GERMANS HURLED BACK AT VITEBSK

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 304, 23 December 1943, Page 5

GERMANS HURLED BACK AT VITEBSK

(N.Z.P.A. —Copyright.—Rec. 12.30 p.m.) LONDON, Dec. 22. "The Red Army has smashed the main German defences before Vitebsk and Russian troops, tanks and guns are pouring through like an avalanche that cannot be halted," declared Moscow radio to-night. Quoting reconnaissance reports, the radio added that positions which the Germans built with labour over a period of many months are being abandoned. Russian troops who crashed' through to the rear have linked up with the main forces. A strong German force, which at the last minute hoped to stem the Russian attack, was wiped out. The correspondent of the Moscow newspaper Izvestia reports that the Russian Air Force is in action against long columns of German lorries retreating to Vitebsk, and the roads, which are only narrow banks of firm ground between surrounding swamps, are being turned into ribbons of flame as the line of blazing vehicles extends. German tanks, in an effort to avoid the devastating attacks from the Russian pilots, are being forced off the roads into the swamps. They can be seen dispersing over a wide area.

The Soviet magazine Pravda says that, when the Red Armybroke through the German lines north of Vitebsk, German divisions were slashed to pieces. The Germans, cut o'ff from each other and ousted from their strongholds, were overcome. In panic, they stampeded through forests and marshes, abandoning lorries and weapons. They were surrounded. About 100 Stormoviks had previously strafed the German defences for an hour. The Germans put up about 270 planes over the battlefield during the day in an attempt to stem the Russian advance.