RED BREAK-THROUGH

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 48, 25 August 1943, Page 5

RED BREAK-THROUGH

Huge Nazi Force In Peril —————— \ ;";

(By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright.)

Rec. noon. LONDON August 24. The Russian advances on a 250-mile front between Kharkov and the Donets Basin are now seriously threatening 750,000 German troops, says Reuters Moscow correspondent. The Russians are pouring through several gaps in the German line as the summer offensive reaches a new peak of strength.

The latest reports show that large Russian forces on the Donets are spreading out along the Taganrog-Stalino railway. The.vanguards have deeply penetrated the German lines.

The Russian attack south of Izyum is developing into a wide pincer movement threatening Stalino which is the main German base in the Donets region. The Russian break-through at Ambrozevka, 31 miles south-west of Stalino, has cut off all the German troops in the Taganrog area.

The Germans are deprived of the only railway from Taganrog and a retreat across the swampy country laced by rivers is almost

impossible^ Reuter cLinues that Poltava is the next German stronghold which stance is bitter everywhere, counterthe break-throughthreatens.The Ger- *«-fJ~ ZSZST hands mans, who have been fighting grim- Iy^ agairlj Dut the Russians ly during the last 12 days to dislodge continue to advance. the Red Army's grip on the Kharkov Poltava railway, are now in a desper- by street, it had been fortified. AH ... stone houses were fitted with emplaceate position. . ments for artillery and machine-guns. The British United Press's Moscow Every street was mined and all the correspondent states that a great Ger- large buildings were surrounded by; SS SSTSuS ofkl^Th^ applied the t-ctta, of German detachments escaped south- small groups of storm troops which westwards along the road and rail- originated in Stalingrad. .TneymJJway g leadS, r t 0 Merefa, 10 miles from tratad mjepthmto^the c«derways leading to Zaporozhe and confident that they could hold KharDnepropetrovsk. Some are also going kov and expended men and material towards Poltava—the railway to which in costly counter-attacks round tha is under Russian control—along a net- city, work of secondary roads. DECISIVE REVERSE. The centre of heavy fighting on the r^g decisive German reverse wa9 southern front has now shifted from the failure to re gain 'control of tha Kharkov .to the approaches to Poltava. Kharkov-Poltava railway in which The Russians have engaged big f°rces area sev eral German divisions perished of enemy tanks and infantry south of in vain Oposhina. 1 second Russian thrust TnoU s a nds of young people of Kharis bearing down towards Poltava along koy cgme intQ the streets to greet their the railway from Kharkov and was libera t O rs after many months hiding in last reported at Vodyanya, 42 miles cellars and attics to escape the forced north of Poltava. labour drafts .The strategic importance of Poltava German hO p es o f' profitably shortencannot be overestimated. . «jieft nets - n ih& Eastern Front have been frus . the approaches t, the Dnieper itself. tr * ted firstl b the defeat of their A quick Russian advance.here might offens | ve agaWthe Kursk salient and split the entire German front in tne secondly by the R USS i a n drive westUkraine. warrf hptwepn Kharkov and'Sumv Reuter says the Russian Pressure *«£ between^Kharkcjmanfl^umy.^ against Bryansk continues, though the Kharkov itself in an unt enable salient, advance m some sectors has been slow- endangered the whole German ed down by the weather and by dv- ition be s tween the Donets and the flcult forest country. The Russian sue- D A further threat is formed cesses mean more than the ,actual y £ b ridgehead south of Izyum tactical gains on eachnJ^ip pprSS' which the Russians have been gradualcesses mean that a 1000-mile uerman , PV tpnrimff over many weeks front,, undented for 18 months, is now !r Zt" the" (JermS' have irretrievably shattered. _ decided to abandon Donets industries, + >,GrefLf^ S t »ki Vyazma Ore? it seems certain that they would do £ 6 i,,Sh vharkfv and fSJIts areas anything to avoid leaving their garri■B^f^?&i^Mr^ttetSeßustos' sons thereto be surrounded. If the h^iLm^hpH^w attacks i^ the a?S enemy should be forced to evacuate nf Itlr^» T?ii^wifh huee tank the Russians would do their utmost to S^^^bS« Wto6ughgtoe,Ge? Prevent the garrisons from getting "g&gSjfg^&toSL APPARENT. RUSSIAN PLAN. The Russians are continuing violent Hence the Soviet plan seems to ba attacks in the Izyum area where they a double enveloping movement, cornare deploying large tank forces with bined with direct pressure from the I considerable air support, and despite head of the salient on the Mius River. I German counter-attacks they continue Tonight's Soviet communique states: to make some advance. \ "Today Soviet troops north-west and

trating the enemy defences and cutting; the ways of retreat. The German resistance is bitter everywhere, counterattack following counter-attack. Railway lines are changing hands time and time again, but the Russians continue to advance. The Germans had prepared Kharkov? for a long and stubborn defence. Street by street, it had been fortified. AH stone houses were fitted with emplacements for artillery and machine-guns. Every street was mined and all the large buildings were surrounded by; minefields. . The Russians applied the tactics of small groups of storm troops which, originated in Stalingrad. They infiltrated in depth into the city, rendering the most formidable strong-points untenable. \ To the last, the Germans seemeds confident that they could hold Kharkov and expended men and material in costly counter-attacks round the city. DECISIVE REVERSE, The decisive German reverse wa9 the failure to regain 'control of tha Kharkov-Poltava railway in which area several German divisions perished in vain. Thousands of young people of Kharkov came into the streets to greet their liberators after many months hiding in cellars and attics to escape the forced labour drafts. German hopes of profitably shortening the x Eastern Front have been frustrated, firstly by the defeat of their offensive against the Kursk salient and secondly by the Russian drive westward between Kharkov and' Sumy. The latter offensive not only placed Kharkov itself in an untenable salient, but endangered the whole German position between the Donets and the Dnieper. A further threat is formed by the bridgehead south of Izyum which the Russians have been gradually extending over many weeks. Whether or not the Germans have decided to abandon Donets industries, it seems certain that they would do anything to avoid leaving their garrisons there to be surrounded. If the enemy should be forced to evacuate the Russians would do their utmost to prevent the garrisons from getting away. APPARENT RUSSIAN PLAN. Hence the Soviet plan seems to ba a double enveloping movement, combined with direct pressure from the head of the salient on the Mius River. Tonight's Soviet communique states: "Today Soviet troops north-west and south of Kharkov advanced and improved their positions. In the Donets Basin areas south of Izyum and southwest of Voroshilovgrad our troops continued to wage successful fighting and occupied several inhabited localities. "In other sectors of the front puiJ troops conducted reconnaissance activi-. ties and artillery and mortar exchanges took place. "Yesterday, on all fronts, Soviet troops destroyed or damaged 77 German tanks. In aerial engagements and by anti-aircraft fire 106 German planes were shot down." —8.0. W. TOWN OCCUPIED Rec. 9 a.m. LONDON, August 24. The Russians haye captured Donetsko-Amvrozevka, an important railway town 31 miles south-east oi Stalino.

Fierce fighting is also going on southwest of Voroshilovgrad. The radio adds that fresh Russian concentrations have been observed in the area of Bryansk, where a flare-up of the battle is to be expected soon.

Russian troops south of Izyum have occupied positions of great importance. The enemy, attempting to restore tha situation, counter-attacked eight times but was repelled.