RED ARMY CLOSING ON NOVOROSSISK

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 107, 7 May 1943, Page 3

RED ARMY CLOSING ON NOVOROSSISK

(New Zealand Press Association.—Copyright.—Rec. 11.30 a.m.) LONDON, May 6. Russian forces, driving onwards from newly-won positions in the Kuban country, are now storming new enemy fortifications and closing in on Novorossisk. Reuters correspondent in Stockholm says Russian pressure against Novorossisk has considerably increased in the last 24 hours. Latest German reports are insisting that the enormous Russian superiority in men and material suggests that the Germans have little hope of retaining Novorossisk much longer. The Germans, if forced to evacuate Novorossisk, their last important base on the Kuban mainland, are likely to suffer a "Dunkirk" on a smaller scale. It will be a hazardous undertaking for the Germans to evacuate by sea under the guns of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the Russian Air Force, which seems to have control of the skies in this area.

Heavy artillery is aiding the Russian troops, who are advancing towards Novorossisk in three columns. One column is roughly halfway between Krymskaya and Novorossisk, the second is advancing along the Kuban Valley towards the sea and the third is working its way to the southern suburbs of the city.

The British United Press correspondent in Moscow says the Russian forces whicn captured Krymskaya and broke through the Axis defence line on a 17-mile front, have occupied a chain of villages, including Neberdzhaedskaya, which is 12 miles north-east of Novorossisk and controls a pass through mountains dominating the city. The Russian break-through extended from Neberdzhaedskaya to Adagum, eight miles south of the Kuban River. The Russians have been fighting on the southern outskirts of Novorossisk all through the winter and the advance from the north-east now threatens the encirclement of the city. The Germans, although putting up stubborn resistance, are slowly falling back to Novorossisk, also westwards into the neck of the Taman Peninsula. Nazis Set Fire to Krymskaya Reuters correspondent in Moscow says Krymskaya blazed with a light as bright as day when Russian tommy-gunners smashed their way in. The Germans set fire' to the main buildings in Krymskaya. The battlefield is strewn with the wreckage of smashed German planes which attempted to hold up the Russian onslaught. Wave after wave of Russian planes supported the army in the battle for the town. Big Russian guns also participated in the assault.

The Soviet newspaper Pravdawarns the people that summer days are approaching and therefore activity is increasing along the whole front. Official Russian references toe* other sectors than the Kuban area <■„ ■-*- reveal activity on a swelling scale,, but only local actions as distinct-, from full-scale offensives. A Moscow message says the Ger-"' .-' mans are using fume grenades, against Russian tanks. They consist of glass-partitioned globes containing white and yellow liquids, which mingle on impact and form a dark ' brown acid from which smoke emerges, penetrates the tanks and blinds the crews. Russian tank-, crews have been ordered to wear gas masks. Another German anti-tank weapon is a magnetic mine for use against stationary tanks. It is- applied by hand to a tank and the placer has time to withdraw to a safe distance before the mine explodes.