Evening star., 1943-12-10
StuIin Announces
Russian Victory
At Znumenku
MAP on Page A-12.)

BY the Associated Press.
LONDON, Dec. 10.-The Red
Army has captured Znamenka,
hub of a system of railroads
linking the Dnieper River bend
with the area south of Kiev,
Premier Stain announced today
in special order of the day.
The Soviet column which smashed
into the town was one of several
driving through crumbling Nazi de-
fenses in the Dnieper bend and
tanning out from the Kremenchug
bridgehead
The capture of the heavily forti-
fed German bastion cut the last of
four rail lines centering in Zna-
menka and brought the weight of
the Russian Dnieper bend offensive
directly against Kirovograd, the
next stronghold in the path of Red
Army forces threatening to outfank
Krivoi Rog.
Three Days of Fighting.
Premier Stains order of the day
said Znamenka had fallen after
three days of fierce fighting. and
termed the town powerful strong
point in the German defenses in the
Kirovograd direction"
The loss of Znamenka to Soviet
forces striking out across the snowy
Ukraine left the whole of the Ger
man position west of the Lower
Dnieper in dire threat.
The town, some so miles north
west of the iron ore city of Krivoi
Rog, actually fell yesterday, the
Stain announcement said.
With the new victory the Russians
now control railroads running
northwest to Smyela and Fastoy,
south to Nikolaev and east to Dne-
propetrovsk.
Tank and infantry forces which
had closed in from three sides were
aided in the finaf assault by air.
borne troops.
Moscow Halls Victory.
The rolling thunder of Moscow's
guns saluting the strongholds cap
ture was heard over the Moscow
radio here at pm. U1 am. Eastern
wartime.
The Russians declared the great
German counterattack west of Kiev
in the Zhitomir and Korosten bulge
has been checked after three DAYS,
in which $50 German tanks and
5 1000 enemy troops were DESTROYED.
The German communique, however,
asserted that the Nazis gained fur
ther ground in spite of stiff enemy
The German war bulletin said the
battle in the Dnieper bend was being
fought in a heavy snowstorm and
that the Russians were throwing as
many as six divisions and a tank
brigade tperhaps 10000 mem at sin
gle narrow sectors. The commu-
nique from radio Berlin said that
"a few dents were sealed off, and
that major Russian attacks were
warded off.
The Germans said they stormed
an important height in the Crimea
near Kerch and were increasing
pressure on the Russian beachhead
northeast of the port city. Although
insisting that companion beach,
head south of Kerch had been an
initiated" earlier in the week. broad
casts today said that Rumanian
mercenaries still were "mopping up"
and that they captured more pris-
onerS.
Fall Back to New Lines.
The successful Soviet stand west
of Kiev was disclosed after Gen.
Nikolai Vatutin's Ukrainian army
had fallen back to new defense
lines. The persistent German at
tacks apparently have failed to
tie up any considerable Rus
sian forces or divert the Red
Army high command from launch
ing offensives elsewhere, according
to Moscow dispatch from Henry
c. Cassidy, Associated Press war
correspondent.
Other reports from the Russian
front said the Germans were rush.
ing tank and infantry reserves to
the Ukraine from Germany, the
Netherlands, Poland and even Italy
in supreme effort to relieve pres
sure on the Axis lines in White
Russia and the Dnieper bend.
Mr.. Cassidy's assertion that Gen.
Vatutin was holding his own with
out calling for reinforcements indi-
Gated Russian belief that the en-
emy drive would collapse.