Moscow Fires Salute

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 38, 14 February 1945, Page 5

Moscow Fires Salute

WAY TO VIENNA NOW OPEN TO RED ARMY

N.Z.P.A. and B.O.W.—Copyright.—Rec. 12.30 p.m. LONDON, February 13. Moscow's most honourable salute of 24 salvoes from 324 guns flashed out to-night for the final subjection of Budapest, capital of Hungary. The capture of Budapest, after a siege lasting six weeks, was announced to-night by an Order of the Day in which Marshal Stalin stated: "Troops, of the Second Ukrainian Front, supported by troops of the Third Ukrainian Front, after a siege of one and a half months and stubborn battles in the difficult conditions of a great city, to-day completed the rout of the enemy group encircled in Budapest and thus completely occupied the capital of Hungary. The city of Budapest is a strategically important stronghold on the road to Vienna. In the course of the battling Second Ukrainian troops took more than 110,000 prisoners, including Colonel-General Pfoffer-Wildanbruch, commander of the Budapest garrison, and his staff. A great number of arms and a great quantity of war material was also captured." Moscow radio, after announcing Marshal Stalin's Order of the Day, said: "The way to Vienna is open. The major obstacle in the Red Army's path has been removed." Reuters correspondent states the fall of Budapest opens the way for a double thrust along both sTdes of the Danube River by Marshal Malinovsky" and General Tolbukhin towards Vienna and the southern end of the Morava Gap, the northern approaches to which are threatened by General Petrov's advance against Ostrava.

The British United Press Moscow correspondent says the siege of Budapest started on Christmas Day, when the Russians threw a cordon of armour around the city and began the assault against the western and north-west suburbs. The German garrison was promised that tank and infantry divisions, which were being rushed from" Komarno, would burst through the Russian lines and relieve them. The third day of January, which was the promised day of the garrison's relief, came and "went. They were sent another radio message saying: "Hold on. You will be relieved by January 10." But no relief reached them. There then developed in Budapest one of the most fantastic sieges in history, in which every block of buildings became a battleground and every part of every block became an important military objective, the correspondent adds. The defenders fought fanatically on roofs and in cellars, and the Russians had to bring artillery into the streets and blast buildings from under them. The Germans in Budapest developed house fighting on a scale, which may be seen again only in Berlin. "The enemy in Budapest left more than 49,000 dead on the battlefield during the six-weeks' siege," says to-night's Soviet communique. "The Russians in Budapest captured 15 planes, 269 tanks, 194 locomotives and 47 dumps of material. "The Red Army on Marshal Zhukov's northern front captured 40 places north of Bromberg. The Russians at Schneidemuhl and Posen continued to fight for the annihilation of the encircled garrison.

"North-west of Liegnitz Marshal Koniev's forces fought their way into more than 150 places, including Beuhammer, on the east bank of the Quies River, nine and a half miles west of the Bober River. They also captured Betheun, on the west bank of the Oder River. . . "The Red Army on Marshal Koniev , * front in Silesia has surrounded the garrison at Glogau and is now fighting for its annihilation. The Russians yesterday captured 345 planes and 200 aero engines on aerodromes in the Glogau area. They also captured 700 Germans. ,,