Evening star., 1944-09-29

BY the Associated Press.
MOSCOW, Sept. 29.-The Red
Army's three-way offensive
against Hungary from Romania
and Yugoslavia developed swift
ly today while rumors of peace
feelers by the Budapest govern
ment indicated Hitler's last i'm
portant satellite may be on the
verge Of deserting him.
Hungary's defensive position was
dark as strong Russian forces, press
ing forward in a 100 mile arc on the
Romanian-Hungarian frontier. in
creased their mountain salient and
utilized Marshal Tito's permission to
cross Yugoslav territory and strike
the Hungarians and Germans from
the south.
(The German news agency
DNB said today the Red Army
has made a new crossing of the
Danube River south of the Iron
Gate on the Romanian-Yugoslav
border 7 miles west of Russian
held Turnu Severin. The Berlin
communique said two regiments
which crossed the Danube had
been smashed)
Reds in Lupkow Pass.
The Russian war bulletin dis
closed that Soviet troops had fought
their way into Lupkow Pass leading
from Poland into Czechoslovakia,
taking Vydran, a Czechoslovak rail
station nearly 3 miles inside the
frontier.
The advance down the southern
slopes of the East Beskid range
along the railway leading to the
Hungarian plain has almost
achieved common front between
the 4th Ukrainian Army and the
Slovak patriots.
A C0echoslovak government dele
cation, headed by Frantisek Nemec
is waiting near the Polish -Czecho-
slovak frontier to enter Czechoslo-
wax territory as soon as a substantial
border area is cleared of the enemy
(The American Broadcasting
Station in Europe. quoting the
Turkish radio, said last night
the Hungarian Premier was re-
ported to have asked the Turkish
Ambassador in Budapest to learn
Allied peace terms, and to act
as an intermediary in preliminary
negotiations for Hungary's exit
from the Axis.
Enemy reports asserted Mar
shall Rodion Y. Malinovsky, COM
manding combined Russian and
Romanian forces, was using 80
divisions. or upward of 100000
men, in an offensive against
Szege0, Hungary's second city,
and within l02 miles of Budapest.
German broadcasts today
asserted hat~Russian troops had
temporarily captured the Hun
garian cities of Szeged and Gyula
and the Romanian city of Oradea.
but that all ARE again in the
hands of German and Hun
garian troops" as the result of
counterattacks.
GA major scale regrouping
maneuver is going on throughout
the Balkans" Berlin radio said.
Military circles said it would be
premature to disclose the new
German front which is being
esta blished there.'D
GA Free Yugoslav broadcast
heard by Reuters said Marshal
Tito's PartiSans had reached the
outskirts of Belgrade, the Yugo-
slav capital. Berlin reports said
earlier Russian troops had crossed
from Romania into Yugoslavia at
a point east of Belgrade)
Converging on Riga.
The Moscow communique includ.
ed Vydran in list of 80 localities
captured by Col. Gen. Ivan Petrov':
4th Ukraine Army attacking in tht
East Beskid Mountains. Lupkow, or
the Polish side of the pass sever
miles southeast of Vydran, was also
seized
In the north Russian forces con.
verging on the Latvian port of Rigs
captured so localities, including
Lode, 81 miles northeast of Riga
In Estonia 200 localities were taker
by Marshal Leonid A. Govorov!
(See RUSSIA, Page A-5.)