The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-01-30
anks And Troops
 Advance Westward
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 were plunging on to the west toward Frankfurt-on-Od Oder, 38 miles east southeast of Berlin.
 The Russian Army organ Red Star said staff officers of Marshal Gregory K. Zhukov's first White Russian Army had been issued with maps of the Berlin region, while his tanks and trucks rumbling west were emblazoned with the slogan, "On to Berlin
 German endorsements of infan" try, tanks and mobile guns were streaming e ast across the center of Germany for the impending battle of Berlin, the Soviet government newspaper Izvestia reported, but there remianed a question whether they would arrive in time or ir sufficient strength to save the cap- ital.
 All available reports, Moscow said indicated the German command was rushing its last strategic re" serves into battle.
 With the British and Canadian fronts to the north and the U. s. Seventh Armys lines along the Rhine Palatinate and Saar more or less static, the spotlight of battle remained focused on the American First and Third Army comeback from the collapsed Ardennes sa- lient.
 Swirling SnOwstOrm
 Lashing out in sWirling snow storm that hampered their air sup port, the Americans were reported driving eastward with gathering speed, rounding up hundreds of prisoners and overrunning town after town along the Belgian and Luxembourg borders of the Reich.
 Field dispatches said the Germans were pulling back all but few rear guard attachments and massing their strength behind the Siegfried line Qualifications in the apparent belief that major Allied offensive on their west wall was imminent.
 Moscow said Zhukov's tanks and infantry smashed two panzer and four infantry divisions on the east bank of the Obra. The Germans counter attacked strongly, but were thrown back in retreat.
 Only yesterday the first White Russian Army was drawn up in force along a smile front only two to six miles from the Brandenburg frontier. The Moscow reports in- dicated they may have crossed the border along the entire front.
 Zhukovs northern wing swept 12 to IA miles across the Pomeranian border on 20-mile front north east of Berlin yesterday and at one point was within s miles of the great Baltic port of Stettin, whose fall would slice off the northeastern tip of Germany.
 The SoViets gained as much as 31 miles in A hours in their break through into Pomerania.
 Stockholm relayed rumors that Soviet spearheads had infj.trated the Nazi lines to within 50 miles of Berlin and that paratroops were operating between the Oder and the capital.
 stockholm also reported that Ber- liners for the first time could see the red glow of burning villages fired by Soviet guns or Nazi demo- Iition squads in the East. Inhabj- tahts of the capital streamed nito the streets to watch he spreading glare. 1t Wa. said.
 A Paris broadcast id serious riots had broken out in the eastern and districts of Berlin, while the clandestine Atlantic radio as- serted that the capital was being for street fighting with the building of tank traps and oher ob- stacles.
 Far to the southeast, Berlin con coded. Marshal Ivan s. Konev's First Ukranian army has slashed five to six miles across the Oder river in the vicinity of s. sinau. 31 miles of Breslau and 138 miles from Berlin.
 Still other Russian forces battled into the streets of the encircled Polish fortress city of Poznan and drove to within two miles or less of now three-quartcrs en- circled.
 Zhukov'S army preached long German defense line along the NetZe river in it's thrust into Pomerania. the Reich's northeast ern-most province, Marshal Stalin disclosed in q special order of the day proclaiming the S. let's second invasion of Germany proper in 10 days.
 Cut Trunk Railway
 Brushing aside desperate but fu- tile German counter r-attacks. the cut the Berlin Danzig trunk railway at two places and swept or through Woldenburg. 93 miles north east Of Berlin. 57 miles southeast of Stettin and l2 miles inside Pom erania.
 The advance put Zhukov's forces astride a broad super-highway run- ming from Danzig to Berlin at a point @ miles from Custrln, where