The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-12-31
The War On
MonyFronts

70 break GOWN GeTIIldLy ALldIlLlC
wall and blast an invasion path
into western Europe appeared to be
in full swing today, coordinating
with massive Red Army drive that
surged westward through 185-mile
gap In the Nazis' Ukrainian defenses
and threatened to collapse the entire
enemy position In southern Russia.
Hundreds of Allied bombers
blasted the French invasion coast
early today in swift follow-up to
heavy day-and-night attacks on the
same area yesterday.
The main weight of the attack
apparently fell upon the Pas de CAL
ais area, where the Germans were
reported to have concentrated a
vast network of rocket guns, pill
boxes and other anti-invasion de-
lenses.
AiT experts believed the softening-
up bombardment might be sustained
for months until the enemy's coastal
installations have been smashed,
and they predicted the offensive
would be intensified until 1t reaches
an unprecedented pitch just before
the "zero hour" for the opening of
second front.
While the daylight raiders bat
tered at Hitler's west wall yesterda
u record force Of $500 American
heavy bombers and fighters lashed
out against an important enemy
target in southwest Germany. Neu-
trail sources said the target was the
Rhineland chemical center Of Lud-
wigshafen and that direct hits had
been scored on big poison gas fac
tory.
The raiders shot down % German
fighters at a cost of % bombers and
II fighters.
Raj Mosquitoes followed through
during the night with raids OH
unidentified detectives in western
Germany.
AS the air war in the west
mounted to a new peak, vast Rus
sian armies. estimated In Berlin at
more than 1,000, 900 men, rolled back
the German lines west Of Kiev in
one of the wars greatest otfensives.
Striking with plane, tank and gun
along broad front, Gen. Nikolai
F.. Vatutin's LIST Ukrainian army
hurled the Nazis from scores OF
strongly-defended positions ard
drove them In headlong, panicky
fight toward the Rumanian and
Polish frontiers.
With no natural defenses to fall
back upon short Of Polands Bug
River and the Dniester River III Ru-
mania, the Germans were throwing
away guns and equipment In q des-
perate race to escape the onrushinS
Soviet juggernaut.
One Red Army column battled
through the outskirts OF Zhitomir In
a drive that threatened momen-
tafily TO engulf that strategic juno
ton, while q second outflanked the
town and moved on II miles beyond
the Odessa-Leningrad railway. Near
ly go miles to the north, another
force seized InSini. only AZ miles
east Of the Polish border.
At the southern end Of the Kiev
salient, Russian troops captured Ka-
zath and swept ahead toward
Zhmerinka, SIS miles to the SOUTH
UeSt. The fall of that important
&3etion point on the Odessa Berlin
&ffway would cut the last German
Held railroad out Of the Dnieper
bend and trap hundreds Of thous-
ands Of NaI troops inside the bend.
Within the bend itself. the Red
Army extended its bridgehead on the
west bank Of the Dnieper to q depth
of 20 miles, while in White Russia.
other forces broke through the
outer defenses Of Vitehsk.
In italy, the main weight Of the
Allied attack shifted to the air
American flying fortresses loosed a
thr-way attack on the enemy's
transport centers at Rimini, Ra-
VIENNA and Padua, while medium
bombers hammered the Florence
and Leghorn rail yards and the Ju-
goslav part Of cara.
On the land battlefront, Canadian
troops gained another mile In thei,
advance up the Adriatic Coast to-
ward Pescara, terminal II the main
lateral road to Rome, and Fifth,
Army guns opened q bombardment
of Mignano, q Nazi-held bottlenecA
between the mountains on both
sides Of the inland highway to the
capital.
inside occupied France, anti-Naz
unrest appeared to have risen to .
new pitch as radio Vichy announc.
ed that Pierre Laval had shaker
up h..s cabinet police force to avert
IAN imminent threat Of civil war.
The Vichy move was regarded a.
an open admission of the growing
strength OF the French = under
ground, which. according to q Unit
cd Press source. had perfected 9
master plan" for sabotage and In
surrection to be put into action a'
oa. !. Ala Auiod lsasrn sios, hAninS