ADVANCE INTO CAUCASUS

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23714, 12 August 1942, Page 3

ADVANCE INTO CAUCASUS

New Thrust Towards

Grozny

RUSSIANS ADMIT WITHDRAWALS (Received August 11. 11 p.m.) (N.Z.P.A.) LONDON, August 11. Further withdrawals in the Armavir region, in the foothills of the Caucasus, are reported in the latest Soviet communinue. The Rusrians now for the first time announce that the battle has reached the oilfields districts of Maikop and Krasnodar. The Russians have not yet announced the actual fall of Krasnodar and Maikop, claimed by the Germans at the week-end The loss of these towns's generally expected. The German-; have now added Pyatigorsk to the Pst of their Caucasian claims, adding that advanced units of their fastmoving army are already striking eastwards along tlio Terek river. Pyatign”sk is IfiO mde- from Maikon r >'' i half-way to Grozny, another oilfield 100 miles irom the Caspian coast. Earlic reports said that the Russians wore still failing back before slashing German b’ows on the Caucasian foothill;. between Armavir and the Terek river, which the Germans cla ! mod to have reached. It was clear that the Germans were determined to exe t all the pressure they could to cut off Grozny, and that they then honed for the complete severance of the Ru-sian armies end air forces from the main oilfield pv occupying Makhach Kala.on the Caspian. Other dispatches suggested that the German force; were splitting as they reached the Caucasus foothills, one part swinging cast in the direction of Grozny and the Caspian, and the other dealin" v;iih the situation towards the Black Sea. Pace of German Forces In reaching Krasnodar the Germans appear to have advanced 90 miles in a little more than 24 hours, states Mr Paul Winterton. of the London "News Chronicle.” in a dispatch to the 8.8.C. The Soviet armies of the Kuban are in

clanger of encirclement. They arc flghtino under exceptionally difficult circumstances against an enemy superior in almost every weapon as well as in manpower, which is served by a safer and better supply route. The Stockholm correspondent of “The Times” report;- that the Germans encountered determined resistance at many points in the Krasnodar and Armavir areas, but the Russians appear to have transferred their heavy armour lo the Volga, possibly in the -i-Hief tt---» it is unsuitable for mountain warfare. The pie on I oosition on the Sea of A 7,0 vis not e’ear. The indications are that the Russians have fallen back to the Black Sea, probably to Novonsri:sk and also round the mouth of the Kuban river The Berlin radio reported that Rumanian cavalry took the town of Yeisk. on the Sea of Azov. Reports from German sources suggest that the Germans may attempt a mamland movement from the east in order to rapture a bridgehead near the Kerch Straits, after which a fresh army from tnc Crimea could nnur into the Caucasian struggle. The Russians, who are aware of this Possibility, point out that the time will be most propitious for a Russian counter-offen'iye •mywhere f”nrr Voronezh to the Rati-e as soon as the German army from the C"'m?a is entangled in the Caucasus. Mr Neglev Farson. in an article in Hie “Daily Man.” points out that it is necessary for Marshal von Bock to drive his forces across the great Caucasian mountains. H*' can cut off the Russians from their absolutely essential source of fuel oil, first by smashing through the remaining 40 or ou miles from the Don bend to the Volga at Stalingrad, and second by striking swiftly to the Caspian Sea across the Caucasian neck. German air bases at Makhach Knla could command the Caspian, which is hero only 170 miles wide, and dive-bomb everv vessel nt-t<-rrmting to carry oil northwards for the Russians. German shore batteries from Stalingrad could sink oil tankers and food barges trying to struggle up the Volga against the strong current, U.S. EMISSARY IN MOSCOW SECOND FRONT NOT DISCUSSED (Received August 11. 7 p.m.) LONDON, August 10. Major-General Forrest Bradley. United States emissary to Moscow, told Moscow press correspondents of ms meetings with Soviet ‘military lea He said the conversations had been carried out in a spirit of sincere friendship and co-operation, and had dealt exclusively with questions of intensifying American military supplies to Russia. They had nothing to do with second front problems. No British authorities were present and no Butisn deliveries had been discussed. Major-General Bradley has not ym. delivered Mr Roosevelt s letter to M. isi&Mis sssWhK: SECOND FRONT AIR RECONNAISSANCE BY GERMANS reinforcements from RUSSIA LONDON, August 10. “German reconnaissance aeroplanes over Britain have brought reports that the Allied armies are preparing for an invasion of the Continent m the near future,” says the btockho m correspondent of the “Daily telegraph.” ‘‘Captain von Schrammk. a German military commentator, says in the ‘Bruesseler Zeitung that these reports have for the first time forced the threat of a second front to be taken seriously. “Gestapo chiefs in France, Belgium. Norway, and Holland have arrested 100 prominent persons as hostages for their countrymens good behaviour in the event of an Allied landing. “A considerable number of troops, chiefly of panzer or motorised units, have reached the Atlantic mast in the last 10 days, mostly from the Vyazma and Kharkov areas. No secret is made of this, for the Germans hope to stave off an invasion by exaggeration of the scale of their defences.” A Vichy message says that the German military authorities in Paris announce the shooting of 93 Frenchmen convicted of acts of terrorism against German soldiers in occupied France. The announcement says that this follows fresh disorders at certain points in the occupied zone, caused by terrorists and Communists in Britain’s pay. It threatens new measures against the whole population unless they help in discovering terrorists.

Evidence of the anxiety in Germany about the opening of a second front is provided in Hitler’s latest orders to his army in the occupied countries. Columns advancing in Belgium arc to bo headed by groups of women or trucks to keep the troops safe from paratroops.