End Of Melitopol Battle In Sight

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 252, 23 October 1943, Page 5

End Of Melitopol Battle In Sight

PIMUCE GERMAN STAND Defeat On Dnieper Would Mean Loss Of Ukraine N.Z.P.A. Copyright.—Rec. 12.30 p.m. LONDON, October ?? The Red Army is relentlessly dosing the escape gap for the German Army ,n the Dnieper bend, which, according to late,l reports from Moscow, has already been cut down to less than 60 m, es. The Russian wedge inside the bend is now firmly blsed mile's 40 m ' ,eS Which It Reuters correspondent in Moscow says there is no semblance of any German fine ,ns.de the bend. The Germans are fighting a ser.es of Ihast.ly-.mproy.sed actions from one fortified point tl another. With the end of the ep.c battle for Melitopol in sight, the second stage m the battle for the Dnieper bend is opening Special Russian storm units are clearing the last quarter of Melt topol still in L>erman hands. ,T he Clt ivr S fil ! a - , re jV 0 . 11011 will spring a trap on FieldMarshal von Mannstem s divisions within the bend by releasing big Soviet forces for a sweep round the Southern Dnieper to its mouth at Kherson, Keuters correspondent adds. , .." The P re ba " le t w '!l Prove to be one of the most decisive since Stalingrad. It is not without reason that German prisoners are now saying that the loss of the Dnieper means the loss of the Ukraine, which will foreshadow the doom of the German armies in Russia.

"The suspense with which the people of Moscow are following events is shown by the crowds jostling around news bulletins, but as the battle for Melitopol enters the final phase German resistance has reached a new peak of fanaticism. They are launching as many as four counter-attacks an hour. No fewer than 30 counter-attacks in battalion strength were repulsed yesterday when Russian assault squads cleared 2 1 new city blocks. Fought Out With Bayonets, Knives and Hand Grenades "The main battle for the city is split up into individual clashes which are being fought out to the last man on the stairs of upper floors of every house with bayonets, knives and hand grenades, adds Reuters correspondent. "In contrast with the stand being made by the enemy at Melitopol, the very heavy tank battles of the past few days north of Krivoi Rog have slackened. The Germans are apparently either husbanding their resources or regrouping for renewed counter-attacks, but only a succession of counter-blows more powerful than any von Mannstein has yet been able to- achieve can stave off the present threat which has the, making of a major disaster. Once deprived of Krivoi Rog, it is most unlikely that the Germans will be able to extricate, by the alternative tortuous railway route, more than a relatively small proportion of the troops within the Dnieper bend. Progress along the east to west railway is slow but steady. "The Russians in the west are less than 30 miles from Snamenka, which is the focus of all railways running westward from the bend. The Russians in the east are also increasing their direct threat to Dnepropetrovsk." According to Swiss radio the Russians have encircled Dnepropetrovsk. The British United Press correspondent in Moscow says there is no longer any doubt about the decisive character of the Dnieper bend fighting. All Russian communiques show one thing above everything else—the Germans are standing and fighting there. There are hardly any German prisoners, which indicates that the Germans are fighting it out, knowing that the most disastrous retreat of all is hanging.over their heads.