Zhukov Building up for Blow Against Berlin

Manawatu Times, Volume 70, Issue 45, 22 February 1945, Page 5

Zhukov Building up for Blow Against Berlin

Vnited Pxess Assn.—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright. Received Thursday, 1 a.m. LONDON, February 21. The Red Army although forced to slow down the pace of its offensive in the face of fanatical German resistance, gained more very valuable ground on the southern bank of the Oder bend southeast of Frankfurt where several enemy pockets were eliminated, says Reuter’s Moscow correspondent. Koniev’s tanks are now on the approaches to the important junction of Guben and the town is already under heavy artillery fire. , The Associated Press's correspondent in Moscow states that the capture of Krossen removed the obstacle which hampered the tactical coordination of Zhukov's and Koniev’s adjacent flanks in Brandenburg. Koniev’s assault teams of infantry, tanks and mobile guns to-day are punching short gains in the hilly country surrounding the Neisse River strongpoints in the forest southeast of Berlin. The correspondent continues: ‘Hard fighting is going on along the 20-mile stretch of the Oder between Krossen and Furstenberg for the control of the west bank of the river. While the scale of operations of “River Buster” Koniev are temporarily reduced observers in Moscow believe his present limited blows are steadily constructing a springboard for the next big jump. Koniev’s forces in the foothill approaches to Northern Sudetenland are edging closer to Gorlitz while his siege guns continue to pound encircled Breslau. Zhukov meanwhile is energetically building up for his future attack all along his Oder front in the direction of Berlin amid signs of increasing enemy nervousness. The German counterattacks against Zhukov’s right wing in Pomerania have subsided and the indications are that he is resuming his pressure towards the Baltic coast. Rokossovsky is advancing through the Polish Corridor on a 40-mile front towards Danzig. Russian planes are hovering over the entrance to Danzig Bay, expecting the Germans to attempt to stage a “Dunkirk” evacuation from East Prussia. The Germans in Konigsberg appear to be making an all-out effort to break out to Pillau apparently in the belief that ships are coming to their rescue. The enemy is suffering heavy casualties in the fiercest fighting.

Reporting on the extension of German counterattacks to the extreme tip of Upper Silesia the German News Agency commentator (von Hammer) states that strong German forces counterattacked at Bielsko and Schwarzwasser 13 miles north-west of Bielsko. He adds: “The Germans also seized the initiative in the Russian bridgehead north of Ratibor and captured a number of places. German formations attacking south of Bunzlau made further progress and recaptured Lowenberg. The Germans have broken into Parkan north-west ol Budapest.’ ’ Reuter’s military corresppndent says the Germans have not launched a grand counteroffensive hut only a series of isolated counterattacks on sectors where they were already strong and where they cannot afford to give ground. The Wehrmacht had gathered reserves during the past five weeks, evidently intending to strike a decisive blow and throw the Russians back, but this planned counteroffensive has not materialised. The German High Command instead had to break up 20 to 25 panzer divisions gathered for this purpose and throw them into the battle “penny packet ** fashion. This was the worst possible way of countering a great offensive and indicates that the Germans have not had freedom of ac-

|tion nor the time necessary to mount a strategic counteroffensive. The Russians have captured Krossen, Cbristianstadt, Schegeln and Bobersberg. yhese successes show that the Red Army is gaining in its renewed advance south-east of Berlin, states the British United Press military correspondent. The big prize in this sector is the wool textile manufacturing town of Guben. This town of 50,000 people controls the main roads to Kottbus which is the principal traffic junction leading to Dresden. Tremendous tank fighting has been going on in this sector. The Berlin radio earlier stated that reserves under General Schoermer, former commander-in-chief along the Baltic, had been thrown in across the Guben-Sorau-Lauban railway from a point in south-east Brandenburg, 70 miles from Berlin, to a point east of Gorlitz. The Daily Telegraph correspondent in Moscow reports that Marshal Koniev’s troops have entered the south-eastern suburbs of Breslau. Von Hammer stated that the Russians encircling Breslau issued an ulti- | matum to the defenders to surrender but the ultimatum was rejected.