Evening star., 1943-03-03
For-Reoching Retreat
Indicated in Words
Of Nozi Communique
6y the Associated Press.

WlthdreW accordlng TO plan IN
order to shorten the front line.
The fall of Rzhev was not claimed
by the Russians, who in fact did not
so much as mention that front in
either today's midday communique
or the war bulletins of yesterday.
The German use of the phrase
ology, according to plan,' sug-
gested that the Nazis might be en-
gagged in a far-reaching retreat on
the northern front. similar to that
carried out through the last three
months in the south, where they
had withdrawn 400 miles from
Stalingrad.
RzheX was the advance strong
point of the German line northwest
of Moscow in the famous Velikie
Luki- -Rzhev wanna triangle.
Apex of L-Shaped Salient.
For months it was the apex of an
L-shaped salient, partially sur
rounded by Russian forces on three
sides who on January 2 announced
the capture of Velikie Luki, 14O
miles to the west, and severed the
railway communications with
wanna, IS miles to the south.
Other Russian columns had cut
deep into the triangle by laying
siege to the town of Belly.
The town had been reported on
the verge of falling more than once
as long as year ago when the Rus
slams drove to within sight of the
buildings.
Monday night the Russians an
nounced they had begun a powerful
new offensive northwest of Moscow
and had knocked a huge hole in the
German defense line by capturing
Demyansk, 1lo miles northwest of
Rzhev. where the Germans had
been fortified for II months.
The Russians thus appeared to
have smashed two of the strongest
points which had hedged in and
prevented development of a powerful
thrust toward the Baltic States.
At Velikie Luki the Russian armies
we're only about 80 miles from the
Latvian border.
Read First as Dispatch.
The announcement of the Rzhev
evacuation was read over the Ger
man radio first as a DNB dispatch
and about 10 minutes later a cryptic
message was read saying that this
had been withdrawn"
About a half hour later, however,
the original announcement was re-
peated, this time the source being
given as communique.
London military sources refused to
speculate on just where the short
ened line might be established. but
some observers said they thought it
might go back to Smolenck, estab-
fishing a front running northwest
from Smolensk to Velikie Luki and
southeast to Bryansk.
AS long ago as August 81 the Rus
slams announced that they had
crossed the upper Volga west of
Rzhev and pushed on, all but sur
rounding the city, but leaving it at
the tip of very narrow salient
pointing at Moscow
At that time Rzhev, 18th century
city, virtually was in ruins, with
houses burned and brick and stone
buildings mostly battered down,
Moscow dispatches said.
The standing walls served as
machine gun and artillery positions
for the heavily fortified Germans
who fought stubbornly.
Up to that time Rzhev had been
fortified by the Germans for six
months and two strong defense
rings had been thrown around the
city. one of which the Russians
broke when they entered the north
ern environs. Besides the fortiflca-
tions as an obstacle to military at
tacks. the city has swamps and bogs
In the vicinity.
The Germans announced today
1T the same time that Russian at
tacks on the Kuban bridgehead, in
the Caucasus, and German positions
in the Mus River sector west OF
Rostov had been repulsed.
To the north of there, IN the
Izyum sector southeast of Kharkov
the Germans claimed that they had
reached the middle Donets "on q
broad 'front.'"
In announcing the withdrawal
from Rzhev, the German broadcast
said Nazi rear guards had Olsen
gagged themselves from the enemy on
the night OF March 2-3" after they
had blown up bridges across the
volga River, which winds through
that area and then wanders across
the country to Stalingrad and the
Caspian Sea.
Reds Advance West Of Kharkov.
The Russians themselves, though
silent on the progress OF their newest
offensive northwest Of Moscow, said
the Red Army's drive toward thu
Dnieper west of Kharkov was ad-
vancing despite counterattacks by
German reserves recently arrived
from Holland.
The Russian midnight commu
nioue recorded by the Soviet radio
monitor in London declared 1t hat
been ascertained that the 18TH Ger
man Infantry transferred from Hol
land. was active in the counterat'
tacks along the Sunny y-krasnograt
arc which was the last reported
advance position of the Red Arm,
aiming into the Western Ukraine
The German resistance was un'
successful, however, the Russians
said, and a large town was captured
in one sec.or of the front after {
battle in which 400 Germans were
reported killed.
In another sector of The front
another town fell after a flVe-da!
seige and the enemy garrison wa
Annihilated, the war bulletin said