RUSSIANS LAUNCH BIG BALTIC PUSH

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 301, 20 December 1943, Page 3

RUSSIANS LAUNCH BIG BALTIC PUSH

(N.Z.P.A. —Copyright.—Rec. 12.30 p.m.) LONDON, December 19. The opening by the Russian Army of a Baltic front offensive is announced in to-night's Soviet communique. The communique says that troops on the Russian Baltic front, commanded by General Bagramyan, have in the past few days launched an offensive and pierced the strongly-fortified German line south of Neval on a front extending 50 miles by 20 miles deep. In five days of heavy fighting the Russians have liberated over 500 inhabited localities, including the district centre of Yezerishche, in Vitebsk area. During the fighting the Russians routed three infantry divisions and one tank division, also several security divisions. They destroyed 69 tanks, 164 guns, 123 trench mortars, 586 machineguns, 760 lorries and 16 dumps. The Germans left upwards of 20,000 dead on the battlefield. "We took prisoner over 2000," says the communique, "and captured 194 guns, 75 trench mortars, 735 machine-guns, over 5000 rifles and tommy-guns, 37 tanks, 110 lorries, 24 ammunition supply dumps and 200 carts filled with supplies. The Moscow radio military commentator stated that the Russians, in the first fortnight of December, destroyed or disabled over 800 German tanks, 60 or 70 per cent of which were put out of action by artillery.