The Wilmington morning star., 1943-09-20
RUSSIANS OPEN
SM0LENSK FRONT
Continued From Page One)

CONTINUED from "So
German army was Keeling back
toward the Dnieper river, no long
~, "the invincibles" of 1941. Ber'
lin admitted a "hot pursuit by
Tho russians in this new phrase
ology of retreat:
1.-THE movement OF German
troops ina westerly direction was
accomplished with astonishing ex'
attitude. covered by strong rear
guard.
A Stockholm dispatch quoted the
Hels;nki newspaper Helsingin San
onat as saying that the German
retreat sis of frightful dimensions,
worse than the Firms expected. -
The Films, the dispatch added,
we're increasingly worried by their
status as a co-belligerent of los
ing Germany.
The Russians swept through j.
1907 towns and villages during the
day in one of the most amazing
military comebacks in history.
Moscow dispatches said the coming
week should see the Red army
hauling up to the banks OF the
Dnieper river at most points along
7OO-mi1e front where the Sovlets
are fighting in ten major sectors.
One Russian unit is within AZ
miles of Kiev, the Ukraine capital
and German citadel, ripping to
shreds the German rearguards OPP
posing it. When Kiev is reached,
probably within few days, the
Russians will have accomplished
-o-rnile march from Stalingrad
in less than year.
The Russians also were advanc-
ing in the northwest Caucasus and
in the southern Ukraine had reach
ed a point only "a miles from the
Dnieper.
To General Andrea Yeremenko
and VASTLY Sokolovsky went the
honor of leading the Russians back
into Quilted Yartsevo and Dukhov-
shchina on the Smolens'1 front.
Yelemenko is one of the great
heroes of Stalingrad, and Soko-
lovsky a hero of the irst Soviet De-
tense at Smolensk in July, 1871.
Sokolovskv lost the battle OF Smo-
lenssk after one of history S most
blody battles. but he helped save
Moscow by disrupting the German
timetable for taking the capital pc
fore winter descended on the llgh1-
~ clad Nazi troops.
The Germans first announced
the capture of Smolensk July To-
1q41 but the Russians did not con-
cede its fall until Aug. - OF mat
wear. In that heroic stand. General
Sokolovsky said at the time ~
..blitzkrieg has failed and sala
that the Battle of Smolensks was
10 to 100 times as destructive as
the first World war fight at YER
dun. ..,,,
snolensk once was a stately
civ of 100, 1000 persons. 1t hes on
the banks of the upper Dmeper
river. The first fightefor the raH-
wav center which is the gateway
to upper White Russia and Poland
reduced it to ashes, but 1t has
remained a great strategic prize
because of the railways radlatlng
into Poland and the Baltic states.
TIE Polish border is only IT'S miles
to the west.
The situation in the other key
sectors of the collapsing German
eastern wall as announced by
Moscow:
Roslavl-This railway junction
81 miles below Smolensk is ex-
pected to fall soon. The Russians
during the day crossed the Desna
river to capture Dubrovka, only
80 miles southeast of Roslavl.
Rryansk-A Red Army that top
pied this hinge of the German
southern and central fr ON S
streamed on west and southWest
of Bryansk, over-running 300
towns in gains up to II miles. One
seized was Trubchevsk, 50 miles
southwest of Bry ansk.
Chernigov-The fall of this i'm
portant city on the edge of lower
White Russia between Kiev and
Gomel is expected shortly. The
Red Army captured more than 100
villages in an 18-mile advance, in
GLIDING Beresna, only % miles
northwest of Chernigov But an
other Russian column has seized
Anisovo, less than four miles
southeast of Chernigov
Kiev-Priluki, so miles east of
he Ukraine capital fell. but an
other Russian column striking
down the railway from Nezhin TO