CRIMEA NOW CLEARED OF ENEMY

Evening Star, Issue 25171, 10 May 1944, Page 3

CRIMEA NOW CLEARED OF ENEMY

(Eeoeived Boon.) LONDON, May 9. In a special order of the day Marshal Stalin has announced the capture of Sebastopol by the Russian forces. Sebastopol is the most important military and naval base in the Crimea, and the wiping out of German resistance there means that the whole of the Crimean peninsula has been cleared of the enemy. Moscow's guns are to fire one of the biggest salutes reserved for special and significant victories. The final assault by the Eussians on the Crimean stronghold occupied three days. The Soviet forces, strongly supported by tanks, air cover, and artillery, smashed their way through powerful defences into the city. The Russians have >taken four weeks to do what the Germans took 10 months to do in 1941 and 1942. The Russians defended Sebastopol for eight months; the German defence lasted three weeks. ' , . One of the most important aspects of the latest Russian victory is that the whole of the Russian Black Sea coast is now clear of the enemy, and the Rumanian coast is open to attack.