March 1944

Eastern Front

The 1st Tank Army secures its positions on the Dniestr River, while the 40th Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front crosses the Prut near Lipkany and the 27th Army crosses near Jassy. The 52nd Army approaches Jassy from the east. Balta falls.

Kleist informs Hitler that if the positions on the Bug are not abandoned and the 6th Army withdrawn to the Rumanian border there is the very real possibility that it will be destroyed. Despite this it takes hours of argument before Hitler agrees to even a limited withdrawal. Another result of these conversations is the detachment of the 8th Army from Army Group South to Army Group A. The southerly withdrawal of the 8th has effectively separated it from the remainder of Army Group South.