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After the shattering rout of thc German troops in Byelcrussia, the Red. Aray is fighting offensive engagenrnts in the 3altic lands. On the day when the Soviet flag has once again risen over Vilnius, troops co. anandcd by Gen. Bagrarnyan and troops co.Tananded y Gen. Yerercenko aro carrying out an offensive on thc- thrcshold of Soviet Latvia.

In the month of the sunirtr offensivc of our troops, thrcc capitais of the f ratę mai Republics have already becn liberated - Petrozavodsk, l.iinsk, Vilnius. The successful and rapid development of the Red Anny's offens ive operations is the guarantee of the speedy liberation of the whole of Sovict Lithuania. That meons too, that the Red Anny troops are coming irtexorably nearor to German territory.

A tremendous and overwhelining part of Soviet territory is already froc of the Hitlerite invadcrs. With thc sarni steadfast, plannod pov/er as the Red Anny swept and is swcoping thc Fascist filth from Russian, Ukrainian, Byelorussian, 2Ioldavian, and Karelo- Pinnish soil it '.dli drivc thc German bandits from thc confines of the Lithu-anian, Latvian and Sstonian Soviet Rcpubiics.

The day is drawing no ar when thc /hole of Soviet soil - all of it, to the last inch, will bc conęlctcly liberated by the hcroic Soviot troops, and the indos tructiblc frontiers of thc great Soviet State will bc loft behind the advancing R^d Army, marching to finish off tho Hitcritc beast in his own lair!

"RED STAR" ON STRATEGICAL SIGNIPICAKCS OF YILNIUS

"A most Import ant Yictory"

"It took the Soviet troops less than 20 day3", "Red Star" writos /quotod by TASS/, "to cover the distance from Orsha to the Lithuanion Capital. After the de-baclcs at Vitebsk and Jiinsk thc Germans clung to thc Vilnius-Baranovichi linę but failed to hołd it, having lost first their right pivot - Borancvichi, then the middlo one - Lida now the last - Vilnius,

"The obstinacy with which the Gemians defended Vilnius oncc moro eiipha3isos its significancc. A dircct road ppons from it to Kann as and furt ber to the sca, a road cutting off the troops in the northem sector of the German front and protruding far to the east.

"Hcre the Red Army is closest to East Prussia. And still, despite- thc vital irportancc of Vilnius, the Germans provod unablc tc hołd it. The German Conmand was unablc to avert the Red Aray's advance in the central soctor of the Soviet-German Front. Ncvcr beforc in any offensive has the Red Army rcaped in so locthodical and consistcnt a manner tho fruit of the initial povjerful breakthrough.    What matters i*,

not only that the entire German front in Byclorussia collcpsc-d in 2 d_cys, but also that in 20 days the Germans failed to rostorc it on any linę of cny considerabie length in the rcar.

"Tlić avalanche of thc advancing Rod Anry reached Vilnius which the Germans wanted to convert into ono of thc bulwarks of their "domination" in the Baltic, and it continuos to move forward. The liberation of Vilnius is a most ii^ortant victory for thc Red Army.

SURY2Y OF THE CAMPAIGN POR YILNIUS

Tho fcllov/ing account of thc canęaign for Vilnius is givon in a TASS mes sago from the front:

Pivc railway lines and fiftoon roads radiate fron Vilnius in all dircct i ons. Locatcd at thc conflucnce of the Yilia and Yilcika rivcrs and protected on the south-cast by a hcight, it presentól extrerrcly groat advantoges for defence.

Tlić enemy girdlod the town v.ith sovoral rows of trenches, blockhouses and minc-fiol&s. It was transformed into a yeritablc fortress and prepared for stubbom Street fighting. The Germans convorted its narrow, meandering streets and bastion-likc buildings with thick stone walls into permanent fortifications, surrounded many of thom with barbed v/ire and trcnchcs. Barricados and ant i-tank barriors we re erected in thc streets.