The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-03-07


 Transocean News Agency, Red Army assault forces charged the defenses northeast of kuestrii. seven times. The agency said the fortress held out and repelled these first all-out attacks.
 The Nazis added the customary propaganda claim that the Russians finally were driven back to their starting line northeast of Kuestrin by counter-blows.
 But their broadcastS showed no tendency to minimize the threat oI the reported offensive. The blunty described 1t as the push on Berlin.
 Military quarters had been pre- dieting the renewal of Zhukov's ol- fensive toward Berlin ever since the Pomeranian campaign largely se- cured his right flank. Marshal Ivan S. Konev's drive across the Oder in Silesia had nailed down the left flank of Zhukov's First White Rus- sian Army.
 Zhukovs army drew up on the Oder a month ago after It's spec tacular sweep from the Vistula. Berlin and unofficial Moscow re- ports said his forces won several bridgeheads on the west bank Of the Oder. But the danger to ms Hanks in Pomerania and SileSia ape parently held up any serious effort to carry straight through to the Nazi capital.
 Now the battle of the lower Oder was nearly over, and the Russians were maSsed almost solidly on It's east bank except for a small pocket across from Stettin and another north of Kuestrin.
 Soviet dispatches said that the Kuestrin pocket was being reduced swiftly, apparently in the renewed offensive reported by Berlin.
 Tn Moscow unofficial military ob- servers saw the possibility of giant pincers movement aimed al enveloping Berlin. But an Izvestia dispatch limiting at the Berlin bound drive indicated that ZhukoV was bent on frontal assault.
 Hinting at the seizure said col umns of tanks, artillery and sup plies were streaming westward ant widening the foothold.
 TO protect the bridgehead, Izves' tia said, the Russians concentrated in a sector a third of a mile wid' l2O heavy guns and mortars. g anti-aircraft guns and scores o machine guns.
 Zhukov's forces broke through t' the Baltic entrance to Stettin Ba yesterday with the capture of tn fishing DOT of Cammin, 36 mile northeast of Stettin itself. Cammii lies on the Dievenow River, east ernmost of three passages from tn Stettin roadstead into the open ses
 Reds In Position
 The breakthrough put the Rus SianS in positions for frontal an flanking assaults on Berlin along
 2OO-mile frot from the Baltic the Sudeten fothills. NaN broad casts said seven Soviet armies wer moving into line for the assaults.
 The First Army swept up mor than 500 towns and villages in ao vances of up to g miles throug
 Pomerania yesterday. One colum captured Moritzfelde, only IA milt due east of Stettin and 10 mile east of Altdamm. Another was le' . than 12 miles southeast of Stettil North of Stettin, the Firs Arm overran Treptow. Griefenberg ar Guelzow 12 to IT miles east arl southeast of Cammin, in it's at vance to Stettin Bay. These focc' cut Stettins last railway and higf l way links with northeastern Pom'
 rania.
 1 Belgard, 50 miles east of Cammi and main center of resistance in a 1 isolated Baltic pocket, also W; : captured. More than 1900 Gel l mans were killed and 800 capture . in the battle for Belgard. Farther east, Marshal Konstai tin K. Rokossovsky's second Whl
 Russian army swung northeast