Evening star., 1945-05-06
Swinemuende, Naval
Base on Baltic, Falls
To Russian Forces
By the Associated Press.

Russian troops captured the
German naval base of Swine.
muende yesterday, toppling the
last big German Baltic port a.
Soviet mountain fighters ripped
IA miles across the Nazis' shrink
ing Czechoslovakian redoubt and
smashed within IL miles of the
arsenal city of Olmuetz (Olo-
mouc).
About 215 miles west of Swine
muende on the Pomeranian Bay
Soviet forces also cleaned out the
last square miles of East Prussia
after they hurled back enemy forces
along the mile-wide Frische Men
rung and reached Danzig territory
at Schottland on the narrow
sandspit.
Marshal Alexander M. Vasilev-
sky's Bird White Russians were
within miles of the 'Danzig main
land where a German holdout
group was isolated on the Vistula
River Delta Plains.
Mopup Is Pushed.
SWinemuende, a city of 20,500
persons situated on Usedom Island
north of the great port of Stettin
fell to Marshal Konstantin K
Rokossovsky's I'd White Russian
Army pressing the final mopup of
the Baltic shores.
Swinemuendes capture was an
nounced in an order of the day
issued by Premier Stain. At the
same time, Marshal Rokossovskys S
troops cleared all Usedom Island,
taking the former V-bomb expert
mental station of Peenemuende, and
seized the entire adjoining island of
Violin.
Usedom and Violin block the
approaches to Stettin Bay which
was freed for the use of Red Navy
seaplanes and torpedo boats in an
expected operation to clear Ruegen
Island to the northwest. Ruegen
has been used by the Germans as a
seaplane base and some naval ships
have utilized its small ports.
11,700 Prisoners Taken.
Marshal Rokossovsky's troops took
prisoner 11,7O0 German officers and
men and SIS planes on the two
islands, Moscow's nightly war bulle-
tin announced.
Far to the south, the Germans ad-
mitted Withdrawals in Czechoslo-
vakia and Yugoslavia under Russian
blows that were Fastening the
cleanup of the last sizeable CONT
mental battle area.
The German high command, sur
rendering Nazi troops to the Anglo
Americans along the remnants of
the Western Front, declared that
resistance against the Soviets is
being continued
South of Olmuetz, which must be
seized before the Russians can sweep
1913 miles to the west to Prague,
which according to the Prague radio
has been freed by Czech partisans,
the Germans continued to put up a
bitter struggle near the confluence
of the Morava and Brodecka Rivers.
Marshal Rodion Y. Malinovsky's
End Ukrianian Army tanks and cav
airy. however, captured the strategic
road junction of Kromeriz, 20 miles
southeast of Olmuetz.
.., IA Miles Gained.
- Northwest of Olmuetz. Gen. An
drei I. Yeremenkos 4th Ukrainian
Army fighters plunged IA miles
across 1,750-foot hills in the upper
Oder River valley and smashed
within IL miles northeast of Olmu-
etz by capturing Domstadtl donna
SOW. The swift surge threatened
to outflank Olmuetz on the north
and already had cut its main rail
link with enemy forces in German
Silesia along the Moravian- German
frontier.
Meanwhile, southwest of ruined
Berlin, Marshal Gregory K Zhukov' S
1st White Russian Army rapidly
was wining out the last big German
pocket Temaining in Central Ger
many.
Marshal Zhukov's troops, seizing
1880 prisoners, reduced the pocket
to approximately $40 square miles
In advances of "a miles along a 40
mile front south of Brandenburg
Marshal Zhukov's men, consolidat-
ing their line along the Elbe op-
posite American 9th and 1st Army
positions, captured the towns OF
ziesar, Loburg, Moeckern, Gommern
and Rosslau. Gommern is only
miles east of the Elbe city of Magde-
burg, which is in American hands.
Czechs Call for Aid.
Meanwhile, German reports said
that Marshal Malinovsky's troops
In Moravia were smashing westward
beyond the Moravian capital OF
Bruenn (Brno) on a wide front be-
tween the Morava River and the
Danube in an effort to break into
Bohemia. where a Czech patriot
broadcast called on the Russians and
Allies to send airborne help against
German troops moving against the
patriots with tanks
South of the Danube, the Nazi
Wilhelmshaven radio said that Mar
shal Feodor l.. Tolbukhin's Sd
Ukrainian Army had advanced far
ther along the Danubes bank from
St. Poelten toward Linz. where
American forces were so miles from
Red Army spearheads.
At the southern end of the Ger
mans Southern Redoubt, which was
rapidly collapsing, the enemy high
command admitted that German
ftrces in Northern Yugoslavia were
Withdrawing westward between the
Sava and Drava Rivers against the
ceaseless attacks of major forces OF
NJ