Evening star., 1944-07-12
Americans Smash Nazi Attacks:
Allies Pushed Back Near Caen;
Reds Advance on 35O-MiIe Front
Russians Only
4o Miles From
East Prussia
By the Associated Press.

MOSCOW, July l2.-The Rec
Army, knocking large new hole!
in the already sagging German
lines, surged westward today
from a point less than 40 mile.
east Of the East Prussian border
at a pace which, If continued
would carry the fighting to Ger.
man soil by the end of the week
CToday's German communique
placed "the advancing Soviets"
west Of Alytus in Lithuania, 81
miles from East Prussia, 33 miles
south of Kaunas and within u
miles of the strategic East
Prussia Riga Railway, over which
two Nazi armies In the Baltic
must be supplied in part. Re-
treats along the whole central
front were reported by Berlin.
The surrounded Wilno garrison
Was being supplied by airD
Gen. Ivan Cherniakhovsky'i
cavalry and tanks drove the spear.
head toward East Prussia in a 20.
mile advance, where the small
province known as the Swalk
Triangle sticks out north of Grodno
General advances along the entir.
350-mile front between Latvia anc
the Pripet Marshes swept through
more than 400 places yesterday
killing atleast 1000 German soldier.
and bringing about the capture Of
hundreds more.
Pinsk Resistance Continues.
The new forward sweeps placed
the Red Army actually within strik.
ing distances of Kaunas, As mile.
away; Grodno, Sc; Bialystok. 81, anc
less than 18. Military
observers in Moscow saw a direc,
threat to Bialystok and Grodno ir
the strong central blow. Pinsk. al
the edge of the Pripet Marshes tc
the south, already was lost tactically
to the Nazis. although resistance
continued there.
tAs the Russians sped onward,
the German radio commentator.
Kurt Dittmar, last night gravely
warned the German people that
"the supreme test" now has come,
since the distance between us
and the battlefield has almost
vanished"
The ONCE Of War Informa-
ton quoted the Stockholm news
paper Alton Tidningen as report
ing the highest state of alarm"
in East Prussia.
'Afton Tidningen said the Ger
mans had closed the frontiers
and mined all approaches, add
ing that "the people fear Rus
sian parachutists will land before
the actual attack on East Prus-
sia."
The article declared further
that 100000 foreign workers in
East Prussian factories have been
shifted to the interior Of Ger
many because Of fears they might
attack the German troops in
the back.")
Bombers Blast Enemy.
Bright, hot and clear weather
gave the Russian Stormoviks, Bos.
ton bombers and the new Sovier
medium bombers a chance to &c,
out in tremendous numbers agains,
the retreating German columns. Ar
observer just back from the front
said the Stormoviks have beer
chopping German communications
to shreds.
This observer, an Allied officer
said the terrain of White Russia
in which the Soviets now are oper-
ating is excellent for air attack
since it is covered with deep forests
axes and swamps. forcing an army
TO use easily seen lines of communi-
Red Army troops streaming
toward Kaunas astride the railway
west of Wilno engulfed more than
100 communities, including Woro.
now.
The nearest approach to the East
Prussian border came in the Lids
area to the south.
The westward advance towart
Grodno and Bialystok, both prizI
functions on the Warsaw Railway
continued on wide front, rangin,
from Ida, northeast of Grodno, t,
points southwest of Baranowicze
(See RUSSIA, Page A-6.)