AT BERLIN FRONT DOOR

Grey River Argus, 19 February 1945, Page 5

AT BERLIN FRONT DOOR

TERRIFIC TANK BATTLE

Russians Beyond Hie Niesse

[Aust. & N.Z. press Association.] [Aust. & N.Z. Press Association.! (Rec. 7.40). LONDON, Feb. 17. Marshal Koniev’s troops, by Saturday night, had advanced to less than sixty miles south-east of Berlin, and arc also within sixty miles of Dresden. Heavy fighting is going on at the junction of the Bober and Oder rivers. Russian guns are ranging on the outer defence of this area. Russian troops are closing on Guben from three sides.

A correspondent pointed out that Russians on the Niesse River, west of Sommerfeld, were less than 12 miles from an important, railway junction, Kottbus.

Germans reported Russian forces in the Forst area.

Zhukov’s guns are pouring shells against the west bank of the Oder River in a great bombardment ct>: that “front door” to Berlin. Zhukov’s guns are dug in on the east bank of the Oder River. They control the autobahn from Frankfurt to Berlin, and are pounding the least movement on the highway. A Moscow “Fravda” correspondent reporting from Koniev’s front, stated: Russian forces, after crossing the Bober River, capturing Somerfeld, drove a deep wedge toward the Niesse River. German forces attacked this Russian wedge both from the north and the south with a considerable force of tanks. The German attempts to break in failed. Russian tanks and artillery dealt the enemy forces a stunning blow, and they rolled back with heavy losses. Another “Pravda” report slated: — Masses of German tanks and infantry are being thrown in against Koniev in a bid to stem advances threatening to outflank Berlin’s frontal defences. .Prisoner's < have been taken who include men of several - tank, motorised, and infantry divisions, in addition to a large number of mixed units of Volks Sturm battalions. “Pravcjp.” added: All these men were thrown into battle as soon as they arrived. Enemy tank crews taken prisoner said their tanks were unloaded from railway trucks at the nearest station to tne front, and immediately brought into action. “Fravda” also said that the Germans are hitting back vjith counter-attacks, , and are lighting.stubbornly to stop a Russian advance to the interior of Germany, but in spite of ferocious German resistance, Russian pressure beyond the Oder has not slackened. On Berlin radio a war correspondent reported that'the German tank ‘orces at present are extremely mobile. He s'aid that the command post of one tank division had changed its position every day for the last four weeks. The German News Agency l , declared that a battle for Breslau was begun with a great number of Russian thrusts from the west and the east. It admitted Russian forces broke into Klettendorf, which is a southern suburb of Breslau, an dthat Russians had drawn up strong forces all around the city, with a drumlire barrage hammering Breslau from all sides.

KONIEV ACROSS THE NEISSE.

(Rec. 8.30). LONDON, February 18. Russian forces have breached lhe Neisse River line, the last barrier before the big industrial district south of Berlin, and are within ten miles of Kottbus, a key junction . on the main railway to Berlin. A sixty-mile corridor between the Bober and Neisse Rivers is one heaving mass ol tank and infantry clashes. A Moscow supplementary communique says: German tanks and mfat try concentrated for a Hank attack on Koniev s troops advancing beyond Bunz.au. They were routed by a vigorous attack. .... t Berlin radio revealed that members of Hitler’s Youth Movement m'e being used as scouts to signal the approach of giant Russian tanks. (Rec. 9.40). LONDON, February 18. A Moscow communique states: Russian forces in Pomerania, south of Stargard, have repelled German tank and *' infantry attacks. North ol Schneidemuhl we liquidated an enemy group encircled in a forest. We kuied more than 8000. We took prisoner more than 2000. We captured 13 tanks, 30 self-propelled guns mortars, 154 machine-guns and od-l motor cars. Russian forces in the Posen area continued annihilation of an encircled enemy group, and entirely cleared suburbs on the west bank of the Warthe River. German remnants are holding out in the cka--del. Russians in this area on l-riqay took prisoner more than 6000 Germans; captured 13 guns, 52 machineguns, 6000 rifles and tommy-guns, 120 motor vehicles, 40 locomotives, 18a railway coaches, and 16 supply dumps. Russians in Silesia, north-west-west of Bwnzlau, captured 50 inhabited places, and took prisoner more than 1100 Germans. South-west and of Breslau we occupied mor e than 60 places. We continued annihilation ot the encircled garrison of Breslau. Russians on the north bank of the Danube, east of Komarno, where we are established west of the river, have repelled strong tank and infantry attacks ,inflicting heavy losses.

PAPAL NUNCIO LEAVES BERLIN

(Rec. 9.30). LONDON, February 18. The Papal Nuncio to Berlin has moved to Eichstadt, says the Exchange Telegraph Agency’s Rome correspondent. BALTIC SECTORS. (Rec. 9.30). LONDON, February 17. In an order of the day, Marshal Stalin stated: Troops of General Chernyakovsky’s Third White Russian Front,’ continuing to tighten a ring of encirclement round the enemys East Prussian groupings, advanced north-west between Konigsberg and Elbing, and made further significant progress on Saturday.. They took by storm Wormditt and Mehlsack, important junctions of communication lines and a powerful stronghold ol German resistance. Mehlsack is 33 miles south of Konigsberg, and Wormditt is nine miles south of Mehlsack. Capture of these towns gives C’hernyakevsky’s troops a road-rail network radiating into a corridor where German forces, estimated originally _ at some twenty divisions, ' are being crushed back against the shores of the Frischerhaff, between Konigsberg and Elbing. Mehlsack is 18 miles from the coast and that is the distance Chernyakovsky has to go to split the pocket. A Moscow supplementary communique said: Mor P than 4000 German dead were counted in the Wormditt and Mehlsack areas. The Baltic Red Fleet’s air arm sank live German transports totalling 26,000 tons? A Stockholm message on . Sunday stated Allied air and naval forces in the Skaggerak at Kattegat on Saturday night attacked a largo German south-bound convoy, according to a Gothenburg correspondent of the “Dagens Nyheter”. Eyewitnesses were unanimous that this was the biggest convoy' battle seen in these waters during the war. Gunfire could clearly be heard in Gothenburg. Heavy explosions accompanied glares of light and indicated hits were scored. m