SURGE ACROSS POLAND

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25105, 19 January 1945, Page 5

SURGE ACROSS POLAND

third offensive makes strides CAPTURE OF CZESTOCHOWA KONIEV 15 MILES FROM GERMANY By Telegraph—-Press Association —Copyright January 18, 11.15 p.m.) LONDON, January 18 Marshal Stalin in three Orders of the Day has announced a series of Russian victories. Warsaw has fallen to an "impetuous outflanking manoeuvre" by Marshal Zhukov. A new offensive has been launched from the Narew bridgeheads north-west of Warsaw by Marshal Rokossovsky, whose forces have advanced 25 miles on a 62-mile front. In the south Marshal Koniev is within IS miles of the German border, after forcing the Warthe River and capturing the stronghold of Czestochowa. Radomsko and Przedborz have also fallen to Marshal Koniev's troops. . A later message says Marshal Zhukov's infantry is swiftly following up the deep thrust of the tank spearhead. The tip of his salient into the German position is well under 30 miles from Lodz, second largest city of Poland. Marshal Zhukov's right flank is pressing west along the roads and railways leading straight to Germany. . . , Russian troops are sweeping the Germans out of Poland along a front of 200 miles. The front stretches from the extreme southwest of Poland to north-east of Warsaw. The British official wireless says that an unconfirmed report by the Paris radio, quoting the Lublin radio, says the Russians have taken the city of Cracow, in Southern Poland. The Germans have denied this report. The final attack on Warsaw was made from three sides, the north, the west and the south. Polish units were among tfie first troops to break through into its streets five years after its capture by the Germans. Marshal Stalin ordered a salute to be fired in Moscow with 24 salvoes from 324 guns. Marshal Rokossovsky's offensive started on Sunday with an attack from two bridgeheads north of Warsaw on the west bank of the Narew River. Massive artillery broke the deep German defences and the two bridgehead forces joined up. Among the 500 places captured were Pultusk, Ciechanow, Nowe Miasto and Nasielsk. The Germans made fierce counter-attacks in this sector, but the Russians threw them all back and cut a long stretch of the railway running into East Prussia from Poland. A supplementary Russian communique says Marshal Rokossovsky's offensive is inflicting enormous losses on the enemy, both in men and material. In the first two days 114 German tanks and 376 guns were destroyed or captured. A great number of prisoners were taken, including 600 from the 73rd German Infantry Division, which was completely wiped out. The Moscow radio said: "The Red Army, like a crushing avalanche, is rolling on to the west, pulverising divisions and reserves which the German High Command has brought up in its last-ditch bid to stem our glorious advance."