"For Dear Life"

There was deadly certainty in every Allied move, whether studied or daring. There was a sense of finality, of nearing climax: this grand offensive might be the last big battle in the west.

Scottish veterans of far-off El Alamein heard it in the whine of shells, and they skirled bagpipes and sang Annie Laurie as they crossed the Rhine. Canadians who remembered their dead at Dieppe could scent victory in the smoke. U.S. doughboys, who had learned bitterly before the Roer and in the Ardennes that pessimism could also be a virtue, spilled out of the Navy's inland fleet (see below) with more than usual speed. There was confident enthusiasm now in the workmanlike way they went about their jobs.

Winston Churchill, squinting out over his cigar from an observation post back of valleyed Xanten, peered into the darkness as Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. Montgomery's troops thunderously transformed the Rhine from a barrier into just another stream. Then, all morning, he watched the big parade of aircraft sprinkling colored parachute blossoms on the green fields over the river.

Warrior Churchill could sight even greener fields not far beyond. He messaged: "British soldiers, it will long be told how, with our Canadian brothers and valiant United States allies, this superb task was accomplished. Once the river line is pierced and the crust of German resistance is broken, the decisive victory in Europe will be near. May God prosper our arms in this noble adventure after our long struggle for King and country, for dear life, and for the freedom of mankind."

This week Allied arms were indeed prosperous. The crust of German resistance behind the Rhine was not yet broken in telling depth, but it was crumbling under the swift knifings of U.S. armies and the grinding crunch of Monty's might.

Strong Heave. The Allies had only begun the one strong heave which Churchill had predicted would end the struggle quickly. In their expanding sectors east of the Rhine, the Americans were speedily turning to fluid movement. After a surprise crossing, Lieut. General George Smith Patton Jr.'s Third Army was on the loose (see below). Lieut. General William Hood Simpson's Ninth Army had slashed a quick opening, 'after its crossings downriver from Duisburg, and cut a bypassing path north of the Ruhr Valley's complex of industrial cities. Lieut. General Courtney Hicks Hodges' First Army had begun to burst the seams of its beefed-up bridgehead along a 35-mile front. Front reporters flashed the magic word: breakthrough.

"Monty" and Lieut. General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey (TIME, March 19) had wrought a precisely timed, superbly managed amphibious operation, but when it came the only surprise about it was the lack of immediate German resistance. Monty had taken his own good time to put the last bit of detail into its tidy place. The 51st Highland Division, which always leads a major Montgomery assault, the gallant 15th Scottish Division, the famed "Desert Rats" of the 7th Armored Division, all had rehearsed their roles.

Monty had all the guns his careful heart desired--they were massed less than 22 feet apart in some places.

Lesson Learned. He had telegraphed his punch for weeks, for three days had stoked a 66-mile smoke screen in hundreds of chemical generators strung along the river. The Germans had advertised their anticipation of airborne drops. But when they were made, German reaction was surprisingly light. One reason: the enemy had expected the drops farther east. Cautious Monty profited by the Arnhem lesson. This time the First Allied Airborne Army chuted to within artillery range of the ground forces.

By this week, rumbling over bridges captured by the Airborne, the British were across the Vessel River and, well ahead of schedule, had pushed at least 15 miles into the plain. General Simpson's Americans had broken across the Essen-Berlin autobahn, at one point were 17 miles east of the Rhine.

But Monty's and Simpson's men were likely to meet a hard core of defense. The Germans apparently had staked their bets on a plan to confine the British and Americans within a small perimeter of the bridgehead, were believed to have their best armored divisions in depth.

Monty exuded confidence. Said he : "The last round is going very well on both sides of the ring -- and overhead. . . . Having crossed the Rhine we will crack about in the plains of northern Germany, chasing the enemy from pillar to post." Winston Churchill wanted to crack about with them. He crossed the Rhine, had a close call when a German shell burst only 50 yards away. For a life that was dear to Britain, he was persuaded to retreat.

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