The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-04-19
Moscow Quiet
On Advances;
Foe Confused
Germans Report Red
Breakthrough "A Miles
From Americans

LONDON, Thursday, April 49,
[P)-Millions of Russians, spear
headed by new "breakthrough'
tanks and automatic weapons
throwing 1926 shells a minute, were
reported by the Germans today
to be pouring across the Oder
and Neisse rivers northeast and
southeast of Berlin and directly
into the city's eastern environs.
Moscow gave no official con-
firmation of any assault toward
Berlin. The Nazis, however, re-
ported heaviest pressure on Co.
mile arc 10 to 20 miles east of the
city and said other powerful ar
mics had crossed the lower Oder
below the Baltic port of Stettin
toward the plains northeast OF
Berlin and were across the Niesse
river in Saxony south Of the CAPT.
tai.
The situation on the Neisse front
was complicated by 4 confused
German broadcast saying that
Marshal Ivan S. Konev's First
Ukraine Army had succeeded in
breakthrough and implying that
this force might be within a. miles
of the American First Army fight
ing at Wurzen in the Leipzig area.
lThe Nazi announcer Walter Es-
termann of the Transocean agency
said:
1.-THE Germans are still keeping
check on enemy ground gains &C
cruing to him after successful
preaching of the fortified main bat
tie areas. The enemy is meeting
with a violent response from our
troops in this Neisse) area.
"This success would remain
even if Konev's fast tank spear
heads should break through the
fortified clearing of the wood Of
Finsterwalde, $50 niles south of
Berlin within the next few hours
and threaten Berlin from the south
by bringing the frontal defenses
on the Oder to crash.
"But there is nothing to confirm
as yet the real menace this at
tempt would present. AS long as
the German tank attacks can bind
Konev on the new north-south line
the Cottbus-Spremberg line - a
great swing to the northwest Is
still paper proposition.
The towns of Cottbus and Spren-
berg are 10 miles apart on Line
10 miles west of the Neisse. This
position would be q miles west
of the town of Finsterwalde and
70 miles east of the Americans
at Wurzen.
Moscow maintained official Sill
ence concerning those fronts, but
Russian newspaper dispatches
from that zone said Soviet troops
could see fires in Berlin. One dis.
patch reported sharp tank bait
tie to keep reinforcements flow
ing into a bridgehead across a
"swift-flowing, Deep river. Either
the Neisse or the Oder east OF
Berlin would fit that description.
The Germans said Soviet
force-perhaps Marshal Konstantin
Rokossovsky's Second White Rus
sian Army which cleaned up the
Danzig pocket - had crossed the
lower Oder below the great Baltic
port of Stettin on a 17-mile front
between SchWedt, 40 miles north
Of Berlin, and Greifenhagen, IL
miles south of Stettin.
The Nazis also reported that a
terrific tank battle was raging be-
tween Cottbus, 40 miles southeast
of Berlin, and Goerlitz, near the
Saxon border where the third ma.
jor Russian offensive apparently
was driving for inkup with the
Americans at Wurzen, 80 miles
due west in the Leipzig area.
The central front, roughly a Co.
mile arc from Eberswalde, Is
miles northeast of Berlin, to Mueu-
rose, % miles southeast of the
capital, was described by the Ger.
mans as writing with battle as
the ooviets drove through massive
defenses Of dragons -teeth, inter.
locking concrete pillboxes and gun.
emplacements. The main effort
was reported to be a frontal az.
Continued on Page Five, Col. q