SWEEPING GAINS BY RED ARMY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 39, 15 February 1945, Page 5

SWEEPING GAINS BY RED ARMY

Key Towns Captured

KONIEV'S BIG DRIVE THROWS NAZIS BACK

N.Z.P.A.—Copyright—Rec. 2 p.m. LONDON, February 14. Marshal Koniev's nortltern armies, swinging through Lower Silesia, made a big new 12-mile push down the Oder's west bank and, as announced by Marshal Stalin in an Order of the Day, captured seven key towns—Neustadtel, Neusalz, Sprottau, Jauer, Striegau, Freystadt and Golberg. Neusalz is on the Oder 100 miles from Berlin, but a Reuter correspondent points out that Berlin reports indicate that this thrust along the west bank of the Oder is 30 miles broad, and stated that fighting is going on north of Sommerfeld, which is little more than 70 miles from Berlin. Reuters correspondent adds that the capture of Neusalz means that Marshal Koniev's army groups now hold about 150 miles of the upper and middle Oder, north-west of the Upper Silesian industrial basin. Sprottau is on the east bank of the River Bober, 25 miles west of Glogau and an important rail and road centre 10 miles east of Sagan, where the Germans have reported fighting. Neustadtel is six miles beyond the Oder, south-west of Beuthen, the capture of which was announced yesterday. Freystadt, in the same area, is nine miles from Beuthen. Jauer and Striegau are 35 and 30 miles west and south-west of Breslau respectively. They are on opposite sides of the Breslau garrison's escape corridor, which up to to-day was 12 miles broad. The German news agency's war correspondent, Max Krull, late to-night stated that Breslau had now been encircled by Russian troops.

Von Hammer, the Berlin commentator, said that the battle for Breslau had reached a climax and added that a great tank battle was raging west of the city. Pointing out that Marshal Koniev's leading troops on the west bank of the Oder are less than 60 miles from Frankfurt, the Daily Mail Stockholm correspondent says that the German command must halt Marshal Koniev within the next few days or their Oder defences in front of Berlin will be swept away. The Moscow radio, broadcasting to the people of Vienna, said: "Budapest is in ruins-—an emphatic warning to every Viennese of what is in store for Vienna. Make your preparations now. The Red Army is on the march to Vienna. Break the Nazi terror at one stroke when the decisive hour arrives." The German news agency earlier to-day said that Russian tank spearheads had penetrated to Sorau, five miles inside the Brandenburg border. The agency added that the Germans had withdrawn at several points on the Bober and Quies Rivers. The Associated Press Moscow correspondent says that Russian tank and infantry reinforcements are swarming over the Quies River and forming a spearhead at least 15 miles wide. Marshal Stalin, in a second Order of the Day, announced that Schneidemuhl had been captured. To-night's Soviet communique says that Schneidemuhl was taken by assault. More than 7000 of the enemy were killed and the following booty was captured: 203 planes, 30 guns, 34 mortars, 217 machine-guns, 5000 tommyguns .and rifles, 286 lorries, 102 armoured carriers, 110 carts with supplies, 97 locomotives, 1608 railway trucks, and 59 guns of various calibres. The communique repeats the Order of the Day on the capture of seven Silesian towns, and adds that 200 other places have been captured. The troops in this area yesterday captured 200 planes on aerodromes and took more than 2100 prisoners. The Russians north and north-east of Bromberg continued their offensive to-day and occupied more than 50 places. They took 500 prisoners.