RED ARMY CAPTURES POLTAVA AND ONECHA

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 227, 24 September 1943, Page 3

RED ARMY CAPTURES POLTAVA AND ONECHA

MAY TRAP GERMANS Liberating 40 Towns And Villages Every Hour Rec. noon. LONDON, Sept. 23. With the capture of Poltava, the Russian Army has eliminated the last great German strongpoint barring their progress towards the Dnieper River on the front from Chernigov to Pavlograd. Moscow correspondents, emphasising the importance of the capture of this big railway junction, point out that, with the Russians astride the Poltava - Kremenchug railway, only a single, narrow road is available for moving German troops back to the Dnieper River from Poltava.

The British United Press correspondent says the fate of the German armies in the Poltava area depends on whether they can outrace the Russians to Kremenchug. If they cannot do so large German forces may be trapped because considerable reinforcements were thrown in to retain Poltava.

The Russians forced the Voskla River and fought a fierce three-day battle before capturing Poltava. To-day's German communique states: "Poltava was abandoned according to plan after the destruction of all installations." . Great Drive Against Dnieper The Red Army in its great drive against the Dnieper is liberating towns and villages at the rate of 40 every hour, says Reuters correspondent in Moscow. Russian shells are whistling over the Dnieper to the high western bank as the Russian vanguards drive spearheads to the river below Kiev and against the centre of the great Dnieper bend. The Great Ukraine offensive has developed into a rapid investment of the Dnieper bridgehead cities of Kiev, Kremenchug, Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhe. The stage is now set for the battle preliminary to crossing the Dnieper River itself. The Russians have 350 miles of river length from which to choose crossing places.

The German forces are resisting desperately as the battle nears the Dnieper. * The enemy has covered all roads and approaches to bridgeheads with massed cannon and mortar batteries. The Russian Army to the north has increased the threat to Smolensk by the capture of Unecha, a vital function on the Gomel-Bryansk railv,*ay, from Avhich the Russians may eventually be able to outflank Smolensk from the south.

The capture of Poltava is confirmed in* an Order of the Day by Marshal Stalin. A second Order of the Day announces the capture of Unecha, on the Bryansk front. The first order stated "Russian troops developed their offensive and crossed the River Vorskla, and after three daj r s of intense fighting to-day occupied the Ukranian regional centre, the town of Poltava, which was a powerful key centre of enemy resistance, to the left bank of the river, and inflicted heavy losses in men and equipment on the enemy, seriously interfered with his movements, interrupted communications and prevented the concentration of his forces to launch counter-attacks."

The Germans are being inexorably expelled from the Kuban country, says The Times correspondent in Stockholm. The majority are escaping to the Crimea by air, some in small craft from Bay and Taman Bay, and a few by the funicular railway across 'Kerch Straits. If the reports are true Melitopol is almost isolated and an exciting race must develop to cut off the German retreat through the Perekop Isthmus. To-night's Soviet communique reports that 860 inhabited places have been occupied in advances on all fronts varying from three to 13 miles on all fronts. In the Kremenchug sector the large inhabited locality of Semenovka was captured. The Russians also took Gogolev, on the Kiev front, Pachina, in the Smolensk sector, and the large locality of Ozanovo, ten miles north-east of Smolensk.

U.S. WAR PRODUCTION

GAINS IN MOST CATEGORIES Rec. 9.30 a.m. LONDON, Sept. 23. The August report by Mr. Donald Nelson, chairman of the War Production Board, on United States war production, shows continuing gains in virtually all categories of war materials. On a fixed dollar basis, munitions production has increased nearly 30 times since August, 1940. In spite of this progress, states the report, "we are still short of current aircraft schedules." Meanwhile, what is of paramount importance to the fighting forces—improved quality has been secured. While gains in plane production have been sharp, the demand has increased even more sharply as a result of the intensified aerial warfare. Thus a further rapid increase in the volume of production and .a further improvement in quality are required.

Deliveries of naval vessels alone reached a new peak with 284,000 displacement tons, representing a 40 per cent gain over the July total Merchant ship construction was more or less level with the total for two preceding months.