NEW RUSSIAN OPERATIONS

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23537, 15 January 1942, Page 5

NEW RUSSIAN OPERATIONS

LOZOVSKY CONFIDENT “GERMANS BEGINNING TO FALL TO PIECES” (Received January 14, 11.40 p.m.) LONDON, January 14. M. Lozovsky, the Soviet spokesman, revealed to journalists at Kuibishev that intense new military operations are under way. The immense opera* tions now going on would soon show results on Russia’s western front and in the Crimea. Both the front and rear of the German armies were beginning to fall to pieces, he said, and the German soldiers were now concerned only with getting out of Russia alive and as soon as possible. M. Lozovsky added: “The situation of the Germans in the Crimea is certainly no better than it is on the central front. The Germans are too fond of occupying large spaces with mechanised units too few in number.” Referring to Mozhaisk as the last Axis bastion before Moscow, M. Lozovsky said: ‘‘The situation of the 100.000 German troops there is unenviable. Our communiques will tell you more about that before long.” M. Lozovsky said that since the beginning of the great Russian counteroffensive on November 16 more than 33.000 square miles of territory had been recaptured to January 6. The heavy German losses, he asserted, were the main reasons for the quarrels between Hitler and his generals, and Germany was now seeking, new forces in Italy, Rumania, and Hungary. Asked to comment on Russian-Jap-anese relations, M. Lozovsky replied that this was unnecessary, as they were unchanged. M. Lozovsky declared that the military position in Russia was now definitely favourable to the Soviet. It was unlikely that the Germans would be able to strengthen their lines. He added that the Germans had launched a new campaign against what they called the danger of Bolshevism, this apparently being designed to cause unrest among the freedom-lov-ing nations of the world, and to coyer up the smashing defeats now being inflicted on the retreating German army. A message from Moscow says that Colonel Vasilyev, in an article in the “Soviet War News," says that in the final offensive against Moscow and the Red Army’s counter-offensive up to Januarv 1. the Germans lost 2200 tanks, 14.270 lorries, 1991 guns, 1758 mortars, and 2431 machine-guns. Germans killed numbered 142,480. and 280,400 were wounded, . These losses, he says, are equivalent to 11 tank divisions and between five and six motorised divisions. The guns lost would arm between 55 and 60 regiments. About 80 per cent, of the effectives employed in the German ofI fensive to November 16 had been killed or wounded. Second Canadian Defence Loam— The Canadian Finance Minister (Mr J L Ilsley) announced that Canadas second victory loan of 600.000,000 dollars will open in the middle or reoruary.—Ottawa, January 13.