Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-03-27
Russians Ready
For First Drive
Onto Enemy Soil
MAP on Page A-4.l


By the Associated Press.
LONDON, Mar. 27.-The Red
Army was poised today for it's
first thrust onto enemy soil after
smashing triumphantly to the
Prut River border of Rumania
from which Adolf Hitler
launched the southern wing of
his ill-starred invasion of Rus
STA nearly three years ago.
Russian big guns already are lay
ing down a barrage on Rumanian
territory, Moscow dispatches said
today, and Soviet infantrymen were
expected to surge soon across the
narrow Prut, which they reached on
a 53-mile front yesterday, only a
week after they spanned the broader
Dniester, now go miles behind them
As "a volleys from 324 guns thun-
dered in Moscow last night and
green, white, yellow, red and purple
rockets burst above the city in cele-
bration of the drive to the enemy's
border, the army newspaper Red
Star, confidently anticipating a con-
tinuation of the offensive, asserted
For the Red Army there are no
boundaries; her boundaries are vic
tory, Berlin, and straitjacket for
the mad German valkyrie."
Byeltsi Captured.
Premier Stain, who announced
the conquest of part of our state
frontier also reported the capture
of the Bessarabian rail city OF
Byeltsi, a victory which closed an
other German avenue of retreat
from Lower Russia. Other Soviet
forces were declared within 20 miles
OF Jassi fJassy), through which runs
the major Nazi escape railway from
the big Black Sea port of Odessa.
The surge to the Prut was re-
garded In London as already boom
ing German stand at Odessa and
besieged Nikolaev. Turkish reports
that Hitler was rushing masses OF
armored reinforcements through
Hungary and Rumania suggested
that he probably would make a stand
IN Rumania in an attempt at least
to save the Ploesti oil fields. The
Russians were reported within zoe
miles of the vital oil regions anc
$50 miles from Bucharest, Rumaniar
capital
The Russians also hammered out
new gains near the Middle Dniestei
River yesterday, Soviet commu-
nique announcing that Kamenetz
Podolsk, in the southwestern cor
ner of the Ukraine, had been en-
circled and that the Red Army al
ready was storming through its
streets. The communications CEN
ter is vital as an escape gap fol-
defeated German troops streaming
southwark from fallen Proskurov.
Tarnopol Surrounded.
In old Poland, where some Rus
sian units are within IS miles OF
the 1941 Bug River frontier between
Germany and Russia, the Red Army
was declared to have surrounded
Tarnopol, bitterly defended for
weeks, and to be wiping out the gar
rison, capturing street after street
Other Russian forces already had
by-passed the city in their drive
toward Lwow, big Nazi communica-
tons center.
The Russians, in their epic mill
tary comeback since the Nazis ham
mered at Stalingrad and swept so
close to Moscow that it's people could
hear the boom of big guns and see
the flashes of exploding shells, have
recovered all except about 10000
square miles of pre-1939 Russian
territory. Since Stalingrad they
have marched back 300 miles.
BY Russian count, the abortive
German attack has cost the in
vaders more than $4,000, 900 casual
ties. Stain announced on February
%, 1943, that the Germans had lost
100000 troops, including at least
100000 dead. Last November he
said that during "the last year" the
Nazis had lost more than 1000, 900,
of which 100000 were slain.
Almost five months of almost in
cessant Russian victories have en-
sued, to swell these totals. The Rus
sian casualties, while heavy, have
not been announced for some time.