The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-04-03
Enemy To Be Driven
To Rout Or Surrender
Continued from Page u

|
The first crossing was made by
Gen. Ivan s. Konev's second army,
which reached the river week ago
after a surge through Bessarabia,
front dispatches revealed.
Then the first and second armies
launched concerted push across
the water barrier, until the border
front stretched from the area of
Starojinet southwest of Cernauti
down to Iasi, the time head
quarters of Marshal Fritz Won
Mannstein.
The newspaper Pravda published
dispatch headed across the 'front.'
Ter" from B. Polevoi, Soviet war
correspondent, which gave drama
tic account of the Red Army surge
onto enemy soil.
Beyond - Rumania
"It is with peculiar excitement
that we stand on the outskirts of
a flinty, steep hill overlooking the
Prut," Polevoi wrote. ut isn't a
usual front line. 1t is the state
frontier, the boundary of Soviet
land. Beyond it is Rumania.
"A bridge has not yet been built.
| While we wait for ferry and sap
pers are working on the crossing
the inhabitants of the village tell
us what happened when advanced
units broke through to the river,
throwing German and Rumanian
units into the water in the first
crossing of a Soviet state frontier.
PICK UP 3
"Hurriedly formed companies and
battalions led the troops to the
heights protecting the river ap-
proaches. The German and Ru-
manion troops were routed and roll
led back to the crossing. There was
such panic in the ranks that Meth
er tommy guns nor revolvers could
halt it.
"Panic-stricken troops overloaded
ferries which rolled over and sank.
They abandoned their tanks and
guns.
Soviet sappers captured boats
and RATS and forced the river.
Some troops swan over, pushing
their rifles, tommy guns and am
munition on plankS, boards and
barrels.
"In the first hours small but
growing bridgeheads were establish
ed across the Prut. BY night suf-
ficient forces were across to resume
the advance into the depths of Ru-
mania"
No Chance
Another front dispatch said that
after forcing the Prut simultane-
ously at many points, the Russians
gave the Germans and Rumanians
no chance to recover.
1.-THE offensive is developing with
ever-growing speed" it said.
"Rumanian villages hidden among
the orchards look much like Mol
davian villages, but the stamp of
poverty lies everywhere. The inha-
bitants already are accustomed to
us. They are streaming home from
forests and ravines where they had
hidden to look with amazement at
our infantry, guns, trucks and tanks.
1.-THE organization and discipline
Of our troops had a tremendous eff
feet on them, and they are gen.
timely sorry for those fools who,
falling for the Fascist lies, aband-
oned their farms, drove off their
cattle and fled to the rear"
Disclosure that the Germans had
been pushed back beyond one of the
frontiers from which they invaded
Russia in June 1941 came one week
after Marshal Ivan S. Konev's End
Ukrainian army reached the Prut
river border of Rumania above Iasi
and only "a hours after the LIST
Ukranian army drove through Blu
covina to the border.
First word that the Red Army
was advancing through Rumania
came from Foreign CommiSsar Via
cheslav M. Molotov, who told the
first press conference he ever has
held last night that the Soviets had
driven across the border 'in several
sectors" in pursuit of the German
armies and their allied Rumanian
troops"
No Claim On Rumania
simultaneously" Molotov said
"the Soviet government declares
that it does not pursue the aim OF
acquiring Rumanian territory or OF
altering the existing social struc-
ture of Rumania. The entry of So
Wet troops into the boundaries OF
Rumania was dictated exclusively
by military necessities and the con-
tinuing resistance of enemy troops
GA dispatch from the Swedish
newspaper Social Demokraten re-
ported to the Office of War In
formation said German military
authorities had warned the Ru-
manian government that civilians
and peasants fleeing from the Rus
slams would be shot If they damned
the roads and highways and thus
blocked German troops headed for
the 'front.'
GA Bucharest broadcast said the
military situation remains grave, -
though counter measures were
under way to halt the Soviet ad-
vance. The broadcast, reported by
| u. S. government monitors, made
no reference to a crossing of Ru-
mania's northern border, possibly
because the Rumanians regarded
the Soviet advances into Bessarabia
and Bucovi1a as penetrations OF
their territory
(The Stockholm newspaper Nor
gontindningen said Russian van
guards had crossed into Hungary's
II H.