WIDE RUSSIAN FRONT

Southland Times, Issue 25538, 5 December 1944, Page 5

WIDE RUSSIAN FRONT

RED ARMY IN HUNGARY

THREE THREATS TO BUDAPEST NEW DRIVE IN SOUTH PROGRESSES (Rec. 11.30 p.m.) LONDON, December 4. The Red Army’s drive across southern Hungary from the re-cently-established bridgeheads across the Danube south of Budapest has made good progress and advance . troops are about 40 miles from the capital. This new push means that Budapest is now threatened from three sides, north, south and east. One Russian spearhead is only 65 miles from the Austrian border. The Russians have captured Miskolcz, which a Soviet communique describes as the most important centre of Hungarian war industry, and Sator al jaushely, a town on the Czech border, the fall of which opens the way for an advance to Kosice.

The 'Russians in north-eastern Hungary won an important double victory when they captured Satoraljaushely and Miskolcz, states the American Associated Press, which describes Miskolcz as the last great centre of German resistance in the sector north-east of Budapest.

MAIN RAILWAY CUT Miskolcz, only 20 miles from the border of Czechoslovakia and 80 miles from Budapest, stands on the main railway from Budapest, north-east to Lwow.

The capture of Satoraljaushely cuts other German railway communications in north-eastern Hungary. Satoraljaushely is on the line between Miskolcz and Uzhorod, via Cop, and is also on the line running from Miskolcz over the Carpathians to the Polish town of Sanok. , General Ivan Petrov’s troops, who are occupying Satoraljaushely, also cut the rather roundabout railway between Miskolcz and Kosice, which is 27 miles to the north-west.

GERMAN LINE CRUMBLES The Moscow correspondent of Reuter’s says that Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin’s mobile forces are driving fresh wedges into the crumbling German defences west of the Danube. Russian vanguards moving as self-contained units are exploiting to the maximum each new breakthrough. The Soviet communique says: Northeast and south of Kaposvar the Russians, continuing their offensive in Hungary, captured the towns of Dunapoldvar, Tamasi, Szentlorincz and more than 80 other places. The Russians in Hungary between November 23 and December 2 took 7875 prisoners, making a total of 21,745 Hungarians and Germans captured since November 8. GERMANS FOUND GUILTY OF WAR CRIMES (Rec. 8.30 p.m.) LONDON, Dec. 4. The Moscow radio says that a Polish court at Lublin sentenced to death five German war criminals found guilty of mass murders at the Maidenek extermination camp. A sixth accused hanged himself in his cell during the trial. This man was charged with killing thousands of children himself.