BENTON HARBOR, MICH.,
TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 1945
Americans Half Way
Across Reich; Panic
Enqulfs The Enemey
BULLETIN
WITH THE BRITISH SECOND ARMY,
East of the
Rhine, March 27-(AP)-
Enemy defenses have been broken completely
beyond Brunen, 15 miles north of Duisburg, and the British Second Army is
racing eastward tonight almost
unopposed.
BY JAMES M. LONG
PARIS, March 27-(AP)-
American tanks burst into the open
plains of middle Germany less than 244 miles from Berlin today through enemy
lines which Gen. Eisenhower declared had been broken in a massive defeat.
Swift armor of both the First and
Third Armies raced across the Reich unchecked, because—as Eisenhower said—the
foe has insufficient strength at hand with which to make a stand.
Opposition
Falls Apart
Hours ago, First Army tanks
lanced into Weilburg, 244 miles southwest of Berlin. A dispatch filed later but
shrouded by a censor blackout said the victory-flushed Army made spectacular
new gains in the continued sweep toward Berlin against opposition that had
fallen apart. The retreat became a rout; thousands of German captives streamed
to the rear.
The enemy said that Third Army
columns were approaching Wuerzburg in Bavaria 223 miles from Berlin, and had reached
Lohr, 225 miles from the capital.
Ruhr
Cities Under Fire
In the
north, the 21st Army group was slugging out gains against collapsing
German
resistance in a prelude to what may become the decisive breakthrough of the
campaign. Ninth Army troops fought in the
suburbs
of Duisburg and within artillery range of such Ruhr industrial
cities
as Essen, Duesseldorf, Gelsenkirchen, Mulheim and Oberhausen.
Several
miles were gained in the center and south of th north front.
The
First Army's dash—far past the rugged Rhineland hills into open
and
sparsely wooded farm country in the heart of Germany—had outflanked
the
whole Ruhr from the south.
The U.
S. Seventh Army, fighting south forged a 19-mile-long Rhine bridgehead north of
outflanked Mannheim and driven it four miles into
inner Germany in the first few hours.
Seventh
Army prisoners in 12 days totaled 35,000. Gen. Eisenhower, fresh from
visits, to the British and First Army fronts, said he believed that unconditional
surrender would be imposed upon Germany when the Allies and
Russian fronts finally meshed together. He expressed doubt there would be
a negotiated unconditional surrender.
Tokyo
Reports
Yank
Invasion
Of
Cebu, Kerama
Mighty
U. S. Warships,
Fleet
Planes Keep Up
Bombardments
GUAM,
March 27-(AP)-
A
Japanese imperial communique announced today that U. S. forces established
beachheads Sunday on the Kerama islands, just off Okinawa, in the Ryukus .
The
customery claim of annihilating enemy landing forces was omitted in the
broadcast communique.
The flat assertion of U. S.
landings has not been confirmed by Adm. Chester W.
Nimitz headquarters. American
communiques, however, did report damaging blows to Japan's underside by B-29s,
B-24s, and fleet surface and aerial bombardments.
These are the blows which have usually-preceded
former landings—and again may cast their shadow ahead:
1.
Shore Installations of Okinawa island were raked by Adm. Raymond A. Snrnance's Fifth
fleet guns for three consecutive days. Radio Tokyo said
they
had entered the fourth day.
2. Vice
Adm. Marc A. Mitscher's swift carrier planes, which recently raided the nearby
home island of Kyushu, ripsawed and blasted Okinawa's air installations. Radio
Tokyo said 1,250 U. S. carrier planes knifed into Okinawa's vitals.
3. A
largest fleet of Marianas based B-29s raided homeland airdromes within easy
airplane reach of Okinawa.
4.
Planes operating from the Philippines, announced Gen. Douglas MacArthur today,
continued to lambast Formosa's air installations.
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