Units of the 3rd Baltic Front, together with the 2nd Baltic Front, continued their successful offensive to secure the city of RIGA, the capital of Soviet Latvia, on October 13. Riga is a major naval base and used to be a powerfully fortified German area in the Baltic.
In North Transylvania our forces took the town and important railroad station of BYSTRITA, and over 50 other settlements, including TERPENI, KERLES, JAD, SOFALVA, CIGAU, KETJU, BID, CENTIA, TIRGUSOR, SANTIONA, NOSOLI, CEGE, PUJON, KORUSU, BONCIDA, DUMBRAVA, and the railroad stations of BORGO-RUS, JAD, BESSENIO, CERECEL, and KERLES.
To the southeast of BELGRADE, our forces, together with units of the People’s Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, took the settlements of MEDULUZE, TOPOLA, DOLJNA SATORNJA, CRNI KAO, PANEVAC, and KRUSAR, to cut the BELGRADE-KRAUGEVAC highway.
Reconnaissance operations and local fighting were reported elsewhere on the front.
On October 12, our forces destroyed 123 German tanks on all fronts. The Soviet air and air defense forces downed 19 enemy aircraft.