ESCAPE RAILWAYS CUT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 79, 12 January 1944, Page 5

ESCAPE RAILWAYS CUT

SMYELA JUNCTION THREATENED London, Jan. 11. Farther east the Russians have struck an almost fatal blow at the German forces still clinging to the west bank of the Dnieper round the town of Kanev. Messages this morning say that the Red Army has cut one of the Germans’ two escape railways and advanced 20 miles, while another column is within five miles of the second railway. where it runs through Smyela junction. Smyela is almost completely cut off. The Germans, if they retreat, will have to use inferior roads, and a Moscow correspondent believes the enemy is unlikely to get away any of his heavy equipment and will be lucky if he can evacuate any of the troops before the Russian pincers close. Inside the pre-war Polish frontier, the Russians in the last 24 hours have driven to within five miles of Sarny, on the important north-south strategic rail- , way. and also have reached a point 27 miles from Rovno, the first big town inside the frontier. i The German news agency this morning states that the Russians have sue- ! ceeded in landing troops on the northern part of the Kerch Peninsula, in the i Crimea. This is unconfirmed from Mos- . cow. but it was known that Red Army men had established a foothold on the peninsula several weeks ago. The forces of Generals Vatoutin and Koniev, moving towards each I other, are said by a late report to have cut the two German escape lines from the Smyela salient. ( On one sector of this Dnieper bend 1 front the Germans threw big tanks and 11 infantry forces into counter-attacks, j The Russians wore them down, knocked J out 25 of their tanks and went over v

to the offensive to continue their advance. The Russians are also menacing the German railway link through. Tsvetkovo. The Russians are within 10 miles of this railway at a point north of Uman. The Germans arc fighting hard on several sectors in their attempt to check the speed of the Red Army’s advance, but front-line reports tell how Soviet airmen in bombers and Stormovik assault planes are hammering the German columns which congest the country lanes and blasting the supI ply railways still in German hands.