Evening star., 1943-03-16
Soviet Army Also
PeriIs Bryonsk,
Enemy Base
BY EDDY GILMORE,
associated Press War Correspondent

Associated Press War Correspondent.
MOSCOW, March 16.-The Red
Army is continuing to smash
westward toward Smolensk, the
German key base of the central
front, and also appeared today
to have established a strong line
east of kharkov after annOunc-
ing the loss of the Ukraine city
which it had recaptured Feb
ruary 16.
-Four Spearheads are aimed al
SmolenSk from an arc swinging
northWestWard from Vyazma and
one of the newest and most spec
tacular successes was that reported
by a column surging forward from
kholm- -Zhirkovsky, west of the
Upper Dnieper River.
CTodays official German COM
muniQue ignored the fighting in
the Smolensk area. but said Nazl
forces had gained further ground
in the Kharkov-Belgorod sector
and had encircled a Soviet force
southeast of Kharkov The war
bulletin broadcast by the Berlin
radio and recorded by the Asso-
ciated Press. declared that a
heavy Russian attack in the Lake
linen sector yesterday was re-
pulsed, partly in hand hand
fighting, and that the SovietS lost
56 planes in the days fighting on
the eastern frontD
The troops pushed six miles west
ward, chasing the remnants of two
German divisions, front line dis
patches indicated
The Soviet noon communique de-
clared that more towns fell to the
Russians west and southwest of
Vyazma and Red Star. the army
newspaper, in commenting on the
swift push toward Smolensk said
that "our troops already have ad-
vanced several dozen kilometers
west of wanna" (This may be
more than 20 miles.)
Threat to Bryansk.
No specific figure was given on
how far the Red Army's advance
units were from Smolensk, but from
current reports and their last spe-
CITED position it was reasonable
TO assume that in this sector they
were about so TO go miles from the
base.
The Russian columns also offered
a threat to another German base,
Bryansk. with some troops fighting
stiff battles south of wanna to
capture the railway station of
Milyatinsky-Zavod. on the wanna
Bryansk Railway, 80 miles north of
Bryansk. This is the closest point
the Red Army has approached that
vital stronghold, which with Orel
serves as a turning point between
the southern and central fronts.
The railway station Of Miliatino,
on the same line, but more to the
north, also was captured by Soviet
troops, fighting knee deep in snow.
The advance from Kholm-Zhir
kovsky represented the first time in
any Russian offensive since the be-
ginning of the war that the Soviets
had reached and recrossed the
Dnleper River, the great waterway
OF Western Russia.
Size of Force Not Reported.
Now they are fighting in an area
where forests are traversed by
streams and roads, typical of the
whole sector from wanna to
SmolenSk.
The size of the Russian force in
this advance was not reported, but
1t was apparent here that it was a
strong group, probably the same one
which had pushed southwestward
from RZhev.
The fate Of the civilian population
IN ruined kharkov remained q
question, There was reason to be-
lleve that there were many among
the 100000 inhabitants who did not
get away.
There was no Official Soviet ex-
planatlon for the evacuation of
kharkov, but recent Russian COM
m'inlques and reports had stressed
fSee RUSSIA, Page A-6.J