Evening star., 1945-03-11
Reds Capture
Northern Half
0f Kuestriin
Southern Section Also
Entered by Russians,
German Radio Says
BY the Associated Press.

LONDON, Sunday, Mar. Ii
Russian forces have captured the
northern half, or new city dis
trict, of Kuestrin, key Oder River
fortress 80 miles east of Berlin,
the German radio announced
yesterday.
A Berlin broadcast said the Rus
slams then fought their way across
the Warthe River in the older sec
ton of Kuestrin on the south side,
and added: 'Murderous battles are
raging for every single house and
every single floor of every house"
The Germans said the Russians
were striving for a quick cleanup
of the Kuestrin area so they could
shift thousands of troops northward
for the developing siege of Stettin,
Baltic port 81 miles northeast of
Berlin.
The Russians have begun the
shelling of Stettin, and yesterday
drove four armored spearheads
close to Danzig.
New Invasion by Reds.
In a new invasion of Danzig ter
ritory across the Nogat River from
East Prussia, the Russians drove
to within II miles of the former
Free City. Other columns were 12
miles from their goal on the south,
within 10 miles on the southwest,
and IS miles on the west. Soviet
planes began attacking the city and
port installations.
The Soviet high command ignored
the flaming battle around Kuestrin,
where by German account the Rus
slams also have bridgeheads on the
west bank Of the Oder above and
below Kuestrin, and are threaten
ing to trap the Nazi garrison on the
eastern shore.
But in the north the Russians said
their troops had pressed within 8
miles southeast of Altdamm, Oder
River crossing town miles from
Stettin's great ship basins, with the
capture of Frsnzhausen. The vii
lage of Klebov, miles southwest of
Altdamm and about the same dis
tance south of Stettin, also was
taken.
Gaining this high ground oppo-
site the Pomeranian capital, the
Russians were reported in front dis
patches relayed through Moscow to
have begun shelling Stettin itself.
More Prisoners Taken.
The northern wing of Marshal
Gregory K. zhukov's 1st White Rus
sian Army captured 1000 more pris-
oners, the Soviet communique said,
and a dispatch said Red Army
spearheads had broken into the
streets Of Altdamm.
The attack toward Stettin was a
slow slugging match between hun
dreds of tanks, but far to the north
east Marshal K. K. Rokossovsky's
End White Russian Army. forces
were making gigantic strides in
narrowing the Baltic strip where
thousands of Germans are pinned
in the northeastern tip of Pome-
rama and the adjacent Gdynia-
Danzig sectors.
Advancing up to II miles in "a
hours these troops overran more
than 300 towns and villages and
squeezed the Germans into a 1,75O-
square mile pocket. The gains were
so swift that it was indicated the
Germans were retreating into the
close-knit defenses around Gdynia
and Danzig, important Nazi naval
bases.
Premier Stain in an order of the
day announced the fall of Lauen-
burg, last big northeastern German
stronghold in Pomeranfa. This 10
way junction town is 80 miles west
OF Gdynia, former Polish naval base,
and IS miles northwest of Danzig
City.
Landichow Also Seized,
The Russians also seized Landi-
chow 7 miles north of Lauenburg,
and a string of villages stretching
10 miles west to the Baltic coastal
town of Schmolsin.
Fourteen miles southeast of Lau-
enburg, which is on the main Stet-
tin -Gdynia-Danzig railway, the Rus
slams overran Sierakowitz. Thirteen
(See RUSSIA, Page A-14.)
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