PRESSING FORWARD.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 62, Issue 88, 24 January 1942, Page 5

PRESSING FORWARD.

DRIVE TO CLOSE VYAZMA. TRIPLE MOVE BY RUSSIANS LONDON, January 23. The Russians are making a threepronged drive to close the Vyazma gap. General Zhukov’s forces in the centre ,are sweeping west from Borodino and are now reported to be 40 miles from Mozhaisk. Other forces are converging on the gap from the north-east and south-east. The Moscow correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph” reports that he has every reason to believe that the Russians are already in Vyazma. The Stockholm correspondent of “The Times” says the Germans- admit that further withdrawals on the central front may be expedient. They appear to have already lost Orel, even if the Russians have not actually occupied it. Russian operations at Byelgorod and further south threaten to envelop Kharkov or compel the Axis forces to retire to the Dnieper. The Moscow newspaper “Izvestia” says that increasingly violent fighting is going on as the Russian advance continues, threatening to outflank the Germans retreating from Mozhaisk. Prisoners reveal that the Germans are throwing in fresh reserves, many of whom arrived from France a few days ago.

The midday Soviet communique says that last night active operations were continued by the Russian armies. In one sector of the central front Soviet units liberated three populated places in one day’s fighting. The Moscow radio says that the Russians have been threatening Orel, Kursk .and Kharkov in the last four days, and have recaptured 44 towns and villages. The Russians are trying to breach the defences of an important town west of Kalinin. This may be Rzhev, which is an important junction of two railways. Towns and Villages Reoccupied. Forty-four towns and villages have been reoccupied by Marshal Timoshenko's forces during the last few days in fighting in the south-western sector. Thirty of them fell before the onslaught of the Russian Cavalry Guard. The Moscow radio says that the Germans occupying the Tula Province destroyed 366 villages, 299 schools and 50 railway stations. The Russians have restarted the famous Tula munitions plant and 166 local factories. Two coalmines are being restored. The supplement to Thursday’s Soviet communique says: “In one of the sectors on the central front our forces, breaking the resistance of the enemy, captured 11 guns, 54 lorries and other weapons. In another sector on the same front our troops in two days of fierce fighting captured one gun, one trench mortar, 11 machine-guns, 1500 shells, and 21,000 rounds of ammunition.

“In one sector on the southern front, during the last two days, our troops captured 20 guns, 28 machine-guns, 12 trench-mortars, and 300 ammunition cars. More than 1400 German officers and men were killed. “A group of guerillas operating in the Leningrad area blew up an important railway bridge. As a result, German supplies were delayed for 10 days. This group destroyed two wooden bridges, cut telephone cables in several places, and mined roads.” Fighting has flared up again in the far north, on the Finnish front. The German radio, describing fighting, on the Karelian front, made the following admission: “The best Prussian Guard regiment was so weakened and decimated by two days of forest fighting that it had to be withdrawn. The regiment endured for eight days fighting an enemy in every respect vastly superior.”