Evening star., 1943-11-17
Russians in Ukruine
Continue to Edge
Toward Korosten
MAP on Page AL
BY HENRY C. CASSIDY.

AoeOSldltu FItSS w dT SOIlSSpOilueTL.
MOSCOW, Nov. 17.-Red Army
troops closed in on Gomel today
storming the last important Ger
man base east of the Dnieper
River, in a furious assault which
threatened to add the city to the
impressive list of conquests
achieved by the Russians in their
1943 offensive.
Russian forces pushed west from
their bridgehead on the Sozh River
north of Gomel, while other units
struck beyond the Dnieper south of
the city, broadening their wedge
below RechitSa, an important rail-
road town lis miles east of the old
Polish frontier.
German broadcastS limited that a
Nazi withdrawal from the Dnieper
River bend was about to get under
way, although the Germans were
reported still throwing in large
forces of infantry and tanks to hold
a threat against Krivoi Rog, iron
and industrial center controlling a
German escape corridor to the west.
German commentators for the last
two days have reported increased
Russian offensive activity here.
Reds Edge Toward Korosten.
Meanwhile, the Russian push in
the Ukraine, though slowed down by
adverse weather and stiff German
counterattacks, particularly in the
Zhltomlr and FaStov sectors, con-
tinued to edge toward Korosten
the rail junction controlling traffic
on the Leningrad-Odessa and Kiev-
Warsaw railways.
The Berlin radio said 25 Russian
divisions and large tank forces, per-
haps 100000 men in all, were at
tacklng with strong artillery sup
port on both sides of the SmolenSk-
Orsha highway in the frozen North.
Today's German communique
said the Russians had dented their
lines northeast of Kerch in the
Crimea, southwest of Dneprope-
trovsk and north of Krivoi Rog and
southwest of Gomel. The Germans
reported that Nazi counterattackS
had made good headway" near
Zhltomir and that numerous prison.
ers and arms were captured on an
island in the Dnieper near Zapo-
rozhe.
"a Reuters dispatch from Mos
COW said the German hold on
Korosten had been further
weakened by severance OF the
third Of six rail lines converging
there. The dispatch added that
Gomel was being heavily shelled
by Russian field guns and that
the city virtually was Isolated
One Red Army column, Russian
communique said, already had
reached Turchenka. IA miles south
of Korosten. A second, coming in
from the southeast, captured Chepo-
vichi, IS miles away, and a third was
at Obikhodi, IS miles northeast of
Korosten and within 13 miles of the
north-south Odessa-Leningrad rail-
way.
1000 Germans Killed.
More than 1000 Germans were
killed IN the triple drive on Koro-
stem and 80 towns were liberated by
Gen. Nikolai Vatutin's forces, the
communique announced. Great
quantities Of war material fell to
the advancing troops, it added.
The Red Army columns battering
the deIenses of Gomel. having cut
the Gomel-Kalinkovich rail line
yesterday, were driving toward the
latter stronghold, which is still an
other rail junction important to the
enemy supply setup.
The Moscow bulletin said the
Germans had sustained tremendous
losses in manpoWer and equipment"
in this westward surge which netted
the Russians an additional 10 Ger
man Strongpoints.
Concentrate on FIanks.
German counteraction appeared
concentrated in attacks on Gen.
VatutlnS flanks in the Korosten-
Zhitomlr-Fastov area. These thrusts
were repulSed, the Soviet commu-
nlque said, with 35 German tanks
being destroyed and 600 enemy
troops killed in the Fastov salient
alone. Red Army planes were also
active, ana reported an additional
20 tanks and 80 trucks wiped out.
Heavy storms were reported Slow
Ing up the Russian advance into the
Crimea from the Kerch bridgehead,
but the Germans nevertheless were
said to be falling back under the
growing pressure of Red Army re-
Inducements from the Caucasus,