March 26, 1945;

THIS WAS REPORTED TODAY, MARCH 26, 1945:

Salt Lake City, Utah, Monday Morning, March 26, 1945

Patton Seizes Bridge,

Crosses Main River

In Plunge of 27 Miles

Hodges Forces Smash Rhine Line,

Surge Beyond Bridgehead;

First Grinds Nine Miles Unchecked

PARIS, Monday, March 26 (AP)—

Three U. S. armies surged toward Berlin in break-throughs Sunday, with Third army tanks setting the pace in a. 27-mile sweep that carried 40 miles beyond

the Rhine and across a captured bridge over the River Main possibly

235 miles from the enemy capital.

The U. S. Ninth army broke out into the open through the enemy's Rhine line, crashed eight miles or more beyond the Rhine, was within reaching distance of a Berlin superhighway, and was but 10 miles from Essen, industrial heart of the reich.

The U. S. First army burst the bonds of its Remagen-Erpel bridgehead between these two fronts in a general assault on a 35-mile front that ground nine miles east in a massive attack on the road to Berlin and was roaring on unchecked.

Third Army Leaps Rhine in Two New Crossings

The Third army sprang at least two new crossings of the Rhine south of Coblenz and was nearing a junction with the First army forces beyond the river. They last were reported only 11 miles apart.

The British Second army heightened the power of the grand western front offensive by pushing eight miles north of the Rhine onto the German plain, hurdling one river barrier on the Berlin route and slashing- across a superhighway running to northern Holland.

The British cleaned out the stronghold of Rees. While the Germans still were unable to deal a counterblow here, they made their first big blow at the First army's bridgehead in heavy force and were smashed back just before the Americans, kicked off in their own drive. With four firm lodgments along 200 miles of the Rhine's east bank from Rees to Worms, German resistance was disintegrating.

 almost everywhere in this spectacular day of gains.

2nd Russian Army

Launches New

Assault on Vienna

Russ Race 28 Miles Into Hungary

To Near Danube River Key,

Launch Fresh Offensive in Poland

LONDON, Monday, March 26 UP) —

Red army tank spearheads raced within 36 miles of Austria and 77 miles southeast

of Vienna Sunday as a second mighty soviet army joined Russia's Vienna-bound offensive that was sweeping unchecked across industrial western Hungary on a 90-miJe front. While Marshal Peodor I. Tolbukhin's Third Ukraine army

gained up to 16 miles overnight, Premier Stalin announced that the Second Ukraine army under Marshal Rodion Y. Malinovsky had joined the battle and gained 28 miles in the initial phases of an offensive along the south bank of the Danube.

Japs Cite Blow

At Ryukyus

By Associated Press

An "attempted landing" on Japan's Ryukyu islands by American forces was reported by the Dome news agency Sunday night after U. S. Pacific fleet headquarter had announced the sinking of an eight-ship Japanese convoy in

continued fleet action in tho area The Domei wireless dispatch intended for United States listeners, said the landing was attempted at 7:30 a. m., Monday (Japanese time). Tokyo radio had previously predicted an American landing on the main Ryukyu island of Okinawa.

Fleet headquarters eight ships sunk by carrier aircraft Saturday included five warships. Set Many Fires

Philippine-based American bombers again struck Formosa just south of the Ryukyus, Gen Duoglas MacArthur announced wrecking the main hydroelectric plant of the big Japanese island with 145 tons of 2000-pound explosives.

War Fronts at a Glance

By United Press

WESTERN FRONT:

Enemy resistance crumples east of the Rhine as six allied armies advance; Third U. S. army gains 27 miles, takes several towns and bridge across Main river, threatens Frankfurt.

AIR:

Six thousand allied warplanes rip communications, silence heavy artillery in Rhine battle areas.

EASTERN FRONT:

Second soviet army joins drive toward Vienna, gains 28 miles along Danube; Russians within 70 miles of city.

PACIFIC:

 Japanese lost 59 planes in attack against Vice Adm. Marc Mitscher's task force.

ITALY:

 Ground action limited along entire front to patrolling.

SOUTHEAST ASIA:

 British compress Japanese into central Burma, capture Kume, 15 miles from enemy stronghold of Kyaukse.

Nazi Children

Told to Fight

LONDON, March 25 (UP) —

Germany Sunday called upon her children—girls as well as boys—to throw

themselves into the war'slast battles as tension gripped a reich jittery from contemplating the specter of impending defeat.

"You boys and girls must never capitulate," Nazi Leader Arthur Axmann, told a throng of children swearing fealty to Adolf Hitler at a ceremony in Berlin. "There is no going back for us any longer."

A Berlin broadcast said Axmann recited how German boys had blown up bridges, spied upon the allies in occupied regions of  Germany and unmasked spies. He

exhorted German children to devote "all your intelligence, the strength of your hands and the efforts of your young souls to promoting a turn for the better in this hour of supreme need."

Reminding his young hearers that "your fathers and brothers have been killed in action and bomb terror has taken your mothers and sisters," Axmann summoned

German girls and boys to emulate the many Hitler youths who, he said, wear the infantry assault badge, tank destruction badge, iron cross and other decorations

in honor of their martial exploits.