SERIES OF CENTRES

Grey River Argus, 17 February 1945, Page 5

SERIES OF CENTRES

Occupied by Russians NEW BALTIC THRUST WESTWARD LONDON, February 15. Marshal S'talin, in orders of the day. stated: Marshal Koniev’s armies occupied the following seven key towns: —Neusaltz, on the west bank of the Oder, 110 miles south-east of Berlin; Freystadt, and Neustadetl. about 12 miles from Neusalz, respectively to the south-west and southeast; Sprottau, on the Bober River, 20 miles south-south-west of Neusalz; .Tauer, about 35 miles west-south-wesc of Breslau, and 10 miles south of Leignitz; Striegau and Goldberg, both about 10 miles beyond Jauer, to the south-east and south-west. Marshal Koniev’s First Ukrainian Front, troops also occupied in German Silesia the town of Grunberg, and in Brandenburg province th e towns of Sommerfeld and Sorau, important communication junctions and strongholds of resistance. Russian troops also fought their, way into 150 other places, including several large ones. The Russians in this area took more than 2000 prisoners and captured 120 planes on the airfields. Russian troops captured Schneidemuhl, near the north-western border of Poland, on the Berlin-Danzig railway. Schneidemuhl was encircled and by-passed in Marshal Zhukov’s advance to the Oder and towards Stettin. Russian troops south of Konigsberg continued to fight offensive battles and captured a number of inhabited localities. Marshal Rokossovsky’s Second White Russian Front troops took the towns of Chojnice (Konitz), Tuchola (Tuchel), large junctions of communications lines and powerful strongholds of the German resistance in (he western part of Poland. Russian troops in Posen continued to fight for the destruction of the surrounded garrison, and, by this evening, had cleared the greater part of the city on the western bank of the Warthe River. The German garrison continued to hold on to the area of the citadel on the west bank of the river and four suburbs on the eastern bank. Russian troops north-west of Budapest continued destruction of scattered enemy troops who escaped from the citv and are trapped in the forests. Russians yesterday took 6650 prisoners including three generals. Reuter’s Agency says: Rokossovsky is far west of the lower Vistula in strength—probably at least one Army of his Army Group. Rokossovsky’s troops crossed t.h P lower Vistula and linked up with Zhukov north of Bromberg. Now, with the main body of Zhukov’s Northern Army Group far to the west—threatening Stettin and the lower Oder—Rokossovsky has apparently; moved major forced

across the river. He may either swing north to the Baltic and create another trap around the Germans in Danzig or marshall his forces on Zhukov’s flank and drive west. Rokossovsky’s forces in a. new invasion of i Germany crossed the Reich frontier | north-west of Bromberg from the ! western edge of the Polish corridor. They captured several townships. Germans on the Baltic front have still further crumbled under steady thrusts by Russian tanks and storm troops who are moving through the Lake land defence chain guarding the approaches to Danzig and Gdynia. DEFENCES FOR BERLIN (Rec. .7.10) LONDON, Feb. 16 A "Times’s” correspondent in Stockholm stated: Germans announced that they mobolised all men, women and children not bearing arms to dig trenches and earth works between the Oder and Berlin on the model of defences in East Prussia. Gauleiter Erick Koch said that if the East Prussian earth shifted in the process of digging trenches were loaded into twenty ton railway waggons, placed, end to end, they would reach twenty thousand miles, or more than three quarters of the way around the globe. BATTLE PLAN FOR BERLIN (Rec. 12.0) LONDON, Feb. 16. The German News Agency says:— The newly-app'ointed Commander of Berlin, General Ritter von Havenschildt has devised a battle plan for the capital. The city has been divided into several defence sectors, each under its own commander. Defences are being prepared, taking advantage of all the natural barriers. The people of Berlin, when normal food supplies are affected, will draw rations from Nazi Party offices throughout the city. NUREMBURG NRW GERMAN CAPITAL (Dec. 12.0) LONDON, Feb. 16. The Moscow radio says that Nuremberg, the scene of many famous Nazi rallies, is the new capital of Germany. A thirty-mile zone around the city has been declared out of bounds for refugees. Many citizens have been forced to leave their homes to make room for Ministries evacuated from Berlin, and long columns of lorries, day and night, are carrying archives and files’to the city.