Evening star., 1944-10-13

LONOJN N1.-A German
radio report on the siege of
Riga, Latvian capital and
chief port, indicated tonight
that Russian troops had
broken into the eastern half
of the city. ..-.
By the Associated Press.
MOSCOW, Oct. 13.-RuSsian
tanks and infantry today
stormed the centuries-old Junk
ers lands of East Prussia, barely
8 miles northeast of the impor-
tant city of Tilsit, while in Hun
gary the victorious Red Army
raced for the 160-mile distant
Austrian frontier.
The East Prussian frontier was
cracked in the Memelland sector.
Hitler annexed this region from
Lithuania in 1899 thus recovering
territory which was held by Ger
many for hundreds of years before
the World War.
"a Paris broadcast heard in
London by Reuters said "the
Russians are reported to have
crossed the East Prussian border
at three different points.'D
Great offensives against the
northern and southern extremity of
the Reich rolled back manned Ger
man divisions.
Hungary's admission of defeat
was expected hourly. Russian COL
umns were converging on Budapest
along the main rail lines. apprcxi-
mately 60 miles east Of the capital
and repeatedly less than that on the
south.+ All major communications
between Hungary and Serbia were
reported In Russian hands.
No Natural Barriers.
No natural barriers stood In the
way of Marshal Rodion Y. Malinov-
sky's four -pronged drive on Buda-
pest across the Hungarian plains.
Russian forces were less than Is
miles from the only Hungarian rail
lines, connecting Budapest with
Magyar troops at the Carpathian
passes in Ruthenia. The routed
German-H Hungarian forces in North
ern Pennsylvania were virtually cut
of.
Southern Hungary was a race
track for Russian armor. The Hun.
garians were reported resigned te
the immediate loss of Kecskemet
rich provincial city famed for its
peach brandy, situated 40 mile.
southeast of Budapest.
Whiting Hungarian resistance all
along the invasion front seemed tc
substantiate diplomatic hints that
the exhausted satellite nation was
about to quit Hitler. The mopul
Of Hungary was counted on to pre-
pare the springboard for the in
vasion Of Austria as well as to as
sure the early liberation of the
Croatian and Slovenian areas OF
Yugoslavia, and to pinch off the
Germans in Slovakia.
Austrians Urged to Prepare.
said Berlin had urged Austrians
to dig for their lives in a frenzy
of frontier spadework near
Vienna. The broadcast procla-
nations appealed to the popula-
tions to follow the example of
''the East Prussians and Rhine
landers," and said that all able
bodied men and women in the
Vienna region were at or on their
way to the diggings after mass
Gallup of age groups between 16
and 65.)
While the campaign in Hungary
took on the appearance of push
over offensive, East Prussia and the
remainder of the German front OF
the Baltic coast was a heavy slug
ging match all the way. Raging
assaults carried the Russians with
in miles of the eastern limits OF
Riga and slashed into the siege de-
fenses of Memel on the Baltic coast
line.
The East Prussian line cracked
beyond the frontier town of Sartin-
inkai, 13 miles northeast Of Tilsit.
River Shields Tilsit.
Punching south from Sartininkai
the Russians faced the Niemer
Rivera watery shield for Tilsit
Russian troops driving on Tilsit
from Slavikai were confronted BY
the big bend of the Szeszuppe River
The Germans, again scraping re-
serves from the rear bases in East
Prussia, were determined to wage
along the Szeszuppe the same IA
natical defense that held up Mar
shal Ivan Cherniakhovsky's Sd
White Russian Army two months.
Nevertheless, attacks toward Tflsit
brought the Russians within AZ
miles of Insterburg and 65 miles OF
Konigsberg, East Prussian capital
The Russians were reported fight
ing in the outskirts of Memel.
Despite hard rains and blownup
highways, the Russians advancing
through the Balkans captured two
prizes yesterday. These were Ora
dea, largest Romanian city then In
enemy hands, and Subotica, third
largest city OF Yugoslavia.
Subotica, rail center Of 100000,
lies near the Hungarian frontier 100
miles northwest of Belgrade and IS
miles southwest Of captured Szegeb.
Oradea, In Transylvania and
claimed by Hungary as Its sixth larg-
est city, had been wrested from Ro-
mania u ditlsri 1910 Vienna die
tate.