Communique Number 346 – 20 March 1945
Allied forces continue to expand the Remagen bridgehead. We have pushed north to Oberkassel, on the Rhine River, and to the east have cleared Stockhausen and Windhagen against heavy enemy artillery fire. Another 1500 yards of the autobahn southeast of Windhagen is in our hands. In the southern sector of the bridgehead we cleared Rockenfeld, against moderate resistance, and reached Hammerstein. The bridgehead is 18 miles long and eight miles deep. Armored vehicles and transport in the Remagen bridgehad area were attacked by our aircraft. Koblenz has been cleared of the enemy and we control the west bank of the Rhine from Koblenz to Bingen. Bingerbrück, across the Nahe River west of Bingen, has been captured. In the area south of Bingen and east of Bad Kreuznach, heavy fighting is in progress. We have cleared Wolfsheim and Sprendlingen and entered Wöllstein. Bad Kreuznach and Sobernheim, to the southwest, are in our hands. Between Soberhnheim and Kirn to the west, our amored units crossed the Nahe River and pushed southeastward to clear Meisenheim and to reach the vicinity of Merzweiler, towns cleared in these advances include Meddersheim, Merxheim and Schmidthachenbach.
Our armored columns advancing from the north and west met in the vicinity of Merzweiler. The resulting pocket, which extends northwest almost to the Moselle River, is estimated to contain about 2000 enemy troops. Farther to the southwest our units cleared Sankt Wendel and Dirmingen. We captured the personnel and guns of an entire field artillery battalion in the Dirmingen area. Troop concentrations and transport south and east of Bad Kreuznach and Sankt Wendel were attacked by allied planes. In the Saarlouis bridgehead our units made gains northeastward against heavy resistance. Our forces breached the Siegfried Line defenses at more than a dozen points along the sector between Saarbrücken and the Rhine River. Some units are through the fixed fortifications. Resistance continued to be stubborn. Except for stragglers, the enemy has been entirely expelled from french soil in this area.
West of Zweibrücken, Alschbach was cleared and 21 pillboxes were knocked out. Gains were made in the immediate Zweibrücken area. Farther east, the enemy’s main defense line was reached in the Hardt Mountain area. Fighting continued in Niederschlettenbach. In the northern Aslace plain, we cleared Öberhofen, Altenstadt and Wissembourg, and advance elements drove northward three miles to Oberotterbach. Lauterburg, near the Rhine River, was taken after hard fighting. Enemy defenses in the Siegfried Line south of Pirmasens and Landau were bombed by medium bombers. Allied forces in the west captured 5040 prisoners on Mar 18.
Medium, light, and fighter bombers hit enemy road and rail traffic yesterday over an area ranging from north of the Ruhr to the Saar Valley. about 4000 motor and horse-drawn vehicles, rail cars and locomotives were destroyed and a very large number were damaged. Rail lines were cut in approximately 280 places including some in Holland. Among the day’s targets were rail yards at Coesfeld, Dülmen, Barmen, Landau, around Osnabrück and Münster, southwest of Kassel and east of the upper Rhine and rail traffic in and south of the Ruhr.
Five bridges were attacked, two between Osnabrück and Hanover and three west of Kassel. Fighter bombers hit a large motor repair depot north of Emmerich, an ammunition dump near Terborg, both in Holland, and airfields north and east of the Ruhr Valley. Escorted heavy bombers in very great strength, attacked industrial objectives at Plauen, Jena, Zwickau, jet aircraft factories at Neuburg, Leipheim, and Asbach, west of Neuburg, and marshalling yards at Fulda. A benzol plant at Gelsenkirchen, the railway viaduct at Arnsberg and another railway viaduct in the Bielefeld area were attacked by other escorted heavy bombers. In all the day’s operations, 47 enemy aircraft were shot down and 20 others were destroyed on the ground. Nineteen of our fighters are missing, according to reports so far received. Last night bombers attacked targets in Berlin and rail communications from the Ruhr to Hanover and south to Koblenz.
Communique Number 347 – 21 March 1945
Enemy resistance west of the Rhine and south of the Moselle rivers has been almost completely disorganized by swift allied advances. Our units have reached the Rhine, or points near it, at several places. We have reached the vicinity of Mainz and Bodenheim, and have captured Worms. Numerous towns have been overrun and captured including Alzey, southeast of Bad Kreuznach, and Niederhausen, Sankt Alban and Rockenhausen south of Bad Kreuznach. Elements of our armies advancing from the north and west made contact 12 miles west of Kaiserslautern, initially by-passed by an armored spearhead, has been entered by both armored and infantry units. Enemy supply installations have been overrun at some points and numbers of weapons and vehicles have been captured.
In the Saarlouis area our units cleared the towns of Roden, Fraulautern, Ensdorf, and Volkingen and advanced eastward to a point ten miles west of Neunkirchen. Northeast of Neunkirchen we captured Ottweiler and Furth. Saarbrucken, chief city of the Saar Basin, was taken in the rapid advance of our units which crossed the Saar River west of the city. Zweibrucken, 20 miles farther east, also was captured. We are through the Siegried Line on a wide front in this area, with enemy resistance disorganized at some points. Progress was slower in the rugged Hardt Mountains area. In the Rhine Valley, Kapsweyer, northeast of Wissenbourg, was captured.
In the triangle formed by Saarbrücken, Mainz, and Karlsruhe, fighter bombers struck throughout the day at enemy transport, guns and tanks retreating toward the Rhine. In a dawn attack between Bad Dürkheim and Frankenstein, 141 vehicles were destroyed and many others damaged. Our Rhine bridgehead at Remagen has been expanded to a length of 22 ½ miles and a depth of eight miles. In the north end of the bridgehead we cleared Oberkassel and entered the outskirts of Beuel, across the Rhine from Bonn. East of Beuel we reached Holziar and Stieldorf against light resistance. Northeast of Bad Honnef we captured Eudenbach and an airfield near the town. We repulsed two tank-supported counterattacks at the airfield. The enemy directed heavy artillery and mortar fire at the center of the bridgehead.
Farther south, resistance was light and our units gained 4000 yards to reach the vicinity of Leutesdorf. Allied forces in the west captured 13.873 prisoners Mar 19. The offensive against the enemy’s communications was continued yesterday by heavy, medium, light and fighter bombers. Targets in Holland and in western Germany from north of the Ruhr southward to Karlsruhe were attacked. Among the objectives were the rail centers of Bocholt and Dorsten; rail yards at Recklinghausen, Hamm, Geseke, Paderborn and Kassel; and road junctions at Gronau, Vreden and Westerburg. German airfields at Ahlen, Handorf, Haltern, Gûtersloh, Lippstadt, Geseke and Paderborn were attacked by fighter bombers. Fifty enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground and over 100 damaged in the course of these attacks.
An ammunition dump at Sythen was attacked by medium and light bombers while fighter bombers hit and ordnance depot at Marburg. Oil refineries at Hemmingstedt and Hamburg, submarine yards at Hamburg, and other targets in the port of Hamburg, were attacked by a strong force of escorted heavy bombers. Eleven enemy aircraft were shot down in the course of these operations. According to reports so far received four of our bombers and nine fighters are missing. Last night heavy bombers were over Germany with the synthetic oil plant at Böhlen and the oil refinery at Hemmingstedt as the main objectives. Light bombers again attacked targets in Berlin.
Communique Number 348 – 22 March 1945
Allied forces have reduced the German held area south of the Moselle and west of the Rhine to little more than a bridgehead. Enemy units remaining in the area are generally disorganized. Bingen, on the Rhine west of Mainz, has been completely cleared of the enemy and several towns to the east have been mopped up. Gonsenheim, one and one-half miles west of Mainz, and Dexheim, near the Rhine south of Mainz, have been captured. We repulsed two small counterattacks in the area between Dexheim and Mainz. Our armored units have entered Ludwigshafen and reached the Rhine one mile north of the city. Farther southwest our forces are fighting in Neustadt and have cleared Kaiserslautern and Enkenbach-Alsenborn to the northwest.
Another linkup by allied armies advancing from the north and west was made in the area south of Ottweiler. Our units occupied Sankt Ingbert, south of Ottweiler, and Homburg, east of Sankt Ingbert between Pirmasens and the Rhine the enemy is fighting stubbornly in an attempt to keep open an escape route. Fighter bombers bombed and strafed targets west of the Rhine including a convoy stretching for ten miles between Pirmasens and Landau. In the Karlsruhe area, fighter bombers struck at rail lines and motor transport. In our Remagen bridgehead we have cleared Beuel, opposite Bonn, and reached the Sieg River on a seven mile front from the Rhine east to Niederpleis after capturing a number of villages. Several counterattacks were repulsed at the airfield near Eudenbach and the enemy continued to direct heavy artillery and mortar fire at the center of the bridgehead. In the southern sector we repulsed a small counterattack north of Leutesdorf. The bridgehead is approximately 25 miles long and eight miles deep. Enemy armor near the bridgehead was attacked by fighter bombers. Allied forces in the west captured 8683 prisoners on Mar 20.
Ten airfields in western Germany and a tank plant at Plauen, south of Leipzig, were attacked by 1400 escorted heavy bombers yesterday. Escorting fighters dive-bombed and strafed the airfields. Forty-three enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground. Rail yards at Münster and Rheine and an oil refinery at Bremen were heavily attacked by other escorted heavy bombers. A rail bridge spanning the Weser River in the neighborhood of Bremen was attacked with 22.000 pound bombs. Medium and light bombers attacked the rail yards and communications centers north of the Ruhr at Anholt, Isselburg, Bocholt, Borken, Dorsten, Ahaus, Vreden, Stadtlohn, Haltern, Coesfeld and Dülmen. Fighter bombers attacked rail yards at Winterswijk, northeast of Bocholt, and struck at the enemy’s main rail routes east and west of Münster and in Holland.
Enemy barracks and an ammunition and oil dump at Wezep, southwest of Zwolle, were hit by rocket-firing fighters. Rail traffic in the Ruhr and in the Limburg area, bridges in the region of Kassel and rail lines and rolling stock around Frankfurt were targets for fighter bombers. An oil refinery at Uetze, east of Hanover, was bombed. An ammunition factory and a storage dump at Eberstadt, south of Darmstadt, were hit by medium bombers. Farther south in the Freiburg area medium bombers attacked rail yards at Riegel, west of Emmeningen, and at Schramberg. In all operations, 19 enemy aircraft were shot down. According to reports so far received, nine of our heavy bombers, five medium and light bombers, and 21 fighters are missing. Targets in Berlin were attacked twice during the night by light bombers. Transport and other objectives northeast of the Ruhr and south to Köln were attacked by other light bombers.
Communique Number 349 – 23 March 1945
Allied forces continue to reduce the German bridgehead west of the Rhine. We control the west bank of the river from Koblenz to Ludwigshafen, although our forces have not reached the river at all points along this stretch. In Mainz, the enemy is still resisting in a small area along the river in the northwest part of the city. Between Mainz and Worms, our units pushed toward the Rhine on a broad front. Fighting continues in Ludwigshafen. Our armored elements have reached points five miles northwest and seven miles west of Speyer, Neustadt and Annweiler have been cleared and our units are within three miles of Landau. Fairly strong enemy resistance was encountered east of Neustadt where some of our tanks were knocked out by enemy artillery. Farther to the west, we cleared Neunkirchen.
In Zweibrücken, which was partly by-passed two days earlier, several hundred prisoners were taken. Pirmasens, ten miles farther east, was captured. Several thousand allied nationals were freed by our advances. The enemy continued to fight stubbornly in the remaining section of the Siegfried Line to keep open an escape route, but we are through the fortifications at several more points. Rumbach has been cleared, and Birkenhördt and Böllenborn reached. In the northern part of our Remagen bridgehead our units reached Buisdorf, and cleared half of Hennef, three miles southeast of Siegburg. In the area south of Hennef our infantry cleared several towns and encountered moderate resistance from enemy artillery and mortar fire.
Resistance continued to be stiff in the northeast sector of the bridgehead. Advances by our troops in the south lengthened the bridgehead to 31 miles along the Rhine River. We reached Neuweid after capturing several towns including Leutesdorf and Irlich. Numerous enemy mines were encountered in this advance. Allied forces in the west captured 16.400 prisoners on Mar 21. The aerial offensive against the enemy’s communications continued yesterday and enemy airfields and other objectives were attacked. Communications targets in Holland and in western Germany from Bremen southward to Stuttgart were targets for heavy, medium, light and fighter bombers. Rail bridges at Bremen and Nienburg, the communications and supply centers of Bocholt, Dorsten and Dülmen, and targets at Hildesheim were attacked by escorted heavy bombers in great strength.
Twenty-four communications centers north of the Ruhr; two others in Holland, and enemy airfields at Münster, Handorf, Gütersloh and Paderborn were attacked by other medium and light bombers. Escorted heavy bombers in very great strength bombed nine German army encampments and concentration centers in the Ruhr and attacked enemy airfileds including those at Giebelstadt, Ahlhorn and Kitzingen. Rail bridges at Heidelberg and Neckargemünd were attacked by medium bombers. More than 50 rail yards were attacked during the day’s operations. A large number of rail cars and motor vehicles were destroyed and locomotives were disabled. Rail lines were cut in many places. Tanks and armored vehicles in the Altenkirchen area were attacked by fighter bombers. Targets in Berlin were attacked last night by light bombers. Other light bombers struck at enemy movements around the Ruhr.
Communique Number 350 – 24 March 1945
Allied forces have established another bridgehead across the Rhine, in an area south of the Remagen bridgehead. The crossing was made at 2200 hours Thursday, without air or artillery preparation and our forces have since been engaged in enlarging the bridgehead. Meanwhile other forces are in the process of mopping up the remaining German pockets in the Saar. The last such pocket between Koblenz and Ludwigshafen is being reduced at a point eight lines miles north of Worms. Fighting continues in Ludwigshafen and Rheingönheim, on the southern edge of the city, has been cleared. Speyer and Landau have been captured and our units are mopping up in Edenkoben north of Landau and in Spirkelbach to the east. Our forces have broken through another section of the remaining Siegfried Line defenses and are rapidly reducing the last enemy elements along the Alsace border near the Rhine.
Klingenmünster, Bad Bergzabern and Oberhausen have been captured and our units have reached Winden. Enemy elements remaining in this area have been squeezed into a strip ten miles deep along the Rhine east and southeast of Landau. Resistance is stubborn and we repulsed a counterattack near Steinfeld, five miles west of Wissembourg. Hennef, in the northern part of our Remagen bridgehead, has been captured. In the central sector we reached the autobahn east of Rahms, extending the bridgehead to a depth of ten miles at that point. Farther south our units are across the Wied River on a 14-mile front north of Neuwied. Breitscheid, Waldbreitbach, Niederbreitbach, Niederbieber and Segendorf have been captured and Neuwied has been cleared. Enemy artillery fire was heavily in the vicinity of Breitscheid.
Enemy armor and road transport northeast of the bridgehead were bombed by fighter bombers. Allied forces in the west captured 14.056 prisoners on Mar 22. The air attack on the enemy communications was again very heavy yesterday. Marshalling yards at Osnabrück, Rheine, Münster, Coesfeld, Recklinghausen and Gladbeck and east and southeast of the Ruhr at Unna, Geseke, Holzwickede, Siegen and Narburg were attacked by escorted heavy bombers in very great strength. A rail bridge northeast of Bielefeld and another over the Weser River at Bremen were attacked with 22.000 and 12.000-pound bombs by other escorted heavy bombers. More than 20 communications centers between Münster and the Rhine were hit by medium and light bombers which operated in very great strength throughout the day.
Fighter bombers ranged over a wide area mainly north and east of the Ruhr attacking rolling stock, rail lines, and road transport. Many gun positions also were hit. Road traffic was bombed in the Frankfurt, Giessen, Fulda area. Farther south, rail yards at Heidelberg and Neckargemünd, rail bridges at Neckarelz and near Mosbach, southeast of Heidelberg, rail lines and other targets east of the Rhine were attacked by medium and fighter bombers. Two enemy airfields in Holland, a factory west of Meppen and an ammunition dump and other objectives in the Arnhem area were hit by fighter bombers and rocket-firing fighters. During the day, a very large number of rail cars, locomotives, motor and horse-drawn vehicles was destroyed or damaged. Twenty-five enemy aircraft were shot down and ten others were destroyed on the ground. Targets in Berlin were attacked by light bombers last night.
Special Communique Number 7 – 24 March 1945
The allied forces today are crossing the Rhine River on a wide front north of the Ruhr. Elements of the First Allied Airborne Army have been landed east of the Rhine. Operations are being assisted by allied navies and air forces, following an intensive aerial preparation.
Communique Number 351 – 25 March 1945
The allied attack across the Rhine southeast of Nijmegen and north of the Ruhr is making good progress. Enemy resistance, which varied from light to moderate at the beginning of the attack, is stiffening but our forces are firmly established. Fighting is in progress in the towns of Rees and Dinslaken. The locks of the Lippe Canal have been cleared also the towns of Wesel, Spellen, Löhnen, Voerde, Möllen, Overbruch and Walsum have been captured. At some points our units have pushed as much as five miles east of the Rhine. Airborne units, which landed ahead of the attacking forces captured their objectives and linked up with the advancing ground units in at least two places. These forces were transported by more than 3100 tow planes and gliders. The airborne units captured intact six bridges over the Issel River and have taken a number of prisoners.
Ahead of the Airborne forces, medium, light and fighter bombers attacked enemy gun positions with fragmentation and high explosive bombs. As the German guns opened fire fighter bombers dived to silence them in low level attacks. Fighters patrolled the enemy’s airfields and provided escort and protective cover for the aerial transport. German troops, strong points and armor in the battle area were bombed and strafed by heavy medium, light and fighter bombers operating in very great strength. Other heavy bombers, flying very low, dropped supplies to our forces on the ground. In the Remagen bridgehead our units met stiffened resistance in the northeast sector and repulsed several enemy counterattacks in the vicinity of Hennef.
In the central sector we reached points 500 yards beyond the autobahn in the area east of Rahms. Farther to the south, we captured Kurtscheid and Rengsdorf, and advanced east along the Rhine River to within 1000 yards of Engers. The Remagen bridgehead is now 33 miles long and ten miles deep. Our forces are strengthening and expanding their bridgehead over the Rhine in an area between Mainz and Worms against scattered resistance. The bridgehead is now more than four miles deep and considerably more than four miles long. A bridge has been constructed across the river. The towns of Astheim, Geinsheim, Leeheim, and Erfelden, all in the area west of Darmstadt, have been captured.
Naval units assisted in the crossing of the river, and some of our tanks and tank destroyers are now operating in the bridgehead. Nearly all organized resistance was overcome in the small enemy pocket left in the Saar-Palatinate west of the Rhine. Only a few Siegfried Line positions were still being defended. Our forces drove to the rhine at Leimersheim north of Karlsruhe. many other Rhine Valley towns were taken. Allied forces in the west captured 20.963 prisoners on Mar 23. Our air forces flew more than 10.000 sorties yesterday striking at enemy troops, armor and strong points in the Wesel battle area severing the enemy’s communications, bombing his airfields and attacking other objectives.
Communications and transport in and around the Ruhr and southward to Stuttgart were heavily attacked. Objectives included communications centers at Stadtlohn, Borken and Dorsten; rail yards at Sterkrade and Pforzheim; bridges at Vlotho, Pracht, Cölbe, Germersheim, Kochendorf, Pforzheim and a rail viaduct at Bietigheim. Sixteen enemy airfields east of the Rhine were attacked by heavy bombers in very great strength. Supply dumps at Pforzheim were hit by fighter bombers. An oil refinery near Dortmund, and a benzol plant near Bottrop were bombed by heavy bombers. Targets in Berlin were bombed by light bombers last night.
Communique Number 352 – 26 March 1945
Allied forces continue to make good progress in their bridgehead over the Rhine north of the Ruhr. Rees is virtually clear, and to the north we have captured Speldorf. Southeast of Rees, haffen and Mehr have been taken and south of Wesel we have captured Lippedorf, Friedrichsfeld and Dinslaken. We hold over 25 miles of the east bank of the Rhine and our units have pushed eastward more than seven miles at some points. Enemy artillery positions and strong points, tanks, troop concentrations and road transport in the bridgehead area were attacked by medium, light and fighter bombers operating from the first light and in very great strength. Close cooperation was maintained throughout the day with our forward units. Fighters flew constant patrols over the whole area.
Targets in the Arnhem area and farther north were also hit with rockets and bombs. We made advances to the east along almost the entire length of the Remagen bridgehead. More than a dozen towns and villages were captured. After repulsing several counterattacks in the northeast sector our units captured Uckerath. In the central sector we reached Fiersbach and Flammersfeld southeast of Uckerath. Farther south our infantry units, after meeting stiff resistance from infantry and tanks, captured Ellingen and Dasbach. In the southern sector our armor captured Engers, cleared Bendorf and reached Vallendar. Fighter bombers gave close support to ground units in the Remagen area. Concentrations of enemy armor were hit northeast of the bridgehad and six communications centers were bombed.
Our infantry made new crossings of the Rhine between Koblenz and Boppard. The crossings were made in assault boats and our units met strong resistance from anti-aircraft guns and dug-in enemy positions. Fast moving armored spearheads advanced 27 miles from the bridgehead between Mainz and Worms and captured a bridge intact over the Main River. Russelsheim, on the Main River ten miles southwest of Frankfurt, has been captured. Farther south the bridgehead has been expanded to a depth of 13 miles. Darmstadt has been captured and our units have entered Grafenhausen and Weiterstadt to the northwest. West of darmstadt, we have captured Griesheim and to the southwest Goddelau, Pfungstadt, Jugenheim and Hahnlein are in our hands. We have cleared the enemy from the last portion of the west bank of the rhine between Switzerland and Holland. Final resistance was overcome with the silencing of snipers on the west bank between Speyer and Karlsruhe.
Allied forces in the west captured 31.348 prisoners on Mar 24. The main railway centers of Münster, Osnabrück and Hanover were heavily bombed by escorted heavy bombers in strength. Seven rail yards between the Rhine and Braunschweig were hit by strong formations of fighter bombers. Rail and road traffic from Wipperfürth, northeast of Köln, over a wide area southeast to Aschaffenburg and Fulda, were hit by fighter bombers. Medium and light bombers in great strength operated between the Remagen bridgehead and Frankfurt attacking rail yards, communications centers and defense installations. Transportation targets were numerous and the destruction of enemy materiel in these attacks was very heavy.
Communications and transportation east of the upper Rhine were attacked by fighter bombers. Two bridges, one at Weiher, between Heidelberg and Karlsruhe, and another west of Mosbach, were destroyed. Medium bombers attacked a tank and motor repair depot at Mörsch, southwest of Karlsruhe. Underground oil storage depots at Ehmen, northeast of Braunschweig; Buchen, east of Hamburg, and at Hitzacker farther south, were attacked by escorted heavy bombers. In all the days operations well over 6000 sorties were flown by the allied air forces. Nineteen enemy aircraft were shot down and 14 others were destroyed on the ground. Ten of our heavy bombers, one medium bomber and 28 fighters are missing. Targets in Berlin were attacked by light bombers last night.
Communique Number 353 – 27 March 1945
Allied forces continued to strengthen their bridgehead over the Rhine north of the Ruhr. Rees has been completely cleared and to the north, Bienen has been captured. North of Wesel we occupied Hamminkeln and advanced beyond it. Good progress has been made between the Lippe Canal and Dinslaken, and Hünxe, Bruckhausen and Hiesfeld have been captured. In the Wesel area enemy armor, gun positions and troops were attacked by medium, light and fighter bombers, operating in strength immediately ahead of our ground forces. Single enemy tanks, being used as forward gun positions, were hit by rocket-firing fighters. Other fighter bombers took a heavy toll of motor transport in and behind the battle area and attacked airfields at Dorsten and Dortmund. Our forces have broken out of the Remagen bridgehead. In the north we gained 4000 yards to reach the outskirts of Eitorf on the Sieg River, and to the southeast other elements advanced up to seven miles to reach a point one mile southeast of Altenkirchen.
Tanks and armored vehicles north of Altenkirchen were attacked by fighter bombers. In the central sector of the bridgehead we pushed eight miles eastward and reached Maxsain, while to the south our units gained 15 miles to reach Staudt, two miles north of Montabaur. Our forces in a 22-mile advance, drove east of Grenzhausen, and then southeastward along the Köln-Frankfurt autobahn to Limburg. East of the Rhine between Koblenz and Boppard, we cleared Filsen and advanced southeast against varying resistance to take Lykershausen. Our units pushing out seven miles to the northeast from the bridgehead in the Mainz-Worms area have entered the outskirts of Frankfurt.
We now control the south bank of the Main River for a stretch of seven miles upstream from its junction with the Rhine. East of Frankfurt, our units reached the Main River opposite Hanau. Two enemy counterattacks, one to the south of Hanau and the other at Aschaffenburg, were repulsed. Targets at Aschaffenburg were bombed by aircraft cooperating closely with our ground forces. In the area between Frankfurt and Darmstadt, we have entered Langen and have cleared Wixhausen. Farther south our units made another Rhine crossing without air or artillery preparation. Allied forces in the west captured 15.132 prisoners on Mar 25.
Communications and rail targets in and around the Ruhr were attacked by fighter bombers. Objectives included rail yards at Dorsten, Recklinghausen, Lünen, Ahlen, Hamm, Essem, and Hagen, and 13 rail yards in the Siegen and Giessen areas. A strong force of medium and light bombers bombed rail yards at Flieden, Gemünden and Würzburg while fighter bombers struck at rail traffic in the Frankfurt and Fulda areas. Road and rail transport, strong points and communications were attacked by fighter bombers flying missions ahead of our ground forces in the battle areas south of Frankfurt. In the Heidelberg-Karlsruhe-Stuttgart triangle, motor vehicles were hit. An armored vehicle plant at Plauen and a synthetic oil plant and refinery at Zeitz were attacked by a strong force of escorted heavy bombers. Railroad and water transport in widespread areas of Holland were attacked by fighter bombers. South of Enschede, a train of petrol tank cars was destroyed. Strong points southwest of Arnhem and other military objectives northwest of Nijmegen were hit with rockets and bombs. Targets in Berlin were attacked during the last night by light bombers.
