The Wilmington morning star., 1943-01-21
NAZlS COMPRESSED
Reds Partly Destroy 80
Axis Divisions In
Two Months
BYELOKURAKINA FALLS
Triumphant Soviet Armies
Sweeping Toward
Rostov
(By The Associated Pressy

Wy AAo ASSOCldtcu freSSD
LONDON, Jan. 20-(P)-
Russia's rampant armies gain
ed II more miles in the sweep
toward Kharkov, big Ukraine
steel city, and further COM
pressed huge Nazi armies in
the northwestern Caucasus in
the drive on the German an
chor base of Rostov, a special
Soviet communique said to-
night.
British military observers
said the Rus ians in two
months had badly mauled and
partly destroyed 80 Axis di-
visions, 60 of them German.
At full strength t his would
represent the decentralization
of 1,335,000 enemy troops.
New History Page Added
The special communique heard
here by the Soviet monitor added
this page to the historic Russian
winter offensive:
While the northern arm Of the
Red army driving toward Kharkov
was fighting within 70 miles Of that
big city, the southern arm captured
Byedokurakina, 115, miles southeast,
of Kharkov. This represented II.
mile advance from Novo-Pskov, and
a 60-mile westward sweep from the
Moscow-Rostov railway.
Another Soviet column operating
farther south took Byelovodsk, 80
miles west of tho Moscow-Rostov
line.
The northern arm is fighting be.
yond the Urazovo area on the Voro.
nezh-Kupyansk Kharkov railway.
Seventy miles northeast of this Rus
sian spearhead the Red army fin
ally smashed two-day Axis stand
in encircled Ostrogozhsk. Two rail.
way trains loaded with motor We.
hicles and other equipment fell along
with the city.
In the Caucasus the Red army
overran Proletarskaya, about 23
miles from Nazi-held Salsk, q key
rail and air base 100 miles SOUTH
east Of Rostov. 1t is from Salsk
that the Germans have been flying
in supplies to the % Nazi divisions
slowly being throttled to death in
the trap before Stalingrad.
Below Proletarskaya the Russians
cleared out the enemy from the
entire northern bank Of the Man.
ych canal. The canal lies between
the lake area of the north central
Caucasus and the Manych river that
flows northward into the Don east
of Rostov.
Deeper in the Caucasus the Rus.
slams advancing northwestward
along the Mineralnye Vody-Arma-
vir-Rostov railway captured Nevin.
nomysskaya, only 50 miles from Ar.
mavir on the approaches to the Nazi-
held Maikop oil fields.
Thus the Russians were slowly
| tightening an almost completed
moose around the Nazi armies in
the Caucasus, forcing them to fall
back on Rostov which is menaced
from the north and east by Rus.
| sian armies operating as close as
60 or 10 miles.
Nevinnomysskaya. 200 miles south
east of Rostov, is the lower end
of this irregular loop, and the west
ern end is the Black Sea.
The noon communique said the
Russians already had crossed the
Manych river, which is north of
the Salsk-Proletarska area. These
troops and those operating along the
lower Don river are meeting de-
termined Axis resistance because of
their nearness to Rostov whose cap
ture would cut off the retreat of
big Nazi forces deep in the Cauca.
sus.
Soviet troops crossing the Donets
river below Kamensk, So miles north
OF Rostov, also were threatening to
close this ring that developed from
a triple Russian offensive s3runy
Continued on Page Six; Col p