The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-03-16
The Wor On MonyFronts
BY LOUIS F. KEENIIE United Press War EdltOr)

Allied forces battled the Germans in the ruins of Cassino and on the Anzio beachhead today In an effort to clear the way for resumption of the interrupted march towards Rome.
 The Russians, having crashed the Bug river barrier, were relentleSSly driving the retreatnig Germans to- wards the Rniester and the Ru- manian border.
 The aterial offensive against Ger many was stepped up during the night when the RAF made It's heavi- csta assault on the southwestern and northwestern Reich, to be fol- lowed to the continent in daylight by large forces of heavy American bombers.
 Tho war picture was one of violent Allied offensive action on all the fronts. The renewal of the cam paign in southern Italy still was in its opening stage with the destrucs ton Of the stone stronghold of Cas- sino by the greatest combined nir and artillery bombardment in his tory.
 The Germans returned to the ruins and were putting up stiff re- sistance. AS yet there was no evi- dance of a general Allied advance, but reports indicated that an aS- sault all along the main German line was in hte making.
 Fighting at Anzio
 The fighting on the Anzio beachhead was subsidiary and not on large scale but 1t suggested that the Allies were feeling out the German strength in preparation for resuming the initiative. American forces made new attack southeast of Aprilla, taking two enemy strong points, but the Germans counter attacked and violent fighting was reported in progress.
 manianbkre-
 The British night attack on Ger many was the greatest effort by the RAF in the war. A great force or four -motored war planes struck simultaneously in the north and south. dropping an estimated. $500 tons of bombs, by far the larger part of them on the aircraft and communications center of Stutt- gart in the southwest.
 Apparently as a diversion to draw of German fighter strength from the Stuttgart area, Munich and other targets in northwestern Ger. nleay were bombed, as was the rail junction of Ainiens in France. The British lost 40 bombers, considered moderate for the size of the attack.
 Other British bomberS from Italy attacked Sofia, Bulgarian capital, during the night. making the sixth time 1t has been bombed.
 Russian Front
 On the Russian front, any Ger man hope of making stand along the Bug River appeared to have vanished definitely. The situation was as follows:
 Tn the center, General Ivan S. Konev,s second Ukraine army had broken across the swollen Bug on a 62.miie front and the Germans were in full retreat, abandoning much equipment. The Russians were within 2S to 90 miles Of the Dnies- JcI, pOIucElHk NuHlhHAd' anu H"N the central section of the Lwow- Odessa Railway under artillery Ire, This last important communications link remaining to the Germans In the Ukraine was rapidly slipping from their hands, making a further stand improbable and complicating the problem of their retreat. Vim nitsa and Zherinka, on the import ant westward line from Kiev to the Dniester also were imminently threatened.
 In the south. General Rodion Y. Malinovsky's third army has split the pocket where several German divisions were trapped east of Nix olaev and were mopping them up Other forces were closing in on Nikolaev from three sides. Effective Resistance Tn the north the Germans were putting up their only effective re- sistance against General Gregory K. Zhukov's first army in 6 desperate effort to cover the left flank of their