less than
a dozen miles from the 81 pthern lip
of the Ruhr Basin.
Pirmasens Capt. red.
1t. Gen. Alexander M. Patch's 7th
Army captured heavily fortified Pr
nlasens t47,2OO inss the Siegfried
Line. It's 9Th Armored Division
entered Worms. captured by the Sd
Army, and reached the Rhine two
days ago after a 60-mile dash
through the Palatinate in 19 hours.
Phenomenal smoke screen drifts.
like the trail OF raging forest fire,
obscured the winding Lower Rhine
front from Nijmegen south almost
to the Ruhr, Ross Munro of the
Canadian Press reported at pm.
"The Germans are manning their
east bank defenses where they ex-
pect Field Marshal Montgomery to
unloose his lightning" he wrote
there never has been a smoke
screen like this before For 40 miles
it marks the line between the two
forces"
Germans of the 1st Parachute and
18th Armies had hastily reformed
defenses in trenches and gun posi-
tions east of the Lower Rhine after
taking terrible beatings on the other
side. The enemy expressed fear OF
air-borne operations.
Complete Calm.
'tOn the Allied side, there is COM
plete calm reminiscent of the days
in Southern England preceding the
invasion of Normandy" Mr.. Munro
said. 1.-THE skies are clear and cool
and balmy moonlight bathes the
Rhineland each night. The bomb
line is the Rhine and everything to
the east is target.
at is anybody's guess when the
zero hour will come"
1t was perhaps significant that
Gen. Henry Crerar, commanding the
Canadian 1st Army, returned to his
continental headquarters after few
DAYS in London.
The German high command, In
its communique broadcast shortly
after pm, said smoke screens and
artillery fire still hid Marshal Mont
gomery's Offensive preparations
and that Allied reconnaissance
thrusts in Holland had failed.
The communique said American
forces had tried to cross the Rhine
from the Palatinate east of Frank
enthal, about midway between
Worms and Ludwigshafen, but had
failed. There was no Allied con-
f1rmation. Berlin said, however
that Gen. Patton had massed am
phibious tanks for crossing effort
AAAkCS hCCp Up attAChs
All night long and into the dawn
of another bright bombing day, AL.
lied planes by the hundreds kept ur
their attacks on the 50-mile Bremen
box north of the Ruhr and east o1
the Rhine bend at Wesel, where the
Germans said the Allies had massee
mighty offensive force of fom
armies.
Correspondents at supreme head.
quarters were told, however, thai
there was no change in the "tactica
situation" on Marshal Montgomery.
21st Army Group front, but there
was intensive patrolling back ane
forth across the Rhine by both sides
It appeared increasingly evident
that Field Marshal Albert Kessel.
ring, the Bavarian who as an ali
general bombed Rotterdam after i
surrendered and tried vainly to sub.
jugate Britain and Malta by air at.
tacks, would face his first great tes
as supreme Nazi commander in thu
west either north Of the Ruhr or ir
that great industrial basin itself.
A report from 21st Army Group
headquarters yesterday said Marsha
Four additional men from
the District area hare been
reported killed in this Uar. See |
"On the Honor Roll" Page Az.
re-. wrsTrpN ~or1r p..A Ax,