Reds Bite Deeper Into Ukraine

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 37, 13 February 1943, Page 5

Reds Bite Deeper Into Ukraine

LIGHTNING ADVANCE

Great Nazi Bases Gravely Imperilled In South

(New Zealand Press Association.—Copyright.— Rec. 1 p.m.) LONDON, February 12. Advancing at the rate of a mile an hour, General Vatoutin's tanks and infantry are driving deeper into the Ukraine and are rapidly nearing the elbow of the Dneiper River, which possibly is the next German line of defence. Reuters Moscow correspondent says Russian spearheads are pressing on from Losovaya and are now 50 miles from Dnepropetrovsk, where the Russians destroyed the great dam before the retreat in 1941. As the Germans roll back to the Dneiper, General Yeremenko's troops are taking Rostov by the throat. The Germans are doing their utmost to stem the advance from the south and the north-west to enable them to save all possible from the great southern base, but the only way out is by rail through the Donetz Basin, where the Russians hold the important junction of Losovaya. Possession of Losovaya not only opens the way for the Russians driving to the Dneiper, but threatens the German positions westwards of Rostov. It is furthermore the deadliest blow yet struck against Kharkov, on which the Red armies are closing as the Russians* northern claw drives on from Kursk. The capture of Losovaya also cuts one of the most important railways from Kharkov and the Germans' only direct line to the Crimea. General GolikofFs advanced units, struggling in blinding snowstorms fighting their way towards Orel, are now within 30 miles of that bastion of the German winter line. Threat Growing to Kharkov and Rostov Emphasising the Russian threat to the German rear, The Times Stockholm correspondent says there is now something like a continuous line between Chuguyev and Losovaya. The Russians' left wing is moving toward Krasnograd', beyond which lies the important junction of Poltava. The Russians clearly surprised the Germans with the strength of this wing, which is enveloping Kharkov, the position of which now resembles Rostov, inviting speculation as to the Germans will first abandon.

The Russians have greatly improved their positions against Rostov, where they are locally much superior numerically after the arrival of troops from Stalingrad. The German position in the vicinity of Novocherkask is now critical and the whole of this sector of the Donetz Basin is expected to yield inwards any day. Further north, Likhnaya and. Voroshilovgrad are scarcely less imperilled now that huge Russian reinforcements are coming into the fray. More Important Centres Captured The capture of Krasnodar, capital of the Kuban steppes, and Shaktui, 30 miles north of Rostov, is announced by Moscow to-night. The town and rail junction of Krasnoarmeysk, 35 miles south-west of Kramatorskaya, and Voroshilovsk, 30 miles west of Voroshilovgrad, have also been recaptured. These captures indicate the further shattering of the German defences. The taking of Voroshilovsk on the eastern edge of the Donetz Basin suggests the Russians have launched a new thrust southward from the area of Lisichansk. Krasnoarmeysk is situated on the Stalin-Dnepropetrovsk railway, about 75 miles north of Mariupol. Its capture denies yet another important railway to the Germans and cuts off Stalin from communications westward. Commentators in London consider these captures seal the fate of the Don Basin, increasing the threat to 250,000 Germans therein. Krasnodar was the last important town the Germans held in the Caucasus except Novorossisk.. The Berlin radio quotes a military spokesman as saying that Russian infantry, supported by tanks, artillery and planes, yesterday launched a violent attack before Leningrad, penetrating the German positions at one point.