Evening star., 1942-03-14
Russia Crushes
Nazi Thrusts on
Moscow Front
Drive on Smolensk
Reported Narrowing
Escape Corridor
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Russian troops were reported
to have narrowed the escape
corridor" of Adolf Hitler's armies
on the Moscow front to 20 miles
today as the Soviet counteroffen-
sive rolled on toward Smolensk
and crushed desperate German
attempts to strike back.
Smolensk, 230 miles west of Mos
COW, is the key Nazi base on the
entire central front.
Advices reaching London said the
Russians were steadily closing the
jaws on trap around German
forces now virtually bottled up in
the Rzhev-Vyazma region.
The lone channel OF retreat was
cut to width of 20 miles pre-
sumably near Durovo, on the Vyaz-
maSmolensk highway about 35
miles west of Vyazma. Russian
troops had last been reported 10
miles apart in that area, driving
down from Belly in the north and
up from Dorogobuzh in the south
Larger Attacks in South.
Information was lacking on the
number of German troops threat
ened by the huge Red Army en-
circlement. but at the peak OF the
Nazi offensive against Moscow be-
tween 100000 and 1000 900 Germans
were reported operating in that re-
gion.
A London military commentator
said Russian attacks in the south
probably were being made by larger
forces than in the north where heavy
snow confined movement of troops,
except ski patrols, to highways.
The Germans are holding the
front by fortifying virtually every
village and using houses as pill
boxes, he added.
The Germans have large stores
in the villages so they do not re-
quire daily maintenance" he said.
They hang on to these places and
hight even when they may be cut of
They have an enormous number of
anti-tank mines which they put out
in the snow. Their positions are ex-
tremely difficult to attack"
$4,000 Nazis Reported Slain.
Red Army troops have slain 1000
Germans on the northwest front
alone in Is days Of general offensive
operations and sporadic Nazi coun-
terattacks yesterday were costly and
vain, the Russians said at Moscow
today.
The zone Of action was unoficially
identified as the Staraya Russa sec
tor below Lake linen, where the
18th German army has been re-
ported encircled for month. 1t is a
part of the combat area known also
as the Kalinin front.
During March 13 our troops con-
tinued offensive operations against
the German Fascist invaders and
advanced" the Soviet Information
Bureau said "On some sectors the
enemy made counterattacks, which
were repulsed with heavy losses to
him"
The Russians on the northwest
/ front have captured six more popu-
lated points. the information bureau
reported. while the Red Army in
some sectors Of the southwestern
front inflicted severe losses on the
enemy Ski troops were said to
have killed 1900 Germans in one
sector.
Large Loot Taken.
"One of our units on the central
(Smolensk) front during the last
few days liberated II populated
places from the Germans" Rus
sian communique said. The enemy
suffered heavy losses"
Almost 1000 of Hitler's men were
declared to have died daily under
Russian fire in the SHOWS of the
northwest front from February %
to March 10, boosting a total of
more than 100000 casualties pre-
viously reported
The information bureau said 81
northwestern communities had been
newly reoccupied by Soviet forces
and that loot of the 15-day cam
paign included two railway locomo-
tives and IA cars laden with equip
ment, 157 field guns. 20 tanks, SIT
trucks and five supply dumps.
Among 81 planes declared de-
StrOyed were so three-motored
transports.
Nazis Claim Successes.
The German high command re-
ported that Russian attacks on Ger
man and Rumanian positions in the
See RUSSIA, Page A-3l