Evening star., 1944-01-14
Red Siege Guns Pound Rail Hubs
As Drive For Pinsk Gains Force;
French Advance 7 Miles in Italy
Russians Report
Nuzis Cut Off
West Of Mozyr
MAP on Page AL

MooAoW, odis 4x.-oONlCt
siege guns today pounded the
outhanked defenseS of MoZyr
and Kalinkovichi, important rail
centers on the northern edge OF
the Pripet Marshes, as Gen.
Konstantin Rokossovsky's White
Russian Army gained momentum
in it's drive toward Pinsk, 140
miles to the west on the Moscow
Warsaw railway.
CThe Moscow radio, in a broad
cast heard in London, said Co.'S
sack cavalry had cut the escape
route of beaten Nazi forces
streaming westward from Mozyr
and had left Mozyr far behind.)
On the lower side of the frozen
Pripet marshlands 160 miles to the
southwest, Gen. Nikolai Vatutin's
1st Ukrainian Army Stormed the
rail station at Tutovichi, II miles
west of Sarny Gn old Poland) on
the Kiev-Warsaw railway. His
troops also captured Korets, 20 miles
west of Novograd Volynski, and
Brykov, nine miles farther west.
Gen. Vatutin's center also pene-
trated another important area Of
Nazi communications as pressure
was increased on Rovno, SO miles
south of Sarny; Luck, IS miles to
the southwest, and Kovel, 80 miles
to the west.
Loss of this area or deep penetra-
tions such as are being effected
would all but isolate the key city
of Lwow by rail from the north and
would make a tremendous bottle
neck of that junction, already bur-
dened by the heavy traffic moving
through it on the Odessa Warsaw
trunk railway. Lwow is IS miles
southwest of Luck.
West of Sarny, Gen. Vatutin's
lightning units were roaring out of
the Pripet Marshes and beating
down the railway in the direction
of Kovel.
These units were only about 95
miles east of the "CurZon line
the demarcation line between Po-
land and Russia which was pro-
posed by an Allied commission at
the end of the World War and the
line which the Soviet government
has indicated it is willing to accept
as basis for negotiation now.
The Germans were availing them
selves of the numerous rivers in this
area to make stand, but Red Star
dispatches said the Soviet infantry
men were throwing them out of one
position after another.
On the extreme southern sector
of the long front Gen. Vatutin's left
wing smashed repeated savage cour-
terattacks east of VinnitSa as the
enemy fought desperately to halt
the Soviet advance on the Ukrain-
ian Bug River and the Odessa War
saw trunk railway, principal supply
artery for German forces in the
lower Dnieper bend.
Other units Of Gen. Vatutin's left
wing continued their advance in the
Berdichev sector while further east
Gen. Ivan S. Konev's I'd Ukrainian
Army improved its positions west
and northwest of Kirovograd.
Gen. Rokossovsky' forces yester-
day reached the outskirts of Mozyr
and Kalinkovichi, junction of the
Moscow PinSk-WarsaW and Lenin-
grad-Odessa Railways S miles to the
north, Russian communique re-
ported and today the two centers
we're outf1anked and all but sur
rounded
More than 1900 Germans were
killed and many prisoners were
taken in this sharp advance over
terrain in which nearly 200 field and
anti-tank guns, together with aux
iliary arms, were massed, the COM
munique added More than 40
towns were captured, including Zim-
ovische Moseyevka, 9 miles west of
Mozyr and Mitva, II miles to the
south.
In the Sarny sector, Gen. Vatu-
tins right wing was now operating
on an 80-mile- wide front, from
Dombrovitsa, II miles north OF
Sarny. south of Korets and Kilikiev
more than 60 other towns and ham,
lets were reported captured in the
drive on Korbets, including Berez-
dovo, 10 miles to the south, and
Maiden-Vila rail station Is miles
northeast of ,Shepetovka, also under
attack by Gen. Vatutin's men. The
Soviet bulletin said 1000 Nazis were
killed in this operation and that sew
eral hundred prisoners were taken.
The communique declared that
Extremely fierce fighting took
place in the Vinnitsa sector. The
Germans launched series of fierce
counterattacks attempting to break
through the battle formations of
the Soviets," the bulletin said.
"Some populated places changed
hands several times. The enemy
suffered heavy losses, but achieved
no success whatsoever" Between
1000 and 5000 Germans were killed,
SO tanks and guns destroyed and
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