SMALL PROGRESS INDICATED

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23401, 7 August 1941, Page 7

SMALL PROGRESS INDICATED

New German Thrusts In Russia heaviest pressure IN UKRAINE

(fNITEO PH ESS ASSOCIATION —COPYRIGHT.) (Received August 6, 11 p.m.)

LONDON, August 6,

The latest news from the eastern front suggests that the Germans are making little impression in their new thrusts against the right wing of Marshal Timoshenko’s army guarding the road to Moscow and against the Russian forces under Marshal Budenny round Kiev.

To-day’s communique from Moscow again speaks of fighting in the direction of Kholm, about midway between Leningrad and Smolensk, and also in the area of Smolensk and near Byelaya Tserkov, south-west of Kiev. A reference to battles continuing in Estonia geems to dispose of German claims, to have mopped up the Russians there.

The German pincers movement in the Ukraine is believed to be their chief effort at the moment, but German claims of successes are still not confirmed by any reliable source.

The Official German News Agency claims the Germans have captured Kholm, and the Finns claim considerable progress in the region of Lake Ladoga and also in the Suomussalmi sector, further north, but the Stockholm correspondent of “The Times” declares that (he . position on the Finnish fronts is temporarily stable. Reports from Helsinki indicate that the Finns to reach a line where they can await progress by the German forces driving across Estonia, with a view t(b launching a joint attack against Leningrad.

The correspondent adds: “The Russian reference fighting at Kholm suggests that the Russians have retired from Novo-rzhev. Indeed, the chief or only reason for strongly defending Novo-rzhev would be to hold the important railway running parallel to the Russian frontier. The region round Kholm is very marshy and should be easily defendable against heavy vehicles, which are scarcely likely to attempt to press far east in this area. The Germans may, therefore, swing north to join the general offensive against Leningrad or south towards Sokolniki and Nevel to augment converging thrusts planned against Moscow.

“Nothing beyond official German claims suggests that the situation round Smolensk has substantially changed, and there is no evidence justifying the German reference to a Russian collapse, which is extremely unlikely.”

fhe Berlin correspondents of Swedish newspapers suggest that the German High Command is specially emphasising the Ukraine drive in order to give the German public the impression that operations are terminating in the Smolensk area, and it is making the sameclaims encirclements in the Kiev region as were made in the early days of the drive against I Smolensk. The Germans similarly promise enormous captures of men and material. The Russians, however, persistently refuse to "He down” in the Smolensk sector, where the hostilities are _ covicted py the Russian communiques familiar phrase of "continued fighting.” It it not yet clear whether the switch of Gefman attention from Smolensk to the south—and to a lesser extent to the north—lndicates determination to ■develop fresh major drives in these (areal, or whether it merely constitutes ja diversion while the Germans are massing iOr a great effort in the centre. A Special German communique states; “German forces in the Smolensk enclosure on Monday continued their annihilation movement and encircled iSovlef forces. Russian troops, using a final desperate effort to break out, but collapsed under the Ger,'manflre. "The enemy forces which have been encircled and confined in a small area in the Ukraine failed in their attempts jto break through and were partly wipediout. /

caused heavy losses to German mechanised and infantry units. In raids on enemy aerodromes the Russians claimed to have shot down or destroyed on the ground 53 German aircr&f t The Russians also say that 35 prisoners who were taken in the direction of Byelaya Tserkov said that they had subsisted on cats, dogs, and field mice, and had been tortured by thirst because the peasants had destroyed everything, including the wells. Soviet aeroplanes gave them no rest, day or night, so they were unable to dig wolls* The Moscow'radio, describing the destruction of the 253 rd German Infantry Division, stated that 2250 officers and men were killed,, and 24 field guns, 29 mortars, 47 lorries, and 90 motor-cycles, also the division’s supply train, were captured. Five hundred Germans were killed during the rout of the 111 th Mechanised Regiment. . The Moscow correspondent' of the "Daily Telegraph” quotes a .statement by Count Aleksey Tolstoy, who is in touch with Government circles, that the Red Army in a week of particularly heavy fighting, smashed five German divisions and also a column of ouu tanks which were destroyed to the last machine. ‘ . A „ ■ Marshal Budenny, the Soviet • Com-mander-in-Chief in the Ukraine, in a proclamation calls on the Russians in the territory occupied by the Germans, to band together in guerrilla units and carry out fully M. Stalin's “scorchedearth’ ’ policy. -Those capable of bearing arms should join partisan units, organise new detachments, destroy the Nazi flogs, overturn trains, and blow up dumps,” he said. “Do not allow an ounce of bread to reach the enemy. Harvest exactly as much as you need

“0l)flng the extension of the front 63 | tnilfj'South-east from Smolensk we carried out a surprise attack on a new ‘formation of enemy forces, and partly iencircled and partly destroyed them.” A. Hungarian communique states: i Hungarian troops have reached the jnver Bug. Operations are proceeding according to plan.”

i h^eL Beriin radio claimed yesterday Sri “te Germans had captured Kiev. however, is in line with propaganda routine of p,“£tunng” all towns mentioned in the *‘ us «lan communiques. . Qetman propaganda continues to *"«*e excuses for the slowing-down of advance into Russia. It that the German High Command gjiot much concerned with the time it to wear down Russian resist■WCtfc,: *

and destroy the remainder. The hour of victory is approaching." The Moscow radio says that a collective farmers’ unit operating near a German-occupied town has destroyed two German supply trains and six fuel trains In six days. ; A Zurich report says the Royal Air Force dropped pamphlets on Berlin on Saturday night declaring that the Russians are still capable of a long resistance and will soon be launching eneclive counter-offensives. ■ ■ The Moscow newspaper “Pravdd states that the Germans are using 170 divisions on the eastern front, incjliding armoured and mechanised unitsGerman military headquarters, according to Ankara reports, do not her lieve-that victory can be achieved until next spring! ... . . Dr. V. Gayda, the Italian publicist, writing in the “Giornale d’ltalla,” states that the extent of the' Russian reserves is still unknown to the Germans. ' . , German, aeroplanes again raided Moscow last night. Five were destroyed. Some penetrated the outer defences and bombed private property, but Moscow reports say that no fires were caused. ■. ■ . The Stalin motor works, the largest in Moscow, are said to have been destroyed in a German air attack, but this report is denied in Moscow. Foreign correspondents have been invited to visit the work*. i f4

to a supplementary - comroiayque issued in Moscow, the Gerloth Motorised Division, after attempts to pierce the Soviet in the north-west direction, XKt &nally forced to retreat, leaving iyW. xilled °r wounded, and also 60 jnacftine-gung, 12 other guns, 16 flameto r< #«W, and nine antitank guns. v A! German Infantry -regiment near A?rOSton was smashed 1 by a deterSoviet counter-attack. More than ?300 Germans were killed or wounded, and many were taken prisincluding the regiment's commander.

The German losses are so heavy thati the reserves of regular troops are] rapidly becoming exhausted. Old- 1 ciass'-wservists and youths aged 16 to] r‘ are now being used in many sectors.s In one sector junior cadets from] the Berlin Cadet School participated in the fighting. Many surrendered. . Au.... earlier Russian communique rtatos that the Red Air Fores had