RUSSIANS STRIKE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 247, 31 July 1941, Page 5

RUSSIANS STRIKE

“AT EACH STRATEGIC POINT.” SMOLENSK BATTLE NEAR CLIMAX. GERMANS’ HARROWING PICTURE (United Press Association—Copyright.] LONDON, July 30. The Russian counter-attacks are re ported to have spread to all major sectors. The Germans are' doing their ut most to push forward, particularly in the Smolensk area, but the Russians are fiercely striking back at eacli strategic point. The latest advices from Mosco\V say that Smolensk is still in Russian hands. Marshal 'Timoshenko’s army here seems to be looped round the German panzer spearhead, and the battle appears to be near its climax.

The Russians in their latest communique. say that the fighting in tho Smolensk area yesterday was parti cularly . heavy and that the Germans were thrown back in a series of coun ter-attacks.

In spite of the German claims, Mar shal Voroshilov seems to have nailed down the German-Finnisb thrust against Leningrad. The Germans say that the Finns have regained all the territory the Russians took in their war against Finland. Stubborn Defence in Ukraine. N Reuter’s correspondent in Moscow says that the Germans now seem to be concentrating mainly on the drive toward Kiev, in the Ukraine, but ii appears, that this drive is smashing itself against the stubborn Russian resistance round Jitomir, 80 miles wesl of Kiev. Evidence of the smootji working oH the Russian transport system is given by the correspondent of “The Times’' on the German frontier, who says that the Russians on the Baltic States front surprised the Germans by bring ing up new divisions from the UralsThe Germans had not believed that troops could be brought up so far and so quickly. This correspondent adds that letter? from German soldiers paiiit a barrowing picture of the unprecedented demands imposed on their endurance by the swamps of the northern sector and the parched, sun-baked plains of the central sector, where they suffer torturesome thirst which human ingenu ity so far has been unable to combat The Plague of Thirst, Water-holes cannot be used because, of germs. Wells, where they exist at farmhouses, are only of family size and are inadequate for the hundreds of thousands of parched soldiers Buckets, ropes, and pumps have in variably been destroyed and w'ell water rendered undrinkable. It is too impure even for washing, cooking, oi shaving. One soldier said: “The enemy is destroying everything, even clothing, to prevent anything useful falling into our hands. This accursed thirst plagues one to death and everywhere there is the nauseating stench of burnt flesh, animal and human.”

The Russian midnight communique reports heavy fighting, in the Novo rzhev, Nevel, Smolensk, and Jitomiiareas. Novo-rzhev is mentioned for tho first time by the Russians. It is about 30 miles east of the. Latvian border, about mid-way between Pskov and Nevel. The communique says that the fighting yesterday was par-' tieularly heavy in the Smolensk area, Soviet troops dislodging the enemy in counter-attacks.

“Our air force combined witli the land forces and struck heavy blows at enemy units at different points,” it adds. “During July 27 and 2S the enemy lost 78 aeroplanes. Our losses were 51.

“During the enemy air raid on Mos cow on the night of July 28, 10 enemy aeroplanes were shot down, not nine as previously reported.” M. Lozovsky (Vice-Chief of the Soviet Information Bureau) said that the German advance has been com pletely trapped at Smolensk, where the Russian forces were attacking the enemy’s flanks and rear. , German Losses Claimed. M. Lozovsky added that the German losses in the first month were 1,500,000 men, more than 3000 aeroplanes, and about 5000 tanks. German officials claim that so fai 8986 Russian aeroplanes have been de stroyed. The German losses are not available. M. Lozovsky said the Germans were halted everywhere and the Russians were counter-attacking in many sectors. Fierce fighting ivas going * on both in the front and rear. There was some trench fighting, but there were no. long, permanent lines of trenches. Positional warfare has not been reached in the sense of the last war. Considering that 9,000,000 men were paricipating, complete stabilisation on the various fronts was difficult.

“Germany is using oil at the rate of 2,000,000 tons a month, and only 20 per cent, can be produced internally,’ says the “Red Star,” the Russian Army’s newspaper. “The destruction of Ploesti and Rumanian communications, is expediting the Nazi collapse. Germany’s oil reserves will very soon be exhausted.”