The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-03-12

(Continued from Page D 8 miles to the north at the Baltic entrance to Stettin Bay.
 The raids came as Soviet front dispatches were reporting that the Rec army had driven within signt of Stettin after breaking through the city's last belt of outer fortifica- tions on the east.
 "Stettin's position appeared hope less," a front dispatch published in the Moscow newspaper Pravda said.
 Soviet forces holding bridgeheads across the Oder 30-odd miles que east of Berlin attacked with four infantry divisions-60, ,00o-men in an attempt to shake loose the Ger man hold on the anchor fortress city of Kuestrin, Ernst Won Hammer German DNB commentator, said.
 Despite the weight fthe attack and its tank and aerial support, the Russians were driven back into their small bridgeheads" on all sectors between Frankfurt and Kuestrir1, Won Hammer said.
 Tn Kuestrin itself, astride the Oder 3e miles east of Berlin, German troops were said to have improved tl.eir positions.
 One German column nroKe through and relieved the encircleo garrison of the old city, Won Ham mer said. Tn the newer part of Kuestrin. Soviet shock troops largely were wiped out in barricade and house to house fighting" he said.
 Moscow dispatches said the iall of the former free port Of Danzig' on the Baltic far to the northeast, appeared near. Bitter street battles were said to be raging in the suo- urbs nine to IS miles from the heart of Danzig.
 Thre columns from the east, south and west linked tip at Neu.. teich just below the port and stormed through the suburbs. Stiu another force driving a wedge be- tween Danzig and the Polish port of Gdynia, 13 miles to the north, reached within nine miles of each city. L.,
 Danzig itself was reported in flames from Soviet bombs and shells. The Germans were counter attacking desperately in a futile ei- fort to stall the Soviet advance More than 2,500 NaZi troops were killed yesterday on the Danzis front.
 Savage Fight
 Fighting was so savage in the suburbs, dispatches said, that the Russians, unable to advance along streets in some sectors. were blast. ing through consecting walls and buildings.
 Marshal Kostantin K Rokossov- sky's Second White Russian Army reached to within nine miles north west of Danzig and nine miles south west of Gdynia at Koelln (Kielno) the Soviet midnight communique said. The fall of Liessau, l7 miles south of Danzig, also was reported in the communique, but VanguardS already were much farther north.
 On the Stettin front, Moscow dis. patches said, Marshal Gregory K Zhukov's First White Russian Army cracked through the last outer de- fense belt east of Stettin in an ad- vance through the FreidrichS For est.
 Soviet planes kept up rain oi bombs and bullets on German forces trying to cross the Oder rivei to Stettin proper. Stormovik assault planes caught big column jammet at one crossing and annihilated 1t
 Tn Silesia, Moscow said, the Rus sians have fought through to tht center of encircled Breslau and that city's days appeared numbered.
 Radio Berlin said the Red Army has thrown 75,000 men into new offensive toward the Moravian GaT gateway to Vienna and Prague. Int Soviets attacked between Bielskt and Strumien, 8 miles east at1c g northeast of Coravska -Ostrava key to the gap, and heavy fighting was continuing, Berlin said.