Evening star., 1944-08-03
Soviet Forces
Only 3 Miles
From Border
MAP on Page All
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
MOSCOW, Aug. 3.-Fighting
ragged within 3 miles Of the old
East Pruxsian border today as
Gen. Ivan Cherniakhovsky's Sd
White Russian Army advanced
from captured Dydvizhe In a
drive which promised momen-
tarily to carry the war to Ger
man soil.
(The London Evening News
said the German radio had
broadcast q report that Russian
troops had crossed the East
Prussian frontier. The Associated
Press, British Broadcasting Corp.
and other listening posts heard
no such report.)
Russian armor charged savagely
on German defenses before the East
Prusdan border cities of Schirwindt,
Eydtkuhnen and Wehrkirchen.
Russian cannon shelled German
soil.
2S Miles From TiIsit,
Gen. Cherniakhovsky's forces
drove to within 20 miles Of Tilsit
and a miles Of Insterburg. impor-
tant East Prussian rail cities.
Konigsberg. East Prussian capital
and 18th largest German city, Of
369, ,433, was 90 miles away. Five
railroads meet at Insterburg, site of
iron, machine tool and tile factories.
Front dispatches declared fighting
ragged near Virbahs and Wixainy,
both 3 mile1 from the frontier.
While the campaign for East
Prussia WAS intensified, the battle
for Warsaw entered its fouth day Of
slow, bitter slugging on q 20-mile
front, involving the eastern suburbs
Of the Polish capital.
The Germans chung to q line of
fixed fortifcations ringing the burn
ing city and the industrial suburb
Of Praga, on the east bank of the
broad and swift Vistula, against
massed bombardment from the
ground and sky.
(The exiled Polish government
In London said $4,000 Polish
underground fighters continued
q hard and grim" battle against
the Germans In the streets Of the
capitAl)
Marshal Konstantin Rokossoysky
undoubtedly was attempting to ex-
ploit his grip on the east bank Of
the Vistt1A Tor more than 100 miles
below Warsaw by seeking q nrm
bridsea1ead from which TO outhank
WarSAw.
tThe German radio said today
the Russians had established two
strong bridgeheads across the
Vistula, one Of them 81 miles
south Of Warsaw. Earlier, the
Germans said two bridgeheads
had been established In the
Deblin area, so miles southeast OF
Warsaw, and still another 40
miles below the capital)
Seek to Wipe Out Trapped Nasis.
Behind Russian lines four Rus
sian Army groups were attempting
to wipe out the trapped thousands
Of Germans In Latvia and Estonia.
prime Minister Churchill said
from 20 to 80 divisions were cut
Oh. a total Of perhaps 100000
to SOC, 600 men,
The Russians were IS miles west
Of Riga and less than 20 miles to
the southwest and closing in on all
sides. A 28-mile advance from
Pskow carried the Red Army to the
outskirts of Aluksne (Marienburg)
(The Germans said 10 fresh
Russian divisions were attacking
In the 30-mile corridor between
Lake Peipus and the Gulf of Fin
land west of Narva. in q region
less than 95 miles from the
Estonian capital of Tallinn.)
just north Of the Carpathians
the Russian capture of Rzeszow and
advances beyond placed the Red
Army within 10 miles Of Krakow
fifth city Of old Poland.
"a German report that the
Russians had broken II miles
across the vistula in that area
to Staszow would place the Reds
within 81 miles of Krakow.)
Marshal Ivan Konev, the tall,
broad-shouldered hero Of Moscow,
sent columns probing at five Car
pathian passes leading into Cxecho-
slovakia, last reported 13 miles away.
His advance guards in the extreme
south Of the active front were l2O
miles from German Silesia.
Drive ON Mile Front.
The 37-year-old Jewish general,
Ivan Cherniakhovsky was approach
ing East Prussia on 200-mile front.
He rained his hardest blows against