The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-03-10
Interpreting
The War .
BY KiRxE L, sJupSo,.
Associated Press W. BUN

With -. war Analyst
crossed. the Maj His s-S9 r most
rs hss confronted in !. tie BY Situation Iltnm and
tentlal complete -niIjtsrr' S o. pa
~ american m capture Of '',d8 anhi
changed enan5 over night the w:a,r oJs ;st
seen scene IN Europe. It invaiidst e war
Nazi scheme of a pro IIo,ua,es III.
a ,1e;t defense of the great se esr. last
PLAN Of Germany, utterlv ' vn
the present two-front de y upsets
OF the battered wermacb 7sin tent
&c c eea lead to a breakdown in c saa
man army morale and a a n III YER ,
OF all organized resistant e''A end
Quite aside from the Strata.
ana tactical possibilities the '.3l
u ;.r Of that bridge span pr pre- ss,.'
h t.s pS w.! impact upo,
and upon German foemen ''uVp'
tary and civilian, is vet ' ~ A't !,
measured. That it instantly spprrss
General Eisenhower's arra i"'s !
the west with renewed determi, N
ton to shorten the strugole :, .-'Ia'
Elected in every field disDstcb NJ Il,
can it be greatly doubted that ".
news sent wave of creeping ds, az
pondency through German ar01ia.
as well as through disrupted c r'
ian line between the Rhine and n.
Oder. wy
The effect of that will becor.
apparent cumulatively, not i'm.
mediately, particularly in the Ger.
man army.
Just now the Allied High Cam.
mand will move to exploit n.
Rhine breakthrough is not vet die
cernable. The best appears IA
Lie southwark down the right bank
OF the river to free other crossing
sites to the north for other armies
massing along the west shore.
General Eisenhower ALREADY j,
straining every nerve to rush
heavy forces through the Rhine
breach, not merely to consolidate
the daringly won east bank bridge.
head but to use it as a jump,ott
base for power plows into the
heart of Germany. Disclosure at
his headquarters that he ha, a
newly organized Army, the FIJI,
teenth, ready for action indicate,
that.
Its whereabouts "on the Contin.
emit is not revealed, nor has the
mystery Of the missing British
Second Army, not yet so far as
known engaged in the swirling and
Nazi-lost Battle of the Rhine, been
solved. Both may be available
either to plunge across the river
Or to take over front from other
forces nearer the crossing cite,
Even within the dwindled de.
fensive perimeter now held by
German forces there has been
every evidence that the lines were
drawn too thin for security. The
course of events west of the Rhine
and now overlapping on the east
bank has shown clearly that Nazi
leadership took extreme risks in
reducing strength on the front in
order to find the troops to bolster
the Oder line against mighty Rus.
sian armies.
There is some indication that
the Nazi command expected and
prepared to meet the main Allied
thrust from the west at the ex.
IRENE north end of the line once
the Rhine was reached by the Al
lies. The bitter defense Of the
Vessel west bank bridgehead
against the Canadian First Army
and the converging left flank ele.
nents of the American Ninth Army
points that way.
It is conceivable, however that
whatever Allied plans may have
been last week or even two days
ago, capture intact OF the Rema9en
bridge caused an immediate and