Communique Number 354 – 28 March 1945
The heavy enemy resistance in the northern sector of the allies’ lower Rhine bridgehead shows signs of slackening. Northeast of Rees our hold on the Emmerich-Wesel railway has been extended. To the east, our forces have crossed the Issel River and entered Dingden. North of Wesel, our units pushing up from Hamminkeln, have taken Ringenberg, and to the east we have captured Brünen. East of Wesel, along the Lippe Canal, Krudenberg and Gahlen are in our hands and we are within three miles of Dorsten. To the south, other units have taken Walsumermark and Holten and are within a thousand yards of the main Ruhr autobahn.
In the northern sector of our bridgehead of Remagen we met stiff resistance along the Sieg River. Elsewhere our units continued to break from the bridgehead. Armored elements cleared Altenkirchen and Wahlrod and advanced eastward 27 miles to reach the vicinity of Herborn. To the south, another armored column reached Altenberg, two miles west of Wetzlar, after a 14-mile advance. Armored elements reached the outskirts of Weilburg, about ten miles northeast of Limburg and another unit crossed the Lahn River to Aumenau, ten miles east of Limburg. Infantry units following up the armor have cleared Limburg and another armored unit advancing along the autobahn to the southeast, reached a point five miles north of Wiesbaden. Along the east bank of the Rhine our units pushing from the south and from the north linked up at Niederlahnstein, four miles south of Koblenz after capturing a number of towns and villages.
Our armored units are fighting in Frankfurt after crossing the Main River in a railroad bridge which had been damaged but not destroyed. The Frankfurt suburbs of Schwanheim, Niederrad and Sachsenhausen have been cleared. To the east our units are fighting in Hanau. Concentrations of motor vehicles in the Giessen area and near Dillenburg and Frankfurt were bombed by fighter bombers, more than 600 vehicles were destroyed. A number of rail yards and fortified towns also were bombed. Troop concentrations at Bensheim and east of Darmstadt at Breitenbach also were attacked.
In our bridgehead near Worms our units captured more than 2500 prisoners. Eastward advances of up to about nine miles have been made and a number of towns have been cleared. Among the places occupied were Langwaden, Kleinhausen, Bürstadt and Lampertheim, and our forces have generally crossed the autobahn which runs north and south throughout the zone. Our units mopping up on the west bank of the Rhine captured a divisional commander, Gen Franz Sensfuss and his Chief of Staff. Allied forces in the west captured 19.712 prisoners on Mar 26. The railway center of Paderborn was heavily bombed by escorted heavy bombers yesterday. The concrete u-boat shelters under construction at Farge, near Vegesack on the Weser River were attacked with 22.000-pound bombs. A large oil storage depot in the same area and the Konigsborn and Sachsen benzol plants near Hamm were attacked by other escorted heavy bombers. Fighter bombers attacked targets at Neckarsteinach and Neulußheim in the Heidelberg area. Targets in Berlin were attacked last night by light bombers.
Communique Number 355 – 29 March 1945
Allied forces breaking out of their bridgehead across the Rhine north of the Ruhr have made good progress in all sectors. North of Rees our units reached the outskirts of Emmerich and captured Isselburg. Farther east, we advanced rapidly to Borken, Erle and the part of Dorsten that is north of the Lippe Canal. South of the Canal, we occupied besten and Kirchhellen and cleared Hamborn. In the northern sector of our lower Rhine bridgehead fighter bombers attacked enemy transport, troops, tanks and guns. At Ahaus a petrol laden convoy was destroyed. Other fighter bombers bombed an artillery observation post east of Isselburg.
Farther south, our armored units driving eastward have entered Giessen, 65 miles east of the Rhine River, and Bellnhausen, eight miles north of Giessen. One unit reached the vicinity of Lich, six miles southeast of Giessen, after an advance of 27 miles. Weilburg, southwest of Giessen, has been captured, and our armor crossed the Lahn River there, and at Aumenau, six miles farther south. Infantry units, mopping up behind the armor west of the Giessen-Weilburg area, reduced enemy strong points and units bypassed by the armor. Our forces across the Rhine east of Boppard, reached the vicinity of Hennethal, ten miles northwest of Wiesbaden.
Farther south, our units, after making another crossing of the Rhine, have cleared Kastel, Hochheim-am-main and Biebrich, and have entered Wiesbaden. Our infantry and armor have cleared half of Frankfurt against stiff opposition, Hanau and Aschaffenburg farther to the east have been cleared. North of Hanau, our armor reached the vicinity of Nieder-Florstadt, six miles southeast of Bad Nauheim.
Road and rail transport and communications south and east of the Ruhr in the areas of Hagen, Wipperfürth, Bergneustadt and Warburg and south and east of Giessen were struck at by fighter bombers. Rail yards at Engelskirchen and Olpe; targets at Attendorn; a road junction at Kitzingen and oil storage depots at Neuenheerse and Ebrach were bombed by medium and light bombers. We continued to expand our bridgehead in the Darmstadt-Mannheim area. The bridgehead area is now more than 200 square miles. Several bridges are in operations across the Rhine. Units pushing out of the bridgehead reached Niedernberg, on the Main River south of Aschaffenburg, after occupying Groß-Umstadt. Progress was slower in the Odenwald Forest area but more than a score of towns were taken. The northern half of Mannheim has been cleared. Fourteen hundred additional prisoners have been taken in this area east of the Rhine. On the west bank of the Rhine some 700 more enemy stragglers have been picked up. Allied forces in te west captured 17.039 prisoners on Mar 27. Armored vehicle plants at Spandau and Falkensee, industrial suburbs of Berlin, and rail yards and armored vehicle plants in the Hanover area, were bombed by strong forces of escorted heavy bombers. Communications in Holland were attacked by fighter bombers.
Communique Number 356 – 30 March 1945
North of the Ruhr allied forces continue to make good progress in the break-out from their Rhine bridgehead. Several armored thrusts have achieved gains of more than ten miles. In the area of Emmerich heavy fighting continues. Gun positions north of Emmerich were attacked by medium and light bombers. Our armored units, thrusting deeper into Germany over a wide area east and southeast of the Ruhr, have reached numerous points on a line extending roughly from Paderborn on the north to Aschaffenburg on the south. One unit driving north advanced 55 miles to reach a point ten miles south of Paderborn. To the south other units have reached Lelbach, Titmaringhausen, Langewiese and Hallenberg. Walbach, south of Siegen and northwest of Giessen, has been cleared by our infantry.
Northeast of Giessen, our armor has captured Warburg and reached Amoneburg, 85 miles east of the Rhine. East of Giessen, we have entered Ulrichstein and Lauterbach. Small arms and sniper fire, scattered mines and road blocks were encountered in this advance. To the south, between Giessen and Frankfurt our units have reache Langgöns, Bad Nauheim and cleared a number of towns including Rendel and Massenheim. The city of Frankfurt has been cleared. In the area between the Rhine and the Giessen-Frankfurt road units moving from the north and from the south linked up along the Köln-Frankfurt autobahn at Kamberg, Idstein and Nierhausen. The city of Wiesbaden has been cleared.
East of Darmstadt our units reached the Main River on a 12-mile front and hold the east bank for a distance of eight miles south of Aschaffenburg. Resistance stiffened in this area with the enemy fighting from prepared positions. Farther south, armored elements advanced beyond Michelstadt. Other units are northeast of Beerfelden. Mannheim on the Rhine has been captured. The Neckar River has been crossed at several points in this area. Ladenburg to the east has been cleared and our units are within three miles of Heidelberg. Allied forces in the west captured 18.719 prisoners on Mar 28. A benzol plant near Braunschweig was attacked by escorted heavy bombers.
Communique Number 357 – 31 March 1945
North of the Ruhr allied forces continue to make rapid progress in all sectors. In the area east of Emmerich the towns of Netterden, Anholt and Dinxperlo have been cleared. Farther to the east Bocholt Borken and Dülmen are in our hands and substantial advances have been made beyond these points. In the area south of the Lippe Canal, Dorsten, Gladbeck, Bottrop and Hamborn have been captured. Gun positions north of Emmerich were attacked by medium and light bombers. Enemy troops and gun positions in the Münster-Düsseldorf-Paderborn area; an airfield east of Düsseldorf, and another at Gütersloh, were hit by fighter bombers. East of the Ruhr our units have entered Paderborn, and Husen. In the area southwest of Kassel we reached a point just west of Frankenau.
Farther east, our units advanced up to 30 miles to reach Altwildungen and Fritzlar. Other elements reached Borken on the Kassel-Frankfurt railroad line. All these advances were made by armored elements followed by infantry which continued mopping up operations. In the Sieg River sector, our infantry units reached a point two miles south of the town of Siegen. Armored units striking north and northeast from the vicinity of Bad Nauheim advanced up to 42 miles to reach the vicinity of Treysa and Alsfeld, some 30 miles northeast of Giessen. Enemy planes strafed our units making these advances. Armored elements pushed northeast from Lauterbach to the vicinity of Grebenau and south of Lauterbach we entered Herbstein.
An armored unit moving northeast from Hanau reached the vicinity of Büdingen against resistance which decreased from severe to scattered during the advance. Infantry elements are mopping up northeast of Hanau behind our armored spearheads. Other infantry elements pushed to points five miles east and southeast of Hanau, repulsing two enemy counterattacks in the sector. Mopping up operations continue in the pocket west of Wiesbaden; and in the area between Frankfurt and Giessen. Strong resistance was encountered by our units in the Wiesbaden pocket.
South of Aschaffenburg, we have a twelve mile bridgehead across the Main River as deep as three miles. In this area the enemy is fighting stubbornly from prepared positions. Farther south armored elements drove eastward beyond Amorbach in an advance hindered by rugged terrain and blown bridges. Eight miles still farther south Mudau was reached. The ancient university city of Heidelberg was taken after surrender negotiations failed. Our units crossed the Neckar River east and west of the city. Advances of some six miles also were made south of Mannheim along the east bank of the Rhine.
The day’s prisoners included the German 719.Infantry-Division commander who was taken on the west bank of the Rhine. Allied forces in the west captured 18.542 prisoners on Mar 29. Five submarine yards and other targets in the port areas of Wilhelmshaven, Bremen, Farge, northwest of Bremen and Hamburg were heavily attacked yesterday by escorted heavy bombers in very great strength. Road and rail transport and other communications targets in Holland and north and east of the Ruhr were struck at by fighter bombers and rocket-firing fighters. A tank assembly plant at Bad Oeynhausen; an ordnance depot at Hannoversch Münden; and an oil storage factory at Ebenshausen north of Eisenach were attacked by medium and light bombers. In the day’s operations, seven enemy aircraft were shot down and 42 others were destroyed on the ground. Nine of our heavy bombers, one light bomber and 12 fighters are missing. Light bombers attacked targets in Berlin and enemy communications over a wide area of Holland and northern Germany last night.
