Evening star., 1943-10-15
Enemy Hoping
FIoodWuters
Will Halt Reds
MAP on Page A-5J

LONDON, Oct. l5.-The great
Dnieper Dam, which the Rus
slams partially destroyed in their
retreat in 1941, has been blown
up by German troops, the Berlin
radio reported today in acknowl-
edglng the NaziS' flight from
Zaporozhe, their long held
southern key base and guardian
fortress of the Crimea.
BY destroying the $4,000 900 dam
and sending large reservoirs of
water rolling over the Russian coun-
tryside again the Germans evl-
IDENTITY hoped to stall the Soviet ad-
vance westward and to prevent the
entrapment of garrisons in the
Crlmea, believed to number more
than 100000 troops.
The report of the Germans action
indicated that they previously had
succeeded in repairing the dam.
which is situated at the lower end
OF the Dnieper rapids, miles north
west of Zaporozhc. The dam was
considered one of the outstanding
industrial achievements of the
Soviet regime. Its waters generated
power for the whole industrial area
of the Ukraine and it has been said
that whoever controls the dam con-
trolls the whole Southwestern Rus
sian industry
No Confirmation of Destruction.
There was no confirmation of the
dam S destruction from Moscow and
it was not known whether the Rus
slams would be able to transport
their armies across the newly
flooded terrain to close the Crimean
escape corridors.
The dam was frequently called
the Dnepropetrovsk Dam although
1t lies some 40 miles south of that
Dnieper River city.
German dynamite was unable.
however, to spoil the real Russian
victory OF the Zaporozhe bridgehead d
which the Soviet Army publication
Red Star said was the last German
nope OF protecting the railway to
the Crinea through Melitopol from.
the north and Ct checking the Rus
sian offensive in the couth.
One London military columrist
wrote today that the victory may
even be much greater than that at
Stalingrad, Pointing out that by
crossing the Dnieper in force at
Zaporozhe the Russians would be
in position to drive along the inner
lines Of German forces south Of the
Dnleper and in the Crlmea.
Other London commentators said
German forces in Russia had been
divided both geographically by the
Russian successes and by the neces-
sity for sending top-notch fighters
to the Italian front.
Forces Now Divided.
North Russian forces are now di-
vlded from those in the south by
the great Pinsk Marshes bordering
the Northern Ukraine and Southern
White Russia, which will form an
effective barrier until the arrival of
extremely cold weather, they said.
A more important view is taken
here, however. of reports that Ger
many has been forced to split her
reconstructed 9th Army in order to
send three divisions against the 5th
Army pushing up Italy.
Meanwhile. Melitopol, about 100
miles south of Zaporozhe, has been
isolated by other Soviet columns
and its fall was expected hourly, the
Russian communique indicated.
Threat of a double-pronged Rus
sian offensive hung over the Crimea
The Red Army was pouring masses
OF men and tanks into the Dnieper
f1atlands, just north of the Sea of
Azov, both above and below Melito-
pol. Other Soviet forces were re-
ported converglng on the western tip
of the Taman Peninsula in the
Caucasus, preparatory to launching
a powerful amphlblous attack on the
Crlmea. across the mile-wide
Kerch Strait.
There was no indication. however,
that the German 18th Army was
preparing to withdraw from its pre-
carious position in the Crimea. On
the contrary, the Germans appar-
emily intended to try to hold the
peninsula at all costs.
Lines Near Kiev Breached.
The threat to the Crimea was not
the only disaster facing the battered
German armies. Far to the north
Russian communique said, Red
(See RUSSIA. Page A-5D