Evening star., 1944-06-25
Germans Rushing
Fresh Forces to
Russian Front
MAP on Page A-4.)
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
LONDON, Sunday, June 25.-
Two mighty Red armies are
closing pincers from the north
and south on Vitebsk in White
Russia and the German-fortified
town already is threatened with
encirclement, Moscow said early
today.
More than $500 Germans were
killed in this area as Soviet infantry
fought its way forward with the
massed support of artillery and air.
craft, the Russians asserted.
In closing in on the Nazi fortress,
Hitler's closest remaining outpost
to Moscow, Red troops made two
new breakthroughs in Nazi defenses
to the south, advanced up to Is
miles in the north and heightened
the whole central fighting front to
approximately $50 miles.
More than 900 places were liber-
ated in fighting on all fronts yes
terday, including more than 200
which had been held by the Firms
in the lake region to the north.
Nazis Rush Up Fresh Troops.
The early morning supplement to
the Russian communique said the
Germans were rushing reinforce
ments into the battle for Vitebsk
by forced march from the south.
The last remaining railway into the
town from the Germans rear was
cut Friday on the first day of the
offensive on the main eastern front.
Fighting grew in ferocity, but the
supplement said Red troops were
hitting relentlessly at disorganized
Nazi formations and were moving
ahead on both sides of Vitebsk.
On the northwestern flank of the
town, more than 1000 Germans were
killed and huge quantities of equip
ment destroyed or captured.
Southwark toward the rail juno
tions or Orsha and Mogilev, where
the new break throughs occurred,
the supplement said approximately
$500 German soldiers were slain in
bitter battles. Six hundred dead
were counted In one small sector,
Moscow added.
Stain Tells Of Gains.
The momentous Soviet successes
on all active fronts were recounted
yesterday in a series Of three special
orders of the day by Premier Stain
and the regular nightly commu-
nique.
Announcing the gain OF up to Is
miles northwest of Vitebsk and an
other of 1914 miles, southeast of
the town, the Premier said another
breakthrough had been accom-
plished in the direction OF Orsha,
which is an important railway juno
ton approximately so miles south
of Vitebsk.
This new puncture in the Ger
man lines in White Russia was
made to depth up to 91a miles on
front 1914 miles wide.
Stain devoted a special order to
each of three battle zones-the
Finnish front, the wedge northwest
Of Vitebsk and the fighting to the
southeast of that place-and di-
rected a salute of 20 rounds from
224 OF Moscows big guns for each.
Commanders Disclosed.
In his orders he disclosed the
names Of the two commanders di-
recting operations in White Russia
Col. Gen. Ivan Bagramian of the
1st Baltic Army northwest of Vitebsk
and Col. Gen Ivan Cherniakhovsky
of the Sd White Russian Army
south Of Vitebsk. 1t was Gen.
Bagramian's army which made the
original advance close to Vitebsk
last winter.
The premier said Red troops on
the northern front had swarmed
across the Svir River all along its
10O-mile course BETWEEN Lakes La
doga and Onezhshkoe tOnega) gain
ing up to 18 miles in three days, and
had freed more than 200 places from
the Germans.
The communique broadcast later
by Moscow and recorded by the
Soviet monitor said that $50 miles
farther north at the tip of Lake
OneZhskoe the Russians liberated
(See RUSSIA page Al