The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-02-03

LONDON, Saturday, F e b. B.
UP)-Massed Red Army infantry
forces swept Is miles through IA
natical resistance yesterday to
within 46 miles of Berlin and si-
multaneously speared toward the
Baltic port Of Stettin, while the
Germans acknowledged that Sow
ct tank vanguards we're only 80
miles from their barricaded capi-
tai.
Unreasonable thaw and do-or-die
Nazi cks failed to halt
the onrush OF Marshal Zhukov's
First White Russian Army which
drove to within II to IA miles Of
the Oder river fortress cities Of
Frankfurt-on Oder and Kustrin
the last citadels in German
hands on the approaches to Der.
lin.
The Red Army apparently was
making a supreme bid to reach
the entire 56-mile length of the
Oder river from Stettin to Czecho.
slovakia. Zhukov's army was link.
ed on the Oder's mid-reaches with
Marshal Konev's First Ukrainian
Army in drive to contract an
enemy pocket remaining on h
east bank mid way between
Frankfurt and the Lower Silesian
capital of Breslau.
A Moscow radio German Ian.
guage broadcast said the Nazis al.
ready were evacuating Stettin by
sea.
In their enlightenment Of East
Prussia, Soviet forces conquered
nine-tenths of that Junker province
and smashed to within two miles
of Danzig Bay west of the encir-
cled capital of Konigsberg. In two
other entertainments, Red Army
forces were wiping out the enemy
garrisons of Poznan in Poland and
Schneidenuhl in Pomeria.
Zhukov's unchecked advance to-
ward Berlin and his sudden thrust
toward Stettin extended to 70 miles
a jagged front facing Berlin 80
miles inside the capitals own
province of Brandenburg. The Red
Armys entire front in the eastern
Reich was widened to 429 miles.
Only 105 miles of the eastern Dor.
der Of Pomerania southwest Of
Danzig still was in German hands.
Bringing big reinforcements into
the bottleneck formed by the Oder
and Warthe rivers, Zhukov's army
plunged to within 46 miles east Of
Berlin by capturing the seven-Way
road and rail junction of Drossen,
10 miles from the Oder river, in
a 15-mile advance through heavi-
ly-populated territory.
Drossen lies astride roads lead.
ing II miles to the northwest to
Kustrin and IA miles southwest Of
Frankfurt on the Oder, the greater
part of which lies on the Oder's
west bank.
Eight miles north Of Drossen,
other Russian columns pushed for
ward II miles south of the Warthe
river and captured Alt-Limmritz,
10 miles east of Kustrin, which
lies north of the confluence of the
Oder and Warthe rivers. Capture
IF Alt-Limmritz cut the base Of
he enemy's last highway crossing
he Warthe east of Kustrin.
But Nazi high command SUI
1ey-whose reports in the last few
lays have been borne out "a hours
alter by Moscow announcements
laid that strong tank vanguards Of
'nukov's army already had blast
ID through ninefields to reach
3erlin's last ditch" Oder river
lefense line on either side Of
7rankfurt-on-the-Oder, and some
0 miles west of Drossen.
This put the Soviets within 80
niles east of Berlin's city limits
nd unconfirmed Paris radio re.
orts said fighting was underway
n Frankfurt'S streets.
simultaneously northeast of Ku-
trim and 81 miles northeast of Ber-
in, other Russian spearheads cap
ured Soldin, 326' miles southeast
Stettin in an operation that may
Continued on Page Three; Col. 81