Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-01-24
European Front

In August 1941, the Nazis then in
the spring of their great drive toward the
heart of Russia, surrounded Leningrad
industrial city. The people of Leningrad
starved and froze thereafter. Supplies
reached them only from the air and in
the winter over the ice of Lake Ladoga.
The Nazis threw a great belt of fortifica-
lions around the city, but they could not
capture it. The people refused to COL
lapse.
Now the story is changed. At 9 am.
on January II Red batteries in Leningrad
loosed hurricane of fire against the
German positions on the elevated left
bank Of the Neva River. 1t was the be-
ginning of the sieges end. Last Monday
Russian radioes everywhere carried the
cheering news that once more Leningrad,
named for the founder of the Soviet
Union was connected by land with the
rest of Russia.
The week-long smash that resulted in
piercing the German ring around Lenin-
grad was the work of two Russian COL
umns. One striking eastward from Len
ingrad was commanded by Col. Gen.
Leonid Gogorov, and the other striking
westward from hte Volkhov River was
led by Gen. Kirkill Mereskov. The mas
ter minds behind the co-ordinated oper-
ations were Marshals Gregory " zhukov
and Klementi Voroshilov The opera
ton cut corridor five miles wide to
Leningrad along the south shore of Lake
Ladoga. The two armies, supported by
powerful forces of artillery and tanks,
caught the ancient Nazi-held fortress of
Schluesselburg in a nut cracker and
smashed it, killing $4,000 Germans, rout-
ing four divisions, taking prisoners more
than 1850 Nazis and capturing huge
quantities of armament.
The move isolated the Finnish armies
from the German In Russia. 1t threat
ened German control
Firms Isolated of the Baltic Sea and
From Nozis aroused speculation
whether the Germans
would not try to protect their sea supply
line and their northern flank against
Russia by an invasion of Sweden. With
out saying what he had in mind, the
Swedish Prime Minister, Per A1bin Hans
son, told the Swedish Riksdag that it is
"SWeden's unshakable intention to re-
sist attack to the utmost limit of it's
power
For the Russians the relief of Lenin-
grad seemed to be far step toward the
unwinding of German accomplishment
in 194l, the first year of the campaign
against Russia. The Associated Press
reported that the Leningrad story did
more to lift the Soviet morale than the
news from any of the other Russian
fronts. From those fronts the news was
good.
While the web is still being fashioned
about the German armies in the eau
casus and the multiple drive toward Ros-
tov is still developing, the Reds began
last week to stick a knife deep in the
heart of the Nazi force holding the
Ukraine by sending a column toward
Kharkov, the Pittsburgh Of Russia
south. The Reds also took Salsk, the
railway junction whose possession makes
escape for the Germans from the eau
casuS seemingly impossible.
Hope for the German force of $4,000
men trapped in Stalingrad is dying in
Berlin.
To the west of frozen Russia the Raj
raided Berlin on two successive nights,
and the Luftwaffe stormed against Lon
don-once by night and once by day
In the daylight raid the Nazis hit a
'schoolhouse and killed a number of
children waiting to see a performance