Evening star., 1943-02-22
Stage Seen Set
For Russian Victory
Maj. Eliot Believes
Germon Armies on Donets
Will Be Destroyed
BIZ Mai. GeOrQe Fielding Eliot.


that have compared the German situa-
ton in South Russia to a sack, or rather
| two sacks-a small one inclosed in
! larger one. The small sack is the area
incloSed between the middle and lower
course of the Donetz River and the
north shore of the Sea of Azov.
The Russians are pressing against the
bottom and upper side of this sack as
| the Germans withdraw. More important,
! they are trying to close it's mouth at
! Stalino, but so far they have not made
much progress in this direction. This
| seems to be due to German reinforce
ments and to an improvement in the
! superior direction of the German COM
mand.
| The larger sack has its mouth at the
| crossings of the Dnieper River at Dnie-
perpetrovsk and Zaporozhe. These
| places were protected against attack
! from the northeast and east by the Ger
| man possession of the great railway
center of Kharkov. When Kharkov fell
the danger to these river crossings be-
came Immediately acute
| Yesterday it did not seem that the
Russians were making much progress
however; there was no hint of an ad-
vance in this direction either from Ros-
toV or from Lozovaya. The Soviet mid
! night communique of Saturday night
reported great changes in this area. The
railway functions at Krasnograd and
Pavlograd are in Russian hands.
frct IF oil
slams are advancing southwest from
Kharkov directly on both the Dnieper
River crossings. They have pushed be-
yond Krasnograd to Pereschepino, which
is only about 40 miles from Dnieper-
petrovsk-a single days march for ar
mored troops. At Pavlograd, they have
cut one of the two railways leading into
Dnieperpetrovsk from the east, and they
are only 20 miles from Sinelnikovo, where
they would cut the other
Should they reach Sinelnikovo, the
German armies in the Donstz basin
would be entirely dependent on the single
line crossing the Dnieper at Zaporozhe-
and the Russians would be only 40 miles
from that point.
mountains, marshes-to stop the Russian
advance. 1t seems highly probable that
Slnelnikovo will fall. 1t seems almost as
probable that the Russians will soon be
at the gates of both the river cities.
standing on the bank of the mile-wide
Dnieper with the eastern ends of the
railway bridges in their hands.
Should this occur within the next three
or four days, the whole of the German
armies now defending the line of the
Donetz, Stalino, Taganrog and the in
tervenlng rail net, will be cut off and
surrounded. Their fate will be as certain
as that of the Stalingrad, Vornonezh or
Caucasian armies.
Already the condition of these German
troops is precarious. The fall of Pavlo-
grad, cutting one of their main supply
lines, must have had the effect of dis
organizing the whole German supply
system. Trains have to be rerouted ::
supplies collected at forward depots have
TO be shifted by long and circuitous
movements to use the other lines still
open.
For all this extra effort. locomotives
and cars have to be found at a time
when locomotives and cars are already
lnSumclent for normal requirements.
The fall of Sinelnikovo ending as it
will all use of the river bridge at
Dnieperpetrovsk, will be felt over the
whole German-held railway system clear
back to Kiev. Trains already in transit
| will have to return to regulating stations.
| yards along the line to Dnieperpetrovsk
will have to be cleared, and the CAPACITY
| OF the single line leading to Zaporozhe
Will be strained to the utmost, and even
then will be unable to care for the re-
| sponslbilities laid on it. 1t is a single
| track line tthe only double track line in
| this area runs through Dnieperpetrovsk)
and 1t will have to care for supplies going
forward, and for troop trains containing
/ the withdrawing forces going back.
Thus, the Russians are now within
measurable distance, within almost the
certainty, of another great victory. They
failed to close their small sack, but they
are about to close the larger one 1t is
hard to see what can prevent them from
doing so, at least as far as Sinelnikovo
Is concerned.
| The Germans may make a desperate
effort to hold Zaporozhe. There may
still be hard fighting before that point Is
reached by the Russians, not only for
the sake of the Donetz army, but also
because 1t will be the last remaining
German rail link with the Crimea.
II Zaporozhe goes, the Crimea goes
with it, in all probability, and so does the
army of the Caucasus, or what is left of
1t. The Red Army appears to be about
to celebrate its birthday in fashion that
will be long remembered both in Russia
and in Germany.
Copyright l943. by New York Tribune Incl