SOVIET GAINS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25160, 24 March 1945, Page 7

SOVIET GAINS

UPPER SILESIA OPPELN CAPTURED ADVANCE OF 25 MILES BIG INDUSTRIAL AREA Reed. 6.30 p.m.) LONDON, March 22 Big Russian gains in Upper Silesia, ncluding the capture of the road md railway centre and industrial ;own of Oppeln, are announced in ;he following Order of the Day by Marshal Stalin: —"Troops of the First Ukrainian Front, having oroken into the enemy's defences vest and south of Oppeln, advanced' 25 miles in each direction and ousted :he German Army grouping in the irea south-west of Oppeln. "As a result of this fighting,. troops >f this front captured tip to 15,000 Germans, 464 guns and a great quantity of other weapons and ' war material In the course of the offensive the troops captured in Silesia the towns of Neustadt, Cosel, Steinau, Zulz, Krappiz, Oberglogau and Falkenberg, as well as 400 other inhabited localities." Left Flank Consolidated Reuter's military correspondent says that Marshal Koniev's drive cleans up a corner of Upper Silesia where mines and industries are situated, and also consolidates his left flank, which is now based on the Sudeten mountains (Neustadt lies on the .foothills), and ' strengthens his position as regards the Morava (jap into Czechoslovakia. Russians troops have smashed a big new breach through the German lines covering Austria, says the British United Press correspondent. Router's correspondent points out that at least 60 per cent of Germany's war production is now concentrated in areas in Austria and Czechoslovakia which the Russian offensives in Hungary and Upper Silesia are now directly threatening. Berlin Apprehensive While Moscow remains silent- regarding Marshal Malinovskv's and Marshal Tolbukhin's twin thrusts against Austria, Berlin reports today are clearly apprehensive. The German military spokesman reports that the Russians north-west of Tata have broken into Banhida, 18 miles south-east of Koinarno, on the Danube front. Further south the Russians have launched ,a fierce assault west of Kaposvar, south of Lake Balaton. The Moscow radio emphasised that the Soviet offensives in Upper Czechoslovakia and Hungary were threatening the Germans' largest munitions. concerns —the Hermann Goering works, which are situated in Austria ana Czechoslovakia.