The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-12-20

iron wall" constructed below Newell
early last summer along the
swamps, rivers and forests fronting
the approaches to the German
rail and highway transport system.
The complicated system of forth
fications was laid out in great dept
and dotted with firing nests embed
ded In concrete, the dispatch said
Countless tanks and armored cars
knocked out in a brief campaign
last summer were dug in as perma-
nent pillboxes.
Apparently confident that they
would spend the winter there. the
Germans had installed Dutch stoves
in comfortable dugouts furnished
with mirrors and armchairs from
the Minsk Ballet theater. Pravda
said.
A concentrated assault by Russian
artillery, tanks, planes and tnfan-
try broke the German line, and
troops poured through the gap to
deepen and widen the pocket.
The Germans hurdled into the
fight all available reserves, counter
attacking as many as Is times a
day. While the main Russian at
tack was focused in the center,
neighboring units struck along q
5O-mile front and drove deep wedg-
es into the enemy lines.
(The London Daily Telegraph
reoprted from Beru that German
authorities had ordered the evacua-
ton Of civilians from Northeastern
Poland the border region Of the
Baltic States because of the APP
proach of the Russian armies. Ger
man reports acknowledged retreat
for ne-shortening" purposes be-
low Newell and said the Russians
also weres attacking northwest of
the city,
The assault, which carried 10
miles through the strongly fortified
German line and liberated more
than 500 towns and villages in the
first five days, appeared designed to
widen the SovietS Newell wedge in
preparation for an about attempt
to smash through the Riga, $50
miles to the northwest, and trap
perhaps hundreds of thousands of
German troops below Leningrad and
In the Baltic States.
Vitebsk. key junction Of the Mos
cow-Riga and Leningrad-O Odessa
railroads, already was under long
range threat of development as re-
suit of the new drive with Soviet
tanks and infantry plunging south
ward along both sides OF the north
south line to within % miles of that
city and 20 miles south Of Newell.
The Russians announced their
Newell front offensive in COM
munique late yesterday, disclosing
that the first Baltic Army under
Gen. Ivan K. Bagraman had routed
three German infantry divisions, a
tank division and several police
units in a f1ve-day advance some 81
miles from Poland and 10 miles
southeast Of Latvia.
Twenty thousand Germans were
killed and more than 1000 captured.
The Russians also captured or de-
stroyed 100 tanks 1853 guns and 1913
mortars, while &C litional booty in
cluded ITO trucks, "a supply dumps
and 200 carloads of supplies and
equipment.
German broadcasts estimated
Russian forces attacking in the
Newell sector at IA infantry divisions,
two tank corps, two cavalry divi-
sions and one artillery division, a
total strength Of about 250,00 men,
The Russians captured Newell Oct.
7 and subsequently drove a narrow
wedge into the German defenses to
within IS miles of Poland and As
milpes of Latvia, but the area OF
Pentration apparently was too mar
row to permit q full-scale offensive
toward Riga.
The fall of Vitebsk would give the
Russians an unbroken supply line
from Moscow and general speed
any Soviet offensive westward, as
well as collapse the remaining Ger
man positions in White Russia.
There were no new reports from
the remainder of the Russian front,
but a supplement to the nightly
communique disclosed that guerillas
operating in the enemy rear mined
five German trains and blew up
bridge In the Zhitomir area west OF
Kiev. Four hundred Germans were
killed and train traflc was inter-