Evening star., 1943-09-17
Russia
Continued From First Page }

three days ago, but was denied by
Berlin yesterday.
Other Red Army columns, having
scored four impressive victories yes
terday, were plunging forward on
many sectors of the 60O-mile battle
front, intent on throwing the Ger
mans back across the Dnieper River
barrier before the heavy autumn
rains make large-scale military
operations impossible.
A DNB broadcast from Berlin
today admitted that the Germans
had lost Novorossisk, the Russian
Black Sea naval base in the
Caucasus.
Two Special Orders of Day.
A triumphant Moscow communique,
heralded by two special orders of
the day by Stain yesterday and
salute of "a salvoes from 124 guns
in the Russian capital, recorded
gains on four widely separated Sec
tors which apparently doomed the
entire system of Nazi defense and
communication lines east of the
Dnieper. They we're:
1-Capture of Novorossisk, spring.
board for an assault on the German
held Crimea.
2-Seizure Of Novgorod Severski.
90 miles southwest of Bryansk and
bastion of the German eastern
WALL guarding White Russia.
3-Capture of strategic Lozovaya,
cutting the Kharkov- -Crimea rail-
way, northern land artery for Ger
man forces in the Crimea. which
placed Russian troops only 35 miles
from the Dnieper River bend.
4-Storming of Nosovka, south
west of Nezhin. and SIS miles from
the great Middle Dnieper German
base of Kiev.
The speed with which the Soviet
columns were advancing encouraged
the belief they might reach the
river within the next few days.
launch a drive against the White
Russian frontier, 30 miles west of
Novgorod Severski. force a German
retreat from the Caucasian bridge
head above Novorossisk, and COM
plete the investment of the citadel
Of Bryansk.
225 Towns Retaken.
The Germans fought for Novgorod
Severski with bloody tenacity, but
the Red Army troops blasted their
way across the wide Desna River
southwest of Bryansk and drove the
enemy in headlong retreat, the Mos
COW bulletin reported. More than
1900 Nazi dead were counted in
this assault. The storming of Lozo-
vaya and Romny, to the northwest,
accounted for another 1,100, includ-
ing a German regimental comman-
der while additional thousands fell
before fierce Russian attacks on 9TH
er sectors, the communique said.
Novorossisk capitaulated to Sow
let infantry sailors and airmen aft
er a fve-day battle in which $4,000
Axis troops-three German divisions,
one Rumanian Alpine division and
detachments of Nazi marines-Were
reported routed.
Seizure of Nosovka put Red Army
troops in that sector only 40 miles
southwest of Cheringov, on the road
connecting Kiev with Gomel in
White Russia. Motorized Russian
columns were already reported ad-
vancing on both these enemy bases.
In all, total of more than 225
towns and villages, many regarded
as important strategically were cap
tured by the Russian armies during
the days advance, the Moscow COM
munique asserted.
On the northern coast of the Sea
of Azov other Russian units were
pounding westward toward Melito-
pol, last mainland junction of the
railway crossing into the Crimean
Peninsula. They staged 10-mile
advance yesterday. the communique
said, to capture more than 40 towns
in the direction of Melitopol and
zaporozhe, the latter an important
rail and river town on the lower end
of the Dnieper River bend.