Evening star., 1944-04-09
Russians Reach Czech Border
Drive 40 Miles Inside Rumania:
New Gains Reported at Odessa
Dr.. Benes Sends
Congratulations
On Reds Advance
MAP on Page Az
Fy the Associated Press.

ES tlle SSSoCidieu tItsS
LONDON, Sunday April g.
Marshal Gregory K. Zhukov's
advancing 1st Ukraine Army has
pushed Axis troops back to the
Hungarian held CzechoSlovak
border in the Carpathian noun
tains, Moscow announced last
night.
A second Russian force, the I'd
Ukraine Army of Marshal Ivan S.
Konev, smashing into Eastern Ru-
mania north of IasSi (JaSsy), Ru-
manian rail center, reached the
Siret River on a 53mile front, 40
miles inside Rumania.
Surging around all land sides of
Odessa, big Nazi-held port on the
Black Sea- a third Russian army
captured 30 more localities, includ-
ing Gildendoef, only eight miles
northeast of Odessa. This force, led
by Gen. Rodio Y Malinovsky, COM
pleted tie liquidation of the rem
nants of five or six German divi-
sions trapped near Razdelnaya, 40
miles northwest of Odessa, by wiping
out 1000 enemy troops and capturing
5000, said the Soviet daily COM
munique, recorded by the Soviet
Monitor from a Moscow broadcast.
Gain on 230- Mile Front.
The capture of more than 480
villages was reported in the Russian
advance, registered along 230-
mile front.
Premier Stain in two orders of
the day announced the impressive
victories, which carried the Red
Army banner and Czechoslovak flag
to the prewar Czech border.
Late last night Eduard Benes,
president of the provisional Czecho-
slovak government in London, sent
congratulations to Stain and de-
clared that "Czechoslovak soldiers
are entering the territory of our
beloved fatherland' along with the
Red Army.
Czech broadcasts from here and
Moscow radio appeals calling on
the occupants of that stricken coun-
try to arise against the Germans
and their satellite troops, and DR..
Benes' own declaration would indi-
cate that the Red Army intends to
force the mountain passes, if it has
not already crossed the frontier.
Reds Reach Tatar Pass.
Marshal Zhukov's army reached
the Tatar Pass at the Czech border
and he sent his tanks and motorized
infantry crashing II miles inside
Northern Rumania on a combined
124-miie front, Stalin's first order
Of the day disclosed.
Zhukov's men captured a total of
$50 towns and villages, 80 of them
inside Rumania, the others in the
southwestern corner of the Russian
Ukraine which includes Bucovina,
and the southeastern corner of
former Poland Among the cap
tured localities was Siret, II miles
inside Rumania and "a miles south
of Czernowitz (CernantD, Bucovina
capital.
The capture of Enable. IS miles
southeast of the Tartar Pass, put
the Russians only 20 miles from
Hungarian-held Pennsylvania.
The troops under Zhukov, whose
leadership saved Moscow in 194l,
also captured several localities in
the pocket west of Skala, 40 miles
north of Czernowitz, as they con-
tinued the liquidation of the rem
nants of IS encircled German di-
visions. That area above the Mid
die DnieSter River now is far be-
hind the Russians attacking along
the Czech borders and inside Ru-
mania.
$50 Localities Taken.
The surprise announcement by
Stain after days of silence on the
developments in that area was fol-
lowed closely by another order Of
the day which said that Marshal
Konev's 2nd Ukraine Army had
smashed into Eastern Rumania on a
1O6-mile front north of Iasi, cap
tured more than $50 localities and
reached the Siret River.
The Siret roughly parallels the
Prut in that sector, 40 miles inside
the boundary between Russia and
Bessarabia
Among the towns overrun by
Konev's troops in the westward
strike across the Prut were the
farming centers of Dorohoi on the
Jiiia River, and BotoSani, 18 miles
southeast of Dorohoi and 27 miles
inside Rumania.
The troops reached the Siret be-
tween captured Tudora. ST miles
NORTHWEST of IaSi, and Varful-
Kampului, 10 miles southwest of
Dorohoi. The southern most Ru-
manian village named in the COM
munioue was Fokurilo, % miles
(See RUSSIA, Page A-4D