Many Important Towns Taken

Manawatu Times, Volume 69, Issue 65, 20 March 1944, Page 5

Many Important Towns Taken

(British Official Wireless.) Received Sunday, 7 p.m, RUGBY, March 18. The Russians have not only reached the Dniester at Yampol but their spearheads turning west, are also 15 miles from Mogilev and Poloski higfiei up the river. The advance gravely threatens the remaining German positions around Vinnitsa. The advance from Dubno continues towards Brody. On the lower Bug the Russians closed to within 12 miles of Pervomaisk and have moved down botn the Bug and Ingul towards Nikolaiev. The communique says the Russians in th 9 Dubno offensive, occupied over 50 places. Northeast of Vinnista the Russians crossed the Bug and occupied eight strongly fortified centres of resistance. Southwest of Uman Soviet troops, developing the offensive, reached the Dniester and captureu yampol and over 100 other places. Stalin, in an Order of the Day addressed to General Zhukov, states troops on the first Ukrainian front today, as the result of two days of stubborn fighting, occupied the important operational railway junction and town of Zhmerinka. In the second order Stalin congratulates Koniov s second Ukrainian front armies, on the capture of the town and important junction of Pomoshchnaya, and the large railway station of Novo Ukrainka, both of which the Germans converted into key centres. The fall of these strongholds, it is thought in London, may soon lead to the clearing of the Germans from their remaining positions east of the Bug between Gaivorn and Novaya Odessa. This, however, is by no means the most important part of the front at present. Just as their advanced troops were approaching the critical Dniester line towards Yampol and Rezina, the Russians struck once more from their westerly spearhead nearly 200 miles away. The front there has not moved much since the capture oi , Luck (Lutsk) and Rovno and the advance to Tarnopol. The Russians have now broadened their front facing Lwow from which they are about 70 miles distant in a northeasterly as well as easterly direction. This move has also greatly broadened the already immensely long front of tho present offensive and added to the Germans’ mounting difficulties at a critical moment.