NEAR CRACKING POINT

Waikato Times, Volume 196, Issue 22568, 23 March 1945, Page 3

NEAR CRACKING POINT

EAST PRUSSIAN RESISTANCE VIOLENT AT SOME POINTS LONDON, March 23 Reuter’s Moscow correspondent says observers point to an intensive movement of Red Army troops, tanks and guns to the Oder front, coupled with artillery duels and bitter air fighting, indicating Marshal Zhukov

will strike soon. In the meantime the Russians are firing katushas, which are multibarrelled rockets and mortars, at Danzig, their range being directed

from newly-won hill positions. More than 50 miles farther east the resistance of the Germans trapped south.west of Konigsberg has reached cracking point.

A crack tank division which has been trying to force a way from’the East Prussian pocket has lost most of its tanks and guns. The Hermann Goering division has shared the same fate. The slaughter has been tremendous. Special Russian squads are detailed to clear streets choked with German dead before the Soviet tanks and guns can advance. The Times .Moscow correspondent says that by dawn this morning the Germahs had been driven to within four miles of the Frisches Haff everywhere along the 12 to 15 miles strip of East Prussian soil. Soviet planes all day yesterday were over this tiny patch. They bombed and strafed Heiliger.geil and wharves on the P'risches Haff. Soviet tanks and infantry advancing in small detachments across the flooded countryside met violent resistance at some

points. One German garrison, rejecting a demand for capitulation, fought until not a man was

alive or uninjured.

Troops of the third Ukrainian command continued the fight for the destruction of the encircled enemy in the area of Heiligengeil, says a Russian communique, and occupied a number of inhabited places. In this area yesterday they took over 800

prisoners. The troops continuing the offensive in the Danzig direction occupied several inhabited places and in this area yesterday took 500 prisoners.