Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-01-21
Ti|sit Is Captured by Russians;
Japs' Luzon Forces Cut In Two
Macarthur SEXES Two Airfie|ds
Reds Six Miles
Inside SiIesiu,
Nozis Indicate
Ey the Associated Press.

LONDON. Sunday, Jan. I'll
The Red Army yesterday cap
tured the big German stronghold
of Tilsit in Northern East Prus-
STA, drove to within miles OF
the Baltic in a new crossing OF
the lower Mcneil River and. be-
low TilSit, drove westward out
thanking the highway center OF
lnsterburg. These triumphs cut
the supply routes from Konigs-
berg, capital of East Prussia. to
German troops in the northwest
ern corner of the province.
To the southwest, the Germans
said, other Soviet spearheads
smashed across the Silesian frontier
only 200 miles from Berlin, and in
Dictated Smile advance inside the
border.
In the center of the advancing
Russians battle lines Marshal
Gregory K. Zhukov's forces swept
80 miles along the high road from
Warsaw and forced a crossing of
the Warta River, 210 miles east of
the German capital
The Russians in addition to listing
the gains in East Prussia and Gen.
trail Poland said that in the first
week of the big winter offensive.
which got under way January IL.
the three Red armies in Poland
alone had accounted for 10000 Ger
mans: IS, 900 killed and $4,000 cap
tured. 1t also announced that 1000
Germans were killed in the battle
for Tilsit. They included 1t. Gen
Rein, commander of the 69th Ger
man Infantry Division.
46 Miles Inside East Prussia.
The fall of Tilsit to the Russians
gives them a Seven-way road and
rail center SO miles northeast of
Konigsberg The Russian drive pene-
trated East Prussia to a depth of
46 miles in a l7-mile advance which
swept beyond Tilsit to within Is
miles of Konigsberg Another army
coming up from the south reached
the lower East PrusSian frontier on
wide front in pincers movement
aimed at looping off that province.
Tilsit, a city of $4,000, grew up
around 18th Century castle of
Teutonic knights order, and was
the scene in July, 1907, of the pre-
liminaries of peace treaty between
Emperors Napoleon of France and
Alexander the First of Russia. They
sat on raft moored in the Memel
River there to negotiate the agree
ment
1t appears there are elements of
three Russian armies now fighting
on German soil
The German high command gave
border after sweeping up to the
border in Southwest Poland on a
wide front. 1t said one Russian
group had driven into the Namslau-
kepno area" Namslau is six miles
inside Silesia, q miles east of .Bres-
lau, and 200 miles southeast of Ber-
lin. Kepno, on the Polish side of
the frontier, is II miles to the north
east.
Other Str0nghOlds Fall.
In Eastern Slovakia the strong
holds of KaSsa, Presov and Bardejov
fell and the Russians also seized
Nowy Sacz in Southern Poland
southeast of Krakow.
Moscow did not mention crossing
into Silesia. but said that Marshal
Ivan S. Konev's 1st Ukraine Army
had reached the frontier or was
within S miles of it on a winding
65-mile front from captured Mel
eszyn, As miles east of Breslau,
down to occupied Lubiniec, strategic
road junction 80 miles east of the
German industrial city of Oppeln.
Marshal Konev's troops steadily
were outf1anking the rich south
eastern corner of Silesia and in
l5-mile advances had rolled to within
9 miles northeast of Dabrowa, Po-
lish Silesian coal center, by the cap
ture of Lazy. The seizure of Lazy
also put this Russian spearhead
within 20 miles of the German
frontier where are clustered the
Nazi industrial cities of Beuthen,
Hindenburg and Gleiwitz.
The Soviet communique, which
told of the heavy German losses
in men, said: This is only a pre-
limlnary report"
In addition to the men, the Rus
slams have captured 480 tanks and
1,079 guns.
Among prisoners swept up were
men belonging to the Gath, 595th.
7l2th Infantry Divisions and the
18th German Tank Division-''tra
ferred TO the Soviet German front
from the Western theater of mill
tary operations" the communique
said
The Russians captured a total of
$500 localities yesterday.
Premier Stain announced in an
(See RUSSIA, Page A-4)
Anti-lnvusion Boots