Evening star., 1943-10-27
Withdrawal in Dnieper Bend
Admitted G|oomi|y by Nozis;
Allies Continue Gains in ItoIy
Fall of Krivoi Roa,
Key Defense City,
Believed Near
3r the Associated Press


LONDON, Oct. 27.-With Soviet
troops storming the outskirts of
Krivoi Rog, the German COM
mand today took the gloomiest
tone toward the Russian front
since Stalingrad in an apparent
effort to stiffen the public and
army alike for an impending
military catastrophe.
"A large German withdrawal
movement" in the Dnieper bend was
announced by the Berlin radio and
were being pounded back from the
Melitopol area all the way up to
the region west of Smolensk.
A great and fateful tank battle
was laundering from Krivoi Rog,
important iron and steel center
northward to Kremencnug as the
Germans attempted to retard the
advance of the Reds. But even this
big counterattack could do no more
than score a few isolated defensive
successes at fearful cost.
Reds Broadening Salient.
This was taken to indicate that
the Soviets were broadening the base
of their triangular salient driving
down on Krivoi Rog, and the fall
of the city, key to the whole German
defense in the Dnieper bend, was
imminent.
Spearheads of one Soviet force
the northern arm of great pincers
designed to entrap those enemy
units still inside the Dnieper River
bend-already have captured Kar-
novatka, main rail center for the
Krivoi Rog area on the north bank
Of the Saksahani River, Russian
communique said.
Although the Nazis threw fresh
tank forces, some of them trans
ferred from Italy, into the defense
of the strategic stronghold, Soviet
armor drove them back and left
1000 German dead on the battle
field, the bulletin declared.
Columns Near Crimea.
The southern arm of the pincers,
operating out of Melitopol, was said
to have captured Veseloye, "a miles
to the northwest, after particularly
fierce fighting" and was believed
surging ahead to close the gap
which would seal the fate of the
Germans trapped in the loop of the
Dnieper between Melitopol and
Dnepropetrovsk.
Other Soviet columns were fan
ming out Of Melitopol into the
steppes above the Crimea The Mos
COW war bulletin said they captured
nearly 100 towns yesterday in ad-
vances Of 4 to IL miles, which cost
the Nazis more than 5000 killed.
Southwest of Dnepropetrovsk,
gains of miles or more were re-
corded by Red Army columns which
drove the demoralized Germans
back farther west toward the rap
idly closing Jaws of the overlapping
pincer armies. Forty-three towns
were liberated. including the district
center of Solenoye.
A fourth Russian Army group was
blasting it's way toward the Znam-
enka- -Nikolayev north-south rail-
way, possible escape route for the
Dnieper bend Nazis, and the Mos
cow bulletin said this force was
within IS miles of severing the line
yesterday.
Red Army air squadrons ranged
up and down the front from Krem-
enchug to Melitopol and far to the
west, blasting concentrations of
fleeing Germans. They wrecked
three railroad trains and smashed
more than ITO trucks and carts
loaded with war gear racing for the
Bug River defense wall. between $50
and rs miles to the west, Moscow
said
The Russian communique report
ed only minor reconnaissance and
artillery action on sectors of the
front in the far north, but Berlin
said the Red Army had launched
an attack west of Krichev in White
Russia.
Hard fighting was reported from
Gomel northward to Orsha, where
the Germans are still holding posi-
tions on the east side of the Dnieper.