RUSSIANS ADVANCE ON SEVERAL FRONTS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 213, 8 September 1943, Page 3

RUSSIANS ADVANCE ON SEVERAL FRONTS

KEY TOW«S FALL

Red Army Cuts Railway To Bakhmach N.Z. Press Association—Copyright Rec. 1.30 p.m. LONDON, Sep. 7. "Russian forcg.% in the Donetz Basin advanced between six and 12 miles to-day and captured over 90 inhabited localities including some large centres" states to-night's Soviet communique. "The Russians in the direction of Bakhmach advanced between six and 10 miles and occupied over 150 inhabited localities, including Baturin, 10 miles northeast of Bakhmach, and one of the district centres in the Chernigov region. "South of Bryansk the Russians advanced between six and 10 miles and captured over 50 inhabited places, including the railway junction of Navlya, 25 miles south of Bryansk. The capture of Navlya cuts one railway to Konotop and another southward through Lgov to Kharkov. "The Russians also captured Gorodische, 30 miles north-west of Konotop, on the western bank of the Desna River. This means that the Gomel-Bakhmach railway is cut. "The Russians south and southwest of Kharkov advanced in some sectors between two and a half and four and a half miles, capturing a number of inhabited localities. The Russians reoccupied Zenkov, 44 miles north-west of Poltava, which has repeatedly changed hands. The Russians in the direction of Smolensk fought offensive battles forthe improvement of their positions." Huge German bosses

A later Russian communique j states that Russian forces in all sectors from July 5 to September 5 destroyed 5729 planes, 8400 tanks, 5192 guns and over 28.000 motor vehicles. The German dead totalled over 420,000, while killed and wounded together totalled at least 1,500,000. The Russians- captured 1041 tanks, 2188 guns, 5382 machineguns and 7853 motor vehicles, and took, 38,600 prisoners.

Five Red Army groups are pushing the Germans back on an almost continuous line along the 800-mile front, says dispatches from Moscow. Berlin military circles admit that the Germans are "continuing elastic defence" and falling back before the massive Russian thrusts in which up to 160,000 men are being used for a single attack.

Commenting on the constant German claim about the necessity for shortening the line in Russia, the military writer of the Exchange Telegraph Company points out that the present front in Russia is approximately 100 miles longer than on July 5, when offensive operations began.

Allied correspondents in Moscow say the Russians are striking relentlessly with undiminished force against key points. Latest front-line reports indicate that Stalino cannot hold out much longer. The Russian drive farther north, aimed at cutting tlie railway between the German northern and southern armies at Bakhmach, continues to make headway. Sea of Azov Threat The Times correspondent in Stockholm says that Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov, must be evacuated without delay otherwise, with the sole railway cut, it will share the fate of Taganrog, where a large German force was trapped. "The Russian guns which smashed the German strongholds last month," the correspondent adds, "precipitated the withdrawal in the Donetz Basin last week, but the retreat since then has been more or less according to plan with the dashing Russians accelerating the pace. The Germans have nowhere managed anything like a determined stand since the general westward movement began."