Evening star., 1944-07-28
Russiun Forces
Only 80 Miles
From Warsaw
MAP on Page Az
By the Associated Press.

| ~ t'ie f-SooSietcd ftCSs
LONDON, July %. - Brest
Litovsk, last great fortress posi-
ton before Warsaw, was aban-
doned to the onrushing Russian
armies today along with Kaunas
in Lithuania, Berlin announced.
| Soviet troops charged to within 80
miles Of the Polish capital In a
l7-mile advance beyond The San
RiYsr, they penetrated to a point
hA miles from German Silesia.
Brest Litovsk and Kaunas gave
the Russians 10 major triumphs in
"a hours as they whipped through
the Baltic States, Poland and the
Carpathian foothills toward East
Prussia. German Silesia and Czecho-
slovakia.
The German high command an
nounced the evacuation of Brest
Litovsk in its daily communiques
and soon afterward the Trans
ocean News Agency admitted the
loss of Kaunas, the old capital of
Lithuania.
Reds $40 Miles from Berlin.
Nearest Russian troops were
within $40 miles Of Berlin itself
with the capture of Garwolin, 80
miles southeast of Warsaw.
Other Russian triumphs were an
nounced in record splurge of
orders of the day by Premier Stain
coloring Moscow's skies with many-
colored flares for five hours until
midnight.
These were the victories:
l. Brest Litovsk, historic city of
10000 on the Western Bug River,
III miles east of Warsaw. Moscow
has not yet confirmed its capture
but it virtually was surrounded last
night and has been miles behind
the westbound front for two weeks
Railroads radiate from there to
Warsaw, all sections of East Prus-
sia, Moscow, Minsk and Wilno. 1t
was there in 1918 that peace treaty
removed revolt-torn Russia from
belligerent Allied ranks in the World
War.
z. Kaunas, former capital Of Lith-
uanla and its second largest city
with l52,365 population. Kamas
had been invested for a fortnight
or more; the loss last night of Sia-
ulai made its position untenable. 1t
lies SIS rail miles from the East Prus-
sia frontier. half the way there, from
captured Wilno. which became the
Lithuanian capital by Russian de-
cree during the war
Lwow Taken by Reds.
3. Lwow, third city of Old Poland
and one Of Europe's greatest rail
|centers, toppled last night after DAYS
of street fighting. The city of 317,-
TOO is on the Bucharest Warsaw
Berlin Railroad and was barrier
to Czechoslovakia and Hungary.
Moscow's Izvestia said Lwow still
was burning from German demoli-
tions and that dozens of thousands
of innocent people had been kille,a
in Nazi reign of terror.
4. Siauliai. third city Of Lithuania
with population of 81 ,299, fell last
night. Thus the last alor rail-
way was cut by which the estimated
300, 900 troops OF the 80 divisions of
the German 10th and 18th Armies
could escape or be supplied. The
victory placed the Russians IS miles
northeast Of the East Prussian CITY
OF Tilsit, 80 miles northeast of the
Baltic port of Memel and l25 miles
northeast OF the East Prussian capi-
tai OF Konigsberg Filsit was bombed
last night and Moscow said five
military trains were destroyed.
S. Daugavpils, third city of Latvia
with 45.160 population.
6. Bialystok, ITO miles northeast
OF Warsaw, which had long been
surrounded and by-passed. Its 60, 900
residents made 1t old Polands S 18th
city.
Stanislawow Falls.
7. Stanislawow, guardian city to
Czechoslovakia and Hungary. It's
fall and other nearby gains in the
Carpathian foothills placed the
Russians within 13 miles of the
Carpatho- Ukraine sector of Czecho-
slovakia which Hungary annexed by
German largess. The Russians here
were approaching the Drohobycz-
Boryslaw oil area to the northeast.
8. Rezekne, railroad junction in
Latvia. So miles northeast of CAP
tured Daugavpils.
9. Garwolin, rail center, 80
miles southeast of Warsaw.
10. Other Russian troops broke
into Siedlce, another rail center SO
miles due east of Warsaw where
street fighting was in progress.
All these tremendous achieve
ments gave Germany her blackest
day of the nearly five years of war
The conquests we're never matched
in the peaks of the German blitz-
kreig.
No Major Natural Barriers.
The picture was one of German
collapse along a meandering front
of 1000 miles from the wooded
shores of the Gulf of Finland-an
tSee RUSSIA. Page A-4J