Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-01-12
Reds Caucasus Advance Pushes
Nozis Into kubdn River Reqion:
Fortresses Stab at TripoIitunio
15-MiIe Drive Is Led
By Cossocks; Six
Towns Captured
BY HENRY C. CASSIDY,

Associated Press War Correspondent.
MOSCOW, Jan. lied by
Cossacks slashing their way
triumphantly back into their
homeland, the Red Army has
rolled the Germans back into
the Kuban River region of the
Western Caucasus between the
mountains and the Don, the
Russians announced today. .
Red Star declared that the Ku-
ban region was penetrated after the
Caucasian provinces of North Ose-
tia and Kabardino Bakaria had been
freed from the Germans in the con-
tinuing Russian winter drive.
A communique announced that
the Red Army's cavalry had driven
is miles into the enemy's positions
In fierce night fighting which fol-
lowed the capture Of six more key
towns on the Caucasion front.
The 4th Guards Cossack Corps
the Kuban fighting men who fell
back from their towns and villages
last summer before the weight of
the Nazi offensive-thus were riding
in the vanguard OF the Russian
forces sweeping back across the
steppes.
Draliatic Homecoming.
For the black-caped. Negotiated
horsemen Of the steppes, and for
their townspeople, it was one of the
most dramatic homecomings Of the
war.
And as the Russians rolled back
over Georgievsk, Mineralnye .Vodi,
Yatigorsk, Budennovsk, Karamik
and Kislovodsk to broaden their
Caucasus front, other forces drove
20 miles more down the rail line
past Zimovkini and Kuberle, south
east Of Rostov, narrowing the semi
circle around that endangered Nazi
stronghold.
Russian mountain troops, along
with the Cossacks, were given credit
for an important part in the gains
deep in the Caucasus.
Battle front dispatches said they
had planted the Red flag on the
summit of the Mashuk and Beshtau
Mountains overlooking Pyatigorsk.
The mountain slopes, river val
leys and rail lines were reported
strewn with the Nazi dead where
the Russians had overwhelmed line
after line Of defenses.
These dispatches said Geor-
eievsk and Mineralnye Vodi, cores
Of the German defense, fell in par
ticularly hard fighting. There Ger
mans launched several counter
attacks In an attempt to regain
Georgievsk, but finally fell back,
with the Russians pressing hard on
them.
Three-Hour Battle.
Mineralnyi Vodi, just northwest
Of Georgievsk, fell after a three
hour battle in which strong col
umn of German motorized infantry
was defeated, the Russians said.
And from there the Red Army was
reported pushing on up the rail-
line toward Rostov, and across the
steppes toward Aleksandrovskoe, 80
miles farther north.
"The Germans have already lost
q considerable part OF what they
won last summer" Red Star de-
clared. The army newspaper said
the position of the enemy was
greatly complicated by loss Of the
key towns along the Caucasus rail
trunk line.
It added that the simultaneous
Russian gains in the North eau
casus deprived the Germans of po-
sitions from which they might have
been able to maneuver to the sup
port of their divisions trapped be-
fore Stalingrad.
Single Display Of Power.
Red Star linked the gains in the
Caucasus with those northwest of
Moscow as a single strategy and a
single display of striking power.
1.-THE Don, Velikie Luki and Pyati-
gorsk are links in the same chain"
the army organ declared.
The SCATTERING Caucasus often
sive which had carried Soviet
armies 80 miles from recaptured
Mozdok In nine days also put the
Russian armies in that area in
position to sweep to the highwaters
Of the Kuban River. to aim at re-
capture Of the oil fields OF Maikop,
ut the rail centers Of Voroshilovsk
and Armavir, and finally at the
German strongpoints Of Krasnodar
and Kropotkin.
Both operations on which Soviet
communiques gave detailed infor-
nation pointed to the Strengthening
Of the Russian lines and the WIDEN
ing Of the fronts. .....
i, Towns Not Identified.
New successes were claimed in the
Lower Don valley. but there was no
Identification in the early morning
communique of the populated
places captured.
(The Soviet midday commu-
nique reported that fierce coun-
terattacks were launched on q
large scale in the nights fighting
In the lower Don valley and
(See RUSSIAN, Page A-60