Supreme HQ Allied Expeditionary Force (March 17, 1945)
FROM
(A) SHAEF MAIN
ORIGINATOR
PRD, Communique Section
DATE-TIME OF ORIGIN
171100A March
TO FOR ACTION
(1) AGWAR
(2) NAVY DEPARTMENT
TO (W) FOR INFORMATION (INFO)
(3) TAC HQ 12 ARMY GP
(4) MAIN 12 ARMY GP
(5) AIR STAFF
(6) ANCXF
(7) EXFOR MAIN
(8) EXFOR REAR
(9) DEFENSOR, OTTAWA
(10) CANADIAN C/S, OTTAWA
(11) WAR OFFICE
(12) ADMIRALTY
(13) AIR MINISTRY
(14) UNITED KINGDOM BASE
(15) SACSEA
(16) CMHQ (Pass to RCAF & RCN)
(17) COM ZONE
(18) SHAEF REAR
(19) SHAEF MAIN
(20) PRO, ROME
(21) HQ SIXTH ARMY GP
(REF NO.)
NONE
(CLASSIFICATION)
IN THE CLEAR
Communiqué No. 343
UNCLASSIFIED: The Allied bridgehead across the Rhine is 13 miles long by seven miles deep. Our units in the northern part of the bridgehead are fighting in Königswinter after clearing Rhöndorf. The autobahn has been cut in two places northwest and southeast of Hövel. We are fighting in Hövel and Aegidienberg. A small enemy counterattack was repulsed just southeast of Aegidienberg. In the center of the bridgehead, stiff enemy resistance has been encountered in Kalenborn, and near Vettelschoss. To the south, we entered Bremscheid and reached the west bank of the Wied River to the east. Hönningen is virtually clear of the enemy. Communications in four towns east of the Remagen bridgehead, a rail bridge at Niederscheid and rail yards at Herdorf were attacked by medium and light bombers yesterday. Fighter bombers hit rail and road transport from Remagen east to Würzburg, and attacked airfields at Limburg, Schweinfurt, Würzburg and Frankfurt.
Our infantry crossed the Moselle River southwest of Koblenz and captured Waldesch. Other elements advanced to a point two miles south of Boppard and two miles west of the Rhine River. We repulsed a tank-supported counterattack near Herschwiesen, west of Boppard. In the Boppard sector, we cleared Ehr, Beltheim, Buch and Mörsdorf. Our armor made swift gains to the southeast. One column gained 11 miles to enter Rheinböllen and Ellern on the edge of the Soonwald Forest. To the west, another column advanced 12 miles to enter Simmern, captured a bridge intact, and pushed on to the southeast. Resistance to these advances was light.
Additional crossing of the Moselle were made by our infantry in the vicinity of Neef and Bullay. Southeast of Trier, we captured Reinsfeld, Hermeskeil, Gusenburg and Grünburg against decreasing enemy resistance. Farther to the southwest we captured Weiskircken and reached Losheim. we repulsed several tank-supported counterattacks in this area. Our infantry, advancing south along the east side of the Saar River, entered Saarhölzbach, where house-to-house fighting is in progress. Other elements are within three miles of Merzig. Enemy armored columns, and troops in the area east of Trier were attacked by fighter-bombers.
Our drive northward between the Saarbrücken area and the Rhine continued to make steady progress against spotty resistance. East of Saarbrücken we cleared Ensheim and pushed on more than two miles into the outer belt of the Siegfried Line. Ommersheim was taken in the northernmost advance in this area. Advances up to two miles were made farther southeast, and Medelsheim and several other villages were captured in this vicinity. Bitche, scene of heavy fighting in recent weeks, is being mopped up. Additional progress was made in the Hardt Mountain area over difficult terrain. Our troops entered Bärenthal and cut the Bärenthal-Zinswiller road. In the northern Alsace plain, advances of more than a mile at several points took our forces to the Zinsel River at Gumbrechtshoffen.
Haguenau has now been cleared and we have advanced northward into the Haguenau Forest.
Allied forces in the west captured 4,983 prisoners 15 March.
Fortified positions, mainly south of Zweibrücken, and communications in the areas of Neunkirchen, Kaiserslautern, Mannheim and east of Heidelberg were heavily attacked by medium and fighter-bombers. The railyards at Kaiserlautern were hit twice, and a large concentration of motor vehicles near Mannheim was bombed and strafed. Barracks, ordnance depots and rail and road targets at Landau were attacked by strong formations of medium and light bombers. In these operations 15 enemy aircraft were shot down. Seven were destroyed on the ground and others damaged. Eleven of our fighters are missing. Last night, heavy bombers were over Germany in strength with the important communications centers of Nuremberg and Würzburg as the main objectives. Targets in Berlin also were bombed.
COORDINATED WITH: G-2, G-3 to C/S
THIS MESSAGE MAY BE SENT IN CLEAR BY ANY MEANS
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Precedence
“OP” - AGWAR
“P” - Others
ORIGINATING DIVISION
PRD, Communique Section
NAME AND RANK TYPED. TEL. NO.
D. R. JORDAN, Lt Col FA4655
AUTHENTICATING SIGNATURE
/s/