Evening star., 1944-04-12
Russians Smash
|Ahead in Drive
On Sevastopo|
Other Soviets Bottle
Into TirospoI, on
Odessa Escape Route
MAP on Page AL
BY the Associated Press

o5 tIle ASSOCIATED Press.
LONDON, April 12.-The Ger
man communique today told OF
fresh retreats in the Eastern and
Northern Crimea, where Ger
man and Romanian troops dis
engaged themselves in hard
fighting toward positions further
SOUTH"
About $50 miles to the northwest
the Russians said they had fought
into the streets of Tiraspol, Dnestl
River port and rail junction, while
on the Middle Dnestr, the Germans
crashed through the Russian Gordon
around remnants of Is trapped divi-
sions around Skala.
A Russian communique told OF
concerted drives in the Crimea from
the east and north. An army com.
Imanded by Gen. Andrei Yeremenke
captured Kerch in the east ano
swept 10 miles westward, overrun.
ming 40 settlements. The 4th
Ukrainian Army in the north beat
past the northern rail bottleneck OF
Dzhankoi, IS miles north of Sevas.
topol, and seized so more towns.
Loss of Kerch Admitted.
The Germans asserted they de-
stroyed a large number of tanks in
their retreats in the Crimea yester-
day and that hard fighting con-
tinued on both fronts. The loss of
Kerch was acknowledged after de-
struction of the harbor and military
installations.
The Germans said violent enemy
attacks were repulsed at Ovidiopol
ON the Dnestr estuary, toward which
the routed garrison of Odessa was
being herded. There the Germans
said &c tanks were destroyed.
Other major battles were said by
the Germans to be in progress on
Romania northeast of Iasi (Jassy)
around Kowel in old Poland and
southeast of Ostrov,
With but one exception Soviet
arms were victorious all along the
500-mile-long front extending from,
the Crimea to the old Czech from
tier, the Russian communiuue said
This was in the area Just west OF
Skala, where German relief force
cracked a Russian ring previously
thrown around the remnants of the
enemy divisions trapped in thai
area.
Heavy German Losses.
The German thrust was achieved
only at the cost of many men ane
tanks. Moscow said. 1t acknow.
ledged that the Nazis had captured
the town of Buczacz (Buchach)
midway between Skala and Tarno.
pol, 80 miles to the northwest,
Meanwhile, Marshal Ivan S. Ko.
news I'd Ukrainian Army was re.
ported to have struck hard at Axi.
forces in Central Romania, stormins
the important rail junction of Pas.
cani, SIS miles west of the Prut River
and Cristesti, miles beyond. Pas.
cani, 155 miles northeast of the rich
PloeStl oilfieldS, surrendered onl,
after 5000 German and Romaniar
troops were slain, the Russians said
Near IaSi, fierce Axis counterattacks
were repulsed, the bulletin added
and several towns were captured.
"a Romanian high command
communique, broadcast by the
Bucharest home radio and re-
corded in New York by the Fed
eral Communications Commits
sion, said today Romanian and
German forces had successfully
counterattacked in Northern
Moldavia, recapturing the towns
OF Podulluoaiei and Targu-Fru-
mos, respectively Is and 30 miles
west of LASH
Gen. Rodion Y. Malinovsky, who's
troops were battling in the street
OF 11raspol, the last Dnestr crossin,
still open to the Germans aside from