Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-04-16
Planes and Ships
Attack Germans
Fleeing Crimeo
MAP on Page A-4.j
B! the Associated Press.

Sevastopols outer defenses yes.
terday captured points on 6
broad front only 31a miles NORTH
OF that burning Crimean citadel
while in old Poland another Rec
Army crushed the 16,OOO-mar
Axis garrison at Tarnopol on the
southern invasion route to Berlin
after a three-week siege, Moscow
announced early today.
The fall of Sevastopol appeared t,
be near.
A midnight Soviet bulletin saie
Soviet warships and planes were
sinking evacuation boats; Thousands
OF Germans and Romanians wer,
giving up without fight, and large
groups of other enemy troops were
trapped in the mountains along the
southern coast east of Alushta
which is As miles east of Sevastopol
Crack Tank Unit Arrives.
The Russians also said units OF
the 10th German SIS Tank Division
had "just arrived from France" tt
bolster sagging Axis lines in former
Poland. The late communique said
these had been badly mauled by
Russian troops attacking in an area
40 miles south of captured Tarnapol
Surging down the Crimean ives
coast through a fortified area which
took the Germans eight months tt
crack in their 1912 siege of Sevas.
topol, Red forces captured Lyubi.
movka, just above the Chornaya Els.
tuary, between them and the prize
city, a Moscow bulletin said.
On three widely separated fronts
the Russians said, staggering casual.
ties were inflicted on the Germans
and Ron1anians, whom Soviet front
war correspondents in recent days
have declared were showing in
creased signs of apathy and demon
alization. evident by mass sur
renders.
Tarnopol Garrison Crushed.
The Soviet high command gave
these totals and summaries of the
fighting on the three fronts:
Tarnopol-A total of 10000 Ger
mans, the entire garrison, was
crushed after a three-week siege OF
the city IS miles southeast of Lwow
the next big Soviet objective which
Is one of the largest rail functions
in Europe. The remnants of foul
divisions and other units all were
Killed, except 2,400 who quit the
fight.
Odessa-Between March Is anc
April II Gen. Rodion Y. Malino.
vskys 3rd Ukraine Army killed
26,800 enemy troops and captured
10,680 for a total of 37,48O in opera.
tions which liberated Odessa on tn,
Black Sea and sent bedraggled Axi.
remnants fleeing across the Dnestl
estuary into lower Bessarabia. Ii
addition, immense stores of Axi!
equipment were destroyed or cap.
tured.
Crimea-Another 5000 German
and Romanians surrendered Frida,
to boost seven-day total to $1,000
Escaping Ships Blasted.
The Axis death toll in the Crimes
had not been detailed by Moscow
buG was believed to be almost euua
to the number of prisoners, ant
Soviet airmen were attacking ever,
small German ship trying to escap,
from Sevastopol.
The Russians struck "a miles dow
the western Crimean coast through
Adzhi-Bulat, Kacha, MalaShai, ant
Belbek to reach Lyubimovka-with
in easy artillery range of thousand
OF Axis troops who had fed int,
Sevastopol for death or surrende
battle.
Other units striking down tn
Slmferopol-S railway fron
the northeast captured Dovanko
only 8 miles outside the bluff cit
which the Germans captured July :
1912, after siege in which the
suffered 100000 casualties.
These troops moving in on SevaSto
pol could see Russian aircraft carry
ing out mass raids Friday night o.
Axis troops there, and the com
munique said explosions of tremen
dous force occurred in fuel dumps
Fires also broke out at the rail sta
ton. German vessels in the ba
trying to remove some of the feein
enemy troops also were attacked
so More Towns Taken.
Sixty more towns and village
we're taken by the merged armies O
Gems. Feodor I. Tolbukhin an,
Andrei l. Yeremenko in the Crimes
and less than a tenth of the hug
peninsula, which is about the siz
of Maryland, remained in German
hands.
The fall of Tarnopol released
food of Soviet troops for a resume,
drive toward LWoW, which aread
is distantly menaced by other unit
attacking near Brody, so miles +
the northeast, and in the Stanisla
WOW sector, IS miles to the south
east.
German troops in the city ha
been surrounded since March q
ana Soviet troops first reached tn
city March 9. Stubborn Axis resist
ance there had impeded the all-ou
Russian attack toward LWoW, ma
Jor bastion on the road and railwa
running westward through Krako,
INTO Germany proper.
Ihirty-eight miles south of Tar
nopol in the Czortkow (Chertkoy
sector, where the Germans have
deep salient in Russian lines. tn
communique said the LIST Ukrain
troops under Marshal Gregory K
Zhukov captured five more locali
ties, including Dzhrin, 10 miles Yves
OF Czortkow, and Bazaar, IL mile
southwest of Czortkow.