Evening star., 1944-03-26
Soviets Smash to Within 8 Miles
OF Eastern Rumania and Menace
Bucovinas Capital Balkan Key
Nuzis Face Loss
Of Key Railway
At Czernowitz
BY the Associated Press.

LONDON, Sunday, Mar. 26.-
The Red Army plunged to within
eight miles of Rumania's S eastern
border yesterday and reached
the Dniester River on a 50-mile
front just across from Czerno-
witz, Rumania's northern capital
in Bucovina and key to the
Balkans, Moscow announced to-
day.
Hurting the Germans back toward
the Carpathian Mountains, the
Russians were only 18 miles from
stragetic Czernowitz, and II miles
from Hitlers rail backbone-the
Bucharest-Lwow railway running
through that CITY,, The loss of the
line would split the German
eastern front.
The Russians also toppled the
West Ukraine stronghold of Pros
kurov, breaking into the city from
east and west, and fought their way
into the outskirts of the Black Sea
port of Nikolaev Moscow said.
Many Germans routed from
Proskurov later gave themselves up
while thousands scattered into the
woods to hide, the late bulletin said.
20-Mile Gain Below Tarnopol,
Other impressive successes scored
by the Russians on a front extend
ing from Old Poland southeast to
the Black Sea included a 20-mile
gain south of by-passed Tarnopol in
Poland, the severing of the Byeltsi-
1asi railway in Central Bessarabia
as Soviet troops streamed southwark
toward the Danube, and the over
running of Nazi rail escape route
IN the Slobodzeya sector 110 miles
northwest of Odessa, the COM
munique said.
thousands of Germans were killed
IN the capture of Proskurov, 81 miles
east OF Tarnopol, and enormous
quantities" of guns, tanks, trucks
and other equipment seized as the
retreating Germans even aban-
doned their light equipment in their
fight toward the Dniester-and pos
sible entrapment.
The Russians now control al
most 100 miles of the river. Soviet
units tanning out along the Dnies-
ter between Mogilev Podolski and
Kamenets Podolsk were attempting
to bag the Germans falling back
from Proskurov.
(Radio France at Algiers quoted
Franz Won Papen, German Ambas-
sador to Turkey, as having declared
that the German army perhaps"
would abandon Bessarabia, estab-
lish Carpathian Mountain defense
line, and try to plug the 130-mile gap
between the mountains and the
Black Sea with German and sa-
tellite troops to defend the Ru-
manian Ploesti Oil regions "at all
costs" The broadcast was reported
by the United States Foreign Broad
cast Intelligence Service.
Smash Across Dniester Expected.
A Russian smash across the
Dniester toward Czernowitz Ger
nautD was expected shortly.
Seventy miles southeast of Ger
nowitz, Rumania's third largest
city, other Soviet units attacking
westward in Bessarabia on a 65-
mile front captured Zagaikany, only
eight miles from the Prut River,
boundary of Rumania proper. They
also were only so miles east of
Czernowitz with the announced cap
ture of Korystovtsy.
Wheeling southwark toward the
Danube, Marshal Ivan S. Konevs
I'd Ukraine Army also outflanked
the beseiged railway jul.ction of
Byeltsi CBaltD with the capture of
Reutsel, eight miles to the south
west, putting the Red Army only
80 miles north of Iasi Classy, big
Rumanian rail hub just beyond the
Prut.
To the east Russian forces at
(See PITSSTA page A-4)