Soviet troops captured the "forward bastion in front of Berlin"

On March 12, the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front stormed the city and fortress of Kistzhin (Kustrin), an important communications hub and a powerful German defense stronghold on the Oder River, covering the approaches to Berlin, Izvestia newspaper writes.

German newspapers have declared the city an advanced bastion in front of Berlin, the newspaper's special war correspondent reports.

"The defeat of its garrison eliminated one of the last enemy bridgeheads on the eastern shore. A new gap has been breached in the German defenses on the outskirts of Berlin. Under the mighty blows of our troops, the defensive systems created on the way to the German capital are collapsing one after another," the special correspondent emphasized.

There were exactly 58 days left until the Great Victory.

In the battles for Kistzhin, more than 3,000 German soldiers and officers were captured, including the commandant of the fortress city, Colonel Kruger.

The material was published as part of the Izvestia special project "80 days to Victory."

All articles of Izvestia during the Great Patriotic War can be found in the electronic archive.