November 29, 1944; Germany's Saar Basin Invaded:

Charleston. West Virginia. Wednesday Morning. November 29. 1944

Kirchberg Taken

By U. S. 9th

Continues Along

Flooded Roer River : .

SUPREME HEADQUARTERS,

AEF, Paris, Nov. 28.—AP—

The U. S. 3d army broke into the rich Saar basin along a new seven mile front today and a lull-seals battle at the Siegfried line .appeared near as the three mainfortress cities of, Saarbrucken, Saarlautern and Merzig were brought within American' artillery range.

To the north the' U. S. 9th army seized three towns' on the west banks of the flooded Roer and Inde rivers, closing in on -: the strong hold of Jullich from three directions, while the U. S. 1st army squeezed closer .to Duren. another barrier to the Cologne plain.

As the hard-working U. S. 1^st and 9th army battle teams fought deeper into the enemy's tough Roer river line, hundreds of fighter bombers roared out in close support of the ground forces.

Lt, Gen. George S. Patton's 3rd army. in Rains totaling seven miles, lengthened Its holding inside Germany to a front of 26'miles. '

The newest gains placed 3rd army troops within three and a half miles of Saarlautern and within eight and half miles of Saarbrucken. They previously were- reported within wo miles of Merzig.

Foe Evacuate Civilians .

A front dispatch from Lewis Hawkins, Associated Press correspondent, said some prisoners reported non-essential civilians already were being evacuated from -the –three cities, as well as from the French border cities of Sarreguemines and Forbach.

Weather Retards

Ground Fighting

U. S. Battleship Sustains

Hit in Enemy Attack

GEN. MacARTHUR'S HEADQUARTERS,

Philippines. Nov. 29

— (Wednesday—(AP) —

Japanese torpedo and dive bombers swarmed down on American warships and transports at Leyte gulf Monday In the heaviest such raid since reinvasion of the Philippines and U. S. destroyers t h e .same night negotiated treacherous waters to shell Ormoc.

In their first penetration of the Philippines Inland sea.

. The actions, on opposite sides of an island where storms stalemated the ground action, were announced today by Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

The enemy planes, boring through Intense ack ack from the warships, attacked units which included a battleship and unspecified damage was acknowledged.

Pass Jap-Held Isles

The swift American destroyers, to get over to the west side of Leyte. had to pass through straits washing islands in the hands of the Japanese.

Soviets Smash

14 Miles Ahead

On Wide Front

Nazis Cleared from Tisza

In Northern Hungary

 By New Advance

LONDON, Nov. 29.-Wedncsday)—

Advancing westward all across the breadth of Czechoslovakia and clearing the Germans' from the right bank of  the 'Tisza river in northern Hungary, the Red army scored advances of as much as 14 miles yesterday on closely linked fronts more than 110.miles long, Moscow disclosed.

The Russian communique which announced these gains, with capture of more than -60 communities In Czechoslovakia and ' 14 In upper Hungary, was  silent 'concerning German announcement that Soviet troops. In a new drive west of the Danube 98 miles south of Budapest, had seized Mohac and were pushing toward the coal-mining city of Pees In southwest Hungary.

The Paris radio said the Red army also was approaching Lake Balatoi. 33 -miles northwest of Pecs., but on this, too, the -Russians ~were silent.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

LAMERSDORF AND

GROSSHAU FALL

TO AMERICANS

BY J. EDWARD MURRAY

Paris, Nov. 30 —

The American First and Ninth armys  captured Lamersdorf and, Grosshau and hamered the Germans back through the streets,

four other villages in savage fighting along a 21-mile front on the muddy plains before CotofM and Dussefdorf today.

The German line appeared to be sagging back toward the Roer river aloge the: entire sector beyond "Aachen 'despite fanatical resistance

by Germany's best troops, under orders to "stand or die."

Front dispatches said Germany was throwing her choicest reserves into action in the west to replace an estimated 100,000 troops killed, wounded .or captured in the first- three weeks of the- Allied "victory' offensive, along a 400-mile front from Holland to the Swiss border.

Matching the American, fains in the north, Lt. Gen. George S. Patton's American Third army advanced up to a mile and a half deeper into

Germany's Saar basin and seized, high ground: within two miles of both Mersig and Saarlautern, Siegfried Line strongholds on the Saar river.

RAMPAGING REDS

CROSS DANUBE IN

GREAT STRENGTH

By ROBERT MUSEL

London, Nov. "30—(UP)—

A rampaging Red army burst across the Danube in great strength and fanned out through southern Hungary on a broad front today in a last-breaking offensive that carried to within 50 miles or less of Lake Balaton, historic – invasion gate to Austria.

Riddling through the German and Hungarian defenses at a mile an-hour clip, the hard-charging Soviets captured the fortress city of Pecs, 108 miles south-southwest of Budapest, and overran more than 330 other towns and villages on a wedge-shape 93-mile front extending down the west bank of the Danube into Yugoslavia.

A triumphant Moscow communique revealed that the Russians were pushing out to the west and northwest at top speed,( raising the double threat of an invasion drive to the Austrian border, barely 100 miles away, as well as an enveloping thrust around the southern flank of Budapest.

YANKS SMASH 6TH

JAP ATEMPT T0

REINFORCE LEYTE

Allied, headquarters, Philippines,

Nov. 30— (UP)—

American planes have smashed a sixth large scale Japanese attempt to reinforce the doomed Leyte garrison, sinking 13 ships with at least 4,000 troops in a two-day battle in the Camotes sea, Gen. Douglas MacArthur announced today.

Two of the ten transports sunk reached the enemy stronghold of Ormoc on the west coast of Leyte and had unloaded partially before they were sent to the bottom, but the remainder went down with virtually all hands. Three escorting destroyers also were sunk.

The victory boosted the enemy's losses in six attempts at reinforcement of Leyte to 21.000 men, 28 transports of a total of 92,750 tons, and 17 escort vessels.