NEW ADVANCE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 64, Issue 34, 19 November 1943, Page 3

NEW ADVANCE

RUSSIANS IN DNIEPER BEND.

GROUND LOST AT JITOMIR.

ENEMY'S RETREAT ROUTE CUT

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright.) LONDON, November IS.

The Russians have begun a new drive to clear the Germans from the south-eastern corner of the Dnieper Bend. Yesterday they broke through strong German defences and threw back counter-attacks in an advance south-west of Dnepropetrovsk, and by the end of the day had occupied s town little more than 20 miles from Nikopol. North-west of Kiev, a. desperate struggle is in progress for the key rail town of Korosten. Moscow dispatches say that Russian tanks and tommy-gunners are thrusting into the outskirts of Korosten. On the southern flank of the Kiev bulge, in the Jitomir area ; heavy German counter-attacks forced the Russians to abandon several localities. The Russians here have taken up and consolidated new positions. Thirty miles south-west of Gomel, on the White Russia front, Russian tanks have broken into the western suburbs of Ryezhitsa. Other Russian forces have reached the Dnieper north of Ryezhitsa. A supplementary Russian communique says: “In the region of Ryezhitsa (30 miles south-west of Gomel), after capturing the village of Ozersliehina, our units reached the Dnieper north of Ryezhitsa, thus cutting the enemy’s westward way of retreat from the Ryezhitsa area. “Soviet tanks broke into the western suburbs of Ryezhitsa and are now fighting street engagements.” Reporting the Russians’ loss of ground in the Jitomir area, on the southern flank of the Kiev bulge, a Russian supplementary communique says: “In the Jitomir and Korostychev regions the enemy concentrated considerable tank and infantry forces cn a narrow sector, and threw them into battle regardless of losses. In one sector Soviet units destroyed more than 50 enemy tanks and 30 armoured cars, and killed 1500 Germans. In another sector we repelled seven fierce counter-attacks and knocked out 23 tanks.

“Toward the end of the day our units abandoned several inhabited localities under pressure by numerically superior enemy forces, and consolidated themselves in new positions.”