The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1944-03-06
Close In On
Escape Route
CONTINUED from Page u

NO0AANAAAU(A AANNt EONG ~
be forced 10 fail back over made
quate roads and spur lines into Ru-
mania or face death or capture at
the hands Of converging Russian
armies.
(Radlo Belin said zhukov was
usang IL to IA infantry divisions of
Io0, 600 to. 2i0, 900 men and three ar
mored corps. The Germans &C.
knowledged the Russians had brok.
en- through their lines, though they
said the width Of the breakthrough
was only three miles)
The Russians gained up 10 81
miles, captured 500 towns and vii.
lagos, liberated 1900 square miles
and put eight German infantry and
four tank divisions-i64, 900 men
to flight in the first two days Of
the new offensive Saturday and
Sunday.
Attacking after q heavy artillery
bombardment literally flattened
long-prepared German defenses,
Zhukovs tanks and men struck
southwest from ShepetOvka, % miles
from the old border Of Southern Po-
land, and advanced along both sides
Of the Shepetovka- Tarnopol rail.
road toward the OdesSa. Warsaw
trunk line.
Tho southeastern wing smashed
through to the approaches to the
railway station OF Volochinsk on
the Odessa-Warsaw line, engulfing
Kupel, II miles to the northeast
and only six miles north Of the
trunk railway, while the western
column captured Katrynburg, So
miles west of Shepetovka and rs
miles from Lwow, one Of the most
important communications centers
In southeastern Europe.
56.NIile Stretch
zhukov's forces also cleared a Sc
mile stretch OF the Shepetovka-
Tarnopol railroad, pushing rs far TO
the southwest Us Vyshgorodok sta
ton, IS miles inside old Poland.
The Russians killed ut least 5000
German troops and wrecked up
wards Of 100 tanks IN the initial
lighting.
THE enemy Is abandoning one
position after another" the Soviet
high command announced In Its
midnight communique. "A large
number OF prisoners was captured
In all sectors the enemy suffered
enormous losses OF men and mater
iel."
The retreating Germans aban.
doned huge amounts Of guns, am"
inunition and war material. At one
railway station the Russians cap.
tured 40 field and two self-propelled
guns, SO ulortars and over 200 guns
Zhukov took over command OF the
attacking LIST Baltic army from Gen
Nikolai F.. Vatutin, who was Ill, aftor
the latter had driven 200 miles west
from the Kiev area 10 Lutsk NucS)
IS miles inside old Poland, III less
than two months.
First Field Command
For more than month, Zhukov
built up his forces and restored TO
operation newly captured railway
line In preparation for the offensive
that may result IN the complete
liberation OF southwestern Russia
1t was zhukov's Arst field command
since the battle OF Moscow III 1871.
In northern Estonia. Gen. Leonid
A. Govorov's Leningrad armies ex.
panded their bridgehead on the west
bank OF the Narva river With the
capture Of several enemy strong
points. Nearly 1000 Germans were
killed and II guns md two MORTAR
batteries destroyed.
(The Helsinki newspaper Svenska
pressen, In an article reported 10
the Once Of War Information, said
the evacuation Of Tallinn. west OF
Narva, was proceeding at an accel.
Grated pace.")
There were no new reports from
Pskov, 100 miles south Of Narva
where the Russians last were re-
ported fighting In the outskirts,