THE AIR DEFENCE OF MOSCOW.

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

THE AIR DEFENCE OF MOSCOW.

ON UNPRECEDENTED SCALE GERMAN DESIRE FRUSTRATED. (United Press Association— Copyright.) (Rec. 11.30 a.m.) LONDON, Aug. 20. In spite of intense air raids on Moscow it appears, from all reliable sources of information, that the Luftwaffe has not succeeded in wreaking the essential havoc on the Russian capital they desired. For the first time since Germany attacked Russia information is being given freely to the British mission in Moscow. .According to this information the German failure is due to the barrage Moscow put up on an almost unprecedented scale. Anti-aircraft gunners at Moscow have hurled into the air such a wall, of fire that the Germans have literally been pnable to penetrate it in any force to the city itself. A Soviet communique received at midday states: “During last night our troops were engaged fighting on the whole front. Particularly heavy fighting took place in the direction of Novograd Gomel (east of the Pripet marshes).—British Official Wireless.

No confirmation of the German claims that they hgve occupied the whole south Ukrainian area west of the Dneiper has been received in London, but it is pointed out by competent commentators here that these claims are not denied by the Soviet communiques. Enemy claims regarding captures of men and material are viewed with the gravest mistrust, the opinion being expressed that the scale- of operations and the size of the forces involved would preclude the probability of any accuracy in computation, but even taking the German figures at their face value the numbers claimed are not impressive, considering the magnitude of the battle, and they lend colour to the belief that Marshal Budenny successfully crossed the Dneiper with the greater part of his army intact. —British Official Wireless. .