The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-30
Reds Smash
zhitomir

Continued from Page u
through the forests, infiltrated the
enemy rear. and destroyed numerous
German garrisons they isolated.
Tommy gunners swarmed in be-
hind pace setting tanks where the
German lines were preached, thrust
ing deep into the enemy defenses
and undermining vital strong points.
No Complaint
Although the Russians still had
cause to complain of the late mild
winter Of alternating rain and snow.
much was expected of the Red
Army's winter offensive which was
developing on new scale.
The focal thrusts were the drives
by Vatutin in the Ukraine and Gen.
Ivan G. Bagramian on the Baltic
front, where his Siberian veterans
were battering the defenses of vi
tebsk, with Gen. Konstantin Rokos-
sovsky striking in Southern White
Russia.
It all shaped up as concerted
effort to execute a giant pincers
movement and squeeze the Germans
into the pripet marshes and Eastern
Poland, encircling powerful Nazi
armies between White Russia and
the Central Ukraine.
At the same time the Russians
were engaging strong force inside
the Dnieper bend, where they dashed
out in a new offensive west of Ia
porozhe. It promised to develop into
a full dress campaign to clear all
the lower Ukraine.
One Soviet column thrust 1-2
miles beyond the Korosten-Zhito-
mir railroad, another was only six
miles from Zhitomir junction and a
third was within nine miles Of Ka-
zatin, which controls one Of the
three remaining escape railroads for
hundreds of thousands Of Germans
in the Dnieper bend.
The Germans halted the Russians
along the Korosten- zhitomir rail-
road in November, then forced them
back more than Is miles toward
Kiev, but the new Soviet offensive
already had cracked the railroad de-
Tense line and there was no imme-
diate indication where the Germans
would make their next stand.
While Soviet tanks and motorized
infantry smashed across the West
ern Ukraine in the most powerful
Soviet drive since the fall of Kiev,
the third Russian winter offensive
In as many weeks gathered momen-
tum a, the eastern end of the Dnie-
petr bend.
3rd Army
The third Ukrainian army, idle
since the fall Of Zaporobhe last Oct.
4, struck west,. .lrd across the Dnie-
per, gained full possession Of Dnep-
rogeS Dam and cleared a 15-mile
stretch Of the west bank to mount a
new threat to Nikopol, Manganese
center tC the southwest, and the
enemy bastion of Krivoi Rog, In the
center of the bend.
More than 80 localities We're seiz-
ed. including Kantserovka, Lukashe-
vo and Novodorovka, nine miles
west, northwest and southwest of
Zaporozhe respectively.
PICK UP
On the White Russian front. the
LIST Baltic army drove closer to the
strategic junction Of Vitebsk from
three sides. One column captured
Losvida, eight miles north Of Vitebsk,
IN a five-mile advance, another
cleared the enemy from a large for
est to the northwest and q third
seized advantageous positions to
the southeast. More than 200 Ger
mans were killed.
On the Kiev front, the Russians
knocked out the northern keystone
Of the German defense line with
capture Of Korosten, a five-way
railway junction IS miles northwest
OF Kiev, and cleared the 45-mile
Korosten- Zhitomir segment of the
Leningrad-O Odessa railway as far
south as Chernyakhov, 10 miles
north Of Zhitomir.
Giving the Germans no opportun-
ity to consolidate their defenses, the
Russians pressed on westward In
pursuit Of the fleeing enemy and
captured Kroplynya, II miles south
west Of Korosten, and Kupische, six
miles northwest of Korosten and
only 40 miles east of the polish
border. Kropivnya Is 81 miles west
Of the Korosten- Zhitomir railroad.
Germans Flee
The Germans fled Chernyakov so
hastily that they abandoned all
their Equipment, including artillery
and shells. At another railway sta
ton. Russian tanks and tommy gun
ners seized several military trains
just as they were about to disem-
bark a German infantry regiment.
Battles are now In progress and
the enemy Is suffering exceptionally
heavy losses in manpower and ma
terial," the Soviet high command
said In its midnight communique.
The southwestern arm Of the LIST
Ukrainian army seized Belopole,
nine miles north o. Kazatin, IL
miles southeast Of Berdichev and
only 90 miles northeast Of Rumania,
while a central column captured
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