The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-06-27

break out of encirclement, but were halted and split in two by the SovietS.
 The Soviet threat to Minsk, capi- tai of White Russia and one of the principal enemy strongholds on the ancient invasion route to Warsaw and Berlin, appeared to be de- veloping even more rapidly than originally hoped for.
 The 3rd White Russian army un- der newly-promoted Gen. Ivan DU. Cherniakhovsky, youngest officer of that rank in the Red Army, waa driving through little more than token resistance on the northeast ern approaches to Minsk after cap- turing Chereya, 55 miles southwest of Vitebsk and 85 miles from Minsk.
 The lst White Russian army un- der Gen. Konstantin K. Rokossov- sky, hero of Stalingrad, also was about 85 miles from Minsk on the southeast following the capture of Brobha, 12 miles below Bobruisk, but was meeting stiff enemy resistance.
 Specter Raised
 The specter of complete collapse of Germany's White Russian defenses was raised by a veritable sunburst of victories yesterday-the fourth day of the greatest and fastest breaking Soviet offensive of the war.
 They included the liberation of Vitebsk and Zhlobin, northern and southern anhcors of the enemy line, and HOO other towns and villages, the largest number ever set free in 24-hour period; the severing of two highways and two railways from Orsha on the Moscow Minsk- Warsaw Line, and the intensifica- ton of assaults on Mogilev and Bobruisk.
 Vitebsk, a city of l67 900, was lib- erated by Cherniakhovsky's 3rd army and Gen. Ivan c. Bagramians 1st Baltic army only 24 hours after they had encircled the city and five in- fantry divisions of 50,000 to 75,000 men.
 Six thousand enemy dead were found in the streets of Vitebsk af- ter two days of fierce house toulouse fighting, another 1000 men were captured and the remainder of the trapped forces were being annihilat- ed in a narrowing pocket west of Vitebsk.
 Dvina River Crossed
 Southwest of Vitebsk, the two armies crossed the western Dvina river on a l5-mile front and cap- tured Ulla and Reshenkovichi, some 90 miles southwest of Vitebsk.
 Other columns flaming out on either side of the former bastion seized Chereya, 55 miles southwest of Vitebsk and 85 miles northeast of Minsk, in a 22-mile advance in 24 hours and Obol. 32 miles north west of Vitebsk and 35 miles east of the old Polish border.
 Outflanking Orsha. 47 miles south of Vitebsk, from the north, the 3rd White Russian army also cut the Vitebsk- Orsha railway, the Orsha- Lepel railway and the Orsha- a-Minsk railway and highway.
 Col. Gen. Georgi D. Zakhov's 2nd White Russian army all but com pleted the isolation of Orsha by cutting the Orsha-Mogilev highway on the east bank of the Dnepr. Orsha's garrison was left only 9 highway south to Mogilev over which to escape, apart from sec- ondary roads incapable of handling heavy traffic.
 Fleeing In Disorder
 The Soviet high command re- ported that the Germans were flee ing in disorder in a number of sectors around Orsha. abandoning their equipment, ammunition and war material. In one village, the SovietS captured 300 trucks, three ammunition dumps and more than 90 heavy guns. Hundreds of pris- oners were being rounded up.
 The 2nd Army also mounted a frontal assault against Mogilev, 87 miles south of Vitebsk, and drove to within six miles of the city with the capture of Mostok, one mile east of the Dnepr.
 Under the blows of Soviet units, the Germans are suffering huge losses and are reeling back vest ward,' the Soviet communique said of the Mogilev campaign. Many prisoners and rich booty were talk en-"
 The Germans lost 2.000 men and is tanks in IS futile counter-at- tacks against Zhlobin, seized by Rokossovsky's lst Army Large booty also was captured in this sector.
 On the Finnish front, the Rus sians captured Olonets, chief town on the Aunus peninsula, between Lakes Ladoga and Omega, and also advanced nearly 20 miles thorugh GL- hH.~t- ka~~ni,. otaox,n n,aa0a