BIG BATTLES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 265, 21 August 1941, Page 5

BIG BATTLES

WHOLE FRONT IN RUSSIA.

THE WITHDRAWAL IN UKRAINE.

GERMANS ATTACK ODESSA,

(United Press Association— Copyright.) LONDON, August 20. .

Battles raged along of the Eastern Front yesterday and last night, with particularly fierce fighting at four points—near Kingisepp, 70 miles south-west of Leningrad; near Novgorod,' 100 miles south of Leningrad; near I-lomel, between Smolensk and Kiev; and near Odessa. An unofficial report from Berlin states that the Germans have already passed Novgorod in their drive On Leningrad, but this .is. not corroborated from Moscow, whose reports indicate that the fighting in this direction extends along the western and southern shores of Lake Ilmen, Nor is there anything to suggest that the Germans have pressed further east between Lake Ilmen and the Valdai Hills, where the Russians are strongly defending the approaches to the MoscowLeningrad railway. The Stockholm correspondent of “The Times” considers that the German advance in the Kingisepp direction, although of only a few miles, is possibly the most dangerous threat yet to Leningrad. However, the correspondent adds, there is no easy route to Leningrad. The Russians have for 10 years been spending vast sums in constructing defences, and unless the Germans have brought enormous reinforcements their long finger risks severance between Lake Ilmen and Lake Peipus and the Gulf of Finland. There is no indication of the fate of Dnepropetrovsk, the great industrial centre on the Dnieper. Yesterday the Germans claimed that they had reached the Dnieper north and south of Dnepropetrovsk.

The Estonian Campaign. The Germans say that five days’ incessant dive-bombing of Odessa, with the destruction of all Russian transports in the harbour, they have begun to attack from the land, aided b/ Rumanians. Their artillery, they say, is now near enough to bombard the town. The Stockholm correspondent of “The Times” says that the Russian forces in Estonia are more than guerillas. Indeed, they still hold. a large part of the interior and the coast line and also valuable islands. Russia’s Estonian forces may be invaluable if the main forces are able to launch a serious counter-offensive. The people of Leningrad, and Tallinn are intensifying their preparations to resist the invaders. Men and women volunteers are throwing up sandbag and concrete defence posts, and home guards in each city are undergoing special training to deal with parachutists. Moscow dispatches confirm that the Russians in, the central sector are holding strongly, while counter-attacks have thrown back the Germans near Smolensk. A Finnish communique claims that the Russians are cut off at Sortavala on the northernmost tip of Lake Ladoga. It says that the Russians are still resisting strenuously, but that the encircled area is being', reduced. The Germans claim that the Russian forces which they have trapped in Odessa cannot escape because of the destruction of the Black Sea transport fleet.

German Claims Discounted.

Commenting on the German claim to have captured eight warships at Nikolaev, the naval correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph” points out that a battleship was' laid down at Nikolaev at the beginning of the war, but there has been little progress in construction because of difficulties in the delivery of materials, and the vessel is probably still merely a skeleton. Those warships nearer launching stage were no doubt wrecked by explosion before the evacuation of the port. The Moscow radio claims that 1,500,000 Germans have been killed, wounded, or taken prisoner, and more than 6000 tanks and 8000 guns destroyed or captured in the last six weeks.

A military pact between Poland and Russia was concluded in Moscow yesterday. Four to six divisions of Poles will be formed for service in the campaign. According to the Russians, industrial and military targets were attacked in Berlin on Monday night, and fires and explosions were caused. All the Russian machines returned. ’ It is announced in Moscow, that an improved fighter aeroplane is being produced and is ready for immediate action.

Meeting the Blitzkrieg.

The “Evening Standard” states: “The Russians have lost none of their skill in meeting the blitzkrieg, but they have to face Hitler and his gang who arp fighting for their lives. If Britain cannot launch a major invasion to divert some German forces, other means must be discovered of assisting our ally. They must have all the supplies we can give them. “Soviet Rhssia must never go down. All our own prospects are governed by her endurance. Her performance has saved us from the immediate horror of invasion just as surely as the diversion of bombers against Moscow lias saved countless families in London.” The Moscow radio lias broadcast a message signed by five German officers who are prisoners, appealing to the German Army to overthrow Herr Hitler, who is described as “the maniac adventurer who has brought Germany to the verge of an abyss.” The letter added that Germany may hold out for a while, but the longer the war lasts

the worse will be the consequences for Germany.

An appeal to the Red Navy personnel not to scuttle their ships, was broadcast from the Berlin radio. “Now is your last chance to choose between the dishonour of sinking your ships and the honour of handing them over to Germany,” said the announcer. “We are your liberators. We are already sacrificing a tremendous number of our best sons, but we must fulfil our mission. Give us your ships. They'will be used for the benefit of your country.”