European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 10, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By Sid Whipple staff writer in the thunderous Climax of world War ii the . Seventh army sup ported by French allies slugged battled and blasted a thousand mile path through Western Europe and came Forest on be Day at the frontiers of Germany Austria and  operation one of the most spectacular of modern warfare had taken262 clays of continuous fighting. Its path resembled the Blade of a huge scythe thrusting from Southern France to the Saar East to the heart of Germany an South through Bavaria to the Alps. The seventh s baptism of fire had passed into history nearly a year before its assault on the French beaches on aug. 15, 1944, opened the Back Gates to Hitler s fortress  activated at sea july 10, 1943, of the Island of Sicily when its Flag was turned Over to Gen. George s. Pattonjr., the seventh plunged immediately into a joint attack upon the Island wit the British 8th army under command of Gen. Bernard l.  was no easy task. A powerful German army spearheaded by the crack Hermann Goering division occupied strategic Hills and cities ports and communications centers. Paratroops of the 82nd an div jumped into Sicily on the night of july 9-10 to disrupt communications and pre pare the Way for a beachhead assault by the 1st, 3rd and 45th inf dive an elements of the 9th inf and 2nd army  Armor in a desperate thrust nearly drove the americans Back to these but naval gunfire and artillery sup port blunted the nazi counterattack an men of the 1st inf div the red one pushed on to take the City of Gela while elements of the 45th div and the 82nd an smashed into Biscari Airfield an captured it intact with 80 grounded planes. At one blow the defending Ger mans were bereft of air Power. Welve Days later after a magnificent drive Over 72 Miles of rugged terrain men of the 2nd army and 3rd inf divisions together with a combat team from the 9th div and the 9tb div arty captured the key port of Palermo with an Ai drome that put Naples and Rome in easy bombing , the 1st and 45th inf had hammered through rough Mountain passes to the cities of Troina and Enna where the enemy s communications facilities were entered. Troina heavily fortified withstood the assault for six Days before it fell. With the fall of Troina the German retreated to the port of Messina from which minus most of their equipment and supplies they fled across the Straits to the italian  Conquest of Sicily had taken Only 38 Days. And it provided a prelude tothe abdication of Mussolini and the sur Render of the italian government to the Allied Powers. With Sicily secured there came a time out for seventh army though not for Many of its component  3rd inf div the 45th inf div and the 82nd an were transferred to the fifth army to train for the invasion of Italy. The 1st and 9th inf dive an the 2nd army div went to England for training As major combat outfits in the contemplated Cross Channel invasion overlord. The sevenths Headquarters remained at Palermo preparing to play its role in what was first called opera Tion Anvil later to become operation Dragoon the invasion of what Winsto Churchill called the soft Underbelly of  invasion training Center organized activated at sea july 10, 1943, the seventh plunged immediately into a joint attack 12 the seven birthday Gen. Pamon was first seventh army cd got its Flag on troop ship near and operated by seventh army Wasset up at Salerno and the 3rd, 36th and 45th inf dive released from fifth army began amphibious assault refresher courses there. They were to make up i corps. Meanwhile French resistance fight ers organized into the Fri French forces of the Interior were building up in manpower and equipment to play a valiant part Side by Side with the americans in operation Dragoon after Many delays occasioned by reduction of the last italian defences the operation got under Way aug. 15, when the Allied forces took off from ports in Italy Corsica and North Africa and con verged on Southern France. H hour found i corps hitting the beaches at Frejus St. Tropez St. Raphael and St. Maxime All peaceful resorts today where the Only bomb shells on the beaches come from the Cinema. In eight Days while French army a under command of the Brilliant general de latter de tas Signy was sweeping into the key ports of Toulon and mar Seille i corps slashed its Way North Ward 140 Miles. T this Point enemy resistance stiffened. A few Miles North of Monte i mar seventh army encountered the main elements of Germany s nineteenth army which was fighting a delaying action to provide an escape route for the German first army then trapped in the Region of the Bay of  was a major action involving an enemy Force of 15.000 men including to health Panzer div and elements of two other divisions. In eight Days the Ger mans were routed and pieces of the nineteenth escaped northward Only after abandoning prodigious quantities of vehicles guns and heavy  enemy reorganized at Besancon a fortress town surrounded by Moats an thick walled fortifications. The i corps crashed through All obstacles capture the City and turned a harassing fire on the enemy s retreating convoys heading for the Belfort Gap. Meanwhile another Spear of i corps task Force Butler had captured Gren Oble awl Lyon third largest City i France and one of its most important communications  the night of sept 10-11, less than a month after Sci Lmh army had plunged ashore one of Jug first great objectives had been attained a Hook army Sicily. I Ift. Palermo fell to seventh army troops As Climax to 12-Day drive Over 72 Miles Tain across Island of Sicily. Up with the forces of overlord sweep ing Down from the North. The meeting took place at som Bernon when a reconnaissance group of seventh army s French ii corps met on a Mored patrol from the american third army. Caught in the trap were 19,000 or mans including three generals and in Admiral. Southern France had now been liberated and the Allied powerhouse the stars and stripes rolled on toward Alsace and the re i a As the Campaign for Strasbourg withe Suar intensified seventh airing Power increased. Two ilium " s corps transferred from a .,2bdthird army the 79th inf in and French army we rolled through us Saverne tap captured Stran Twu opened the Way to the Shine. Seventh army was thus the we net seventh army opened up soft Underbelly of Europe with landings in Southern France on aug. 15, 1944. Mies and Hitler s crack Panzer Lehr div and the nineteenth had been thrust into the Colmar pocket where under the notorious Ilei Rich Himmler it was or dered to hold out to the last  to reach the historic waterway rentier of Hitler s realm. Mean Loff cart unforced by acquit if Xiv l was and the 100th and i corns huh Al my Delvs Altache s Man Euver a series of rugged is marked by victories Over Jeanv ivs of the wehrmacht weinian Tasi and nineteenth Ai k 1968 a nov. 24, seventh army was ordered North to assault the Siegfried line. The Xiv corps pushed on toward Biloche a strongly fortified position on the former Maginot line. Surrounded by Concrete forts Bitch had never i history been taken by assault. Troops of the 44th and 100th dive in action that approached hand to hand encounter blasted the germans out of their Bur  mid february 1945, after Success fully resisting a counter offensive de signed to recapture Alsace seventh army had cleared the Colmar pocket of All enemy units and turned North to Ward the Rich Industrial sector of the Saar. Its Power increased by addition of the xxi corps seventh army proceeded to the formidable task of reducing the Siegfried line a massive Complex of Concrete readouts entrenchments wire entanglements antitank and dragons  the fortress was breached on March 20 in separate actions by the 63rd, 45th.and 3rd inf dive and the demoralized German army was surrendering i droves near Homburg or fleeing to wards . Abandoning Al heavy equipment and supplies. The 10 Day Campaign had Cost the enemy the entire Industrial Region of the Saar. With the Rhine s West Bank firmly i Allied Possession the time had now come for penetration of Central Germany. The Rhine Broad and Swift had to be crossed at two Points North and Southof the historic City of Worms. With opposition ranging from mild to desperately determined the 3rd and 45th pushed Over the River turned Back two Panzer attacks and captured 2,462 prisoners by the end of its first Day March 26. The seventh drove on ready to open the Campaign for Central eur  its Mission to Cut across country split the enemy forces and prevent general withdrawal into Hitler s Bava Rian fortresses Xiv corps jumped Olson March 28, captured Mannheim crossed the main River won a blood Battle at Aschaffenbur and finally took the City of Nuernberg one of the shrines of National , xxi corps pushed through the Odenwald towards Wuerzburg an Schweinfurt to crush fanatical resist Ance in both cities where a o m guards police and firemen joined in the  army s i corps meanwhile was proceeding South eastward along the Neckar through Heidelberg taken without opposition to a Point near Heilbronn Center of a defense line manned by desperate elements of a regiments Mountain troops labor battalions Home guards and Young  and disorganized As this resist Ance was it held up the Advance for nine Dys to be finally crushed on april 13. The corps moved on. Heilbronn Stuttgart and Ulm were reduced after Sharp resistance but Augsburg at the Center of seventh army surge surrendered without a fight. Finally in an order of the Day on May 1,Gen. Dwight d. Eisenhower was Able to congratulate seventh army on the seizure of Munich the City where Hitler had started his March to  army closed in for the kill. Against ragged remnants of the once mighty wehrmacht now disorganized and in flight it continued the Broa Chase to the austrian Borders and the tyrolean Alps where on May 4 it Cap tured the Brenner pass. Peace came on May 8 and the world including the germans rejoiced. Seventh army was inactivated a Heidelberg on March 31, 1946, and its Battle worn Flag was retired to Washington awaiting another Call to the european theater. The Call came on nov. 24, 1950. When Gen Thomas t. Handy commander in chief Neucom presented the Colorito it. Gen. Man ton s. Eddy at Stuttgart Germany. The seventh Stask to provide an effective military Arm for the North Atlantic treaty organization 13 european Powers banded together to resist communist encroach ment on their territories. So seventh army stands today Strongin firepower modern in mobility ready for any eventuality but dedicated to the preservation of peace. Seventh army rolled across Rhine near Worms in killer thrust into  Germany. The stars and stripes Page 13