NAZI FATE IN BIG BATTLE

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 259, 29 July 1941, Page 7

NAZI FATE IN BIG BATTLE

Confident Hint By Moscow GERMAN ADMISSION Old-Style Army Thrown In As Reinforcement (By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.) (Received July 28, 10.30 p.m.) LONDON, July 28. The Russian-German front has become a gigantic, continuous Verdun. The Moscow spokesman, M. Lozovsky, making this statement today, said: “We cannot yet give details of the vast Smolensk battle, but we will do so immediately the Germans are finally beaten there. It is a battle which will be studied for many years. “The Luftwaffe will not last long if its present losses continue. Plans by the Germans to seize aerodromes near Moscow have been frustrated, and the Germans are obliged to operate against the capital from a distance because of the continuous Soviet bombing of their advanced aerodromes.

“Some people thought we exaggerated when we said that the loss of certain territories earlier was not decisive, but the Soviet Union, with its numerous industrial centres, can afford to lose a small proportion of its territory.”

M. Lozovsky added that the guerrilla units are daily growing in number and strength, and .they often act in communication with the Red Army. One unit recaptured Slutsk (near the centre of the old Soviet frontier), killing off the entire German garrison and destroying the German stocks and retiring only when German reinforcements arrived. A guerrilla unit at Lun'iniec, Eastern Poland, destroyed 3000 tons of grain which the Germans had stolen and also petrol stores and blew up 10 bridges. Another unit destroyed 30 tanks and armoured vehicles. The guerrillas’ tricks, the spokesman said, are causing panic among the Germans. Wires are stretched across roads at nights to knock off motor-cyclists, and spiked bars puncture enemy tyres. The Germans are making reprisals by killing captured guerrillas with horrible tortures. The distinct sobering of the German view of the war is shown in a review in the “Frankfurter Zeitung” of the first five weeks of fighting. “The war in the east has developed quite differently from that in the west last year and has become the most adventurous war in history,” it states. "A front line no lodger exists. Our tanks are often separated from the infantry units, which fight in confidence that our Luftwaffe and motorized forces will come to their desperate need. “Our tanks realize that after breaking on oncoming wave of enemy troops the enemy will ever and again close 'behind them, but ours do not retreat. Everything depends on whether reinforcements arrive in time. Deep Russian Thrusts. “The Russians have lately developed tactics of deeply penetrating our lines, and therefore it is difficult to designate our exact positions. Actually the front is split into many confused fighting centres. “Nothing is more incorrect than to assume that our western methods can be applied against the Russians, who have proved themselves tougher than we expected. Everything shows that the Red Army General Staff is determined to oppose us not .merely on the defensive but with its own offensive.” General Liebemann in an article in the “Berliner Boersen Zeitung” , says that the Russian resistance has necessitated throwing in the entire German army, the majority of which consists of non-motorized infantry and horse-drawn wag- ' gons and batteries. Great New Effort By Luftwaffe Flung impatiently ahead on the tangled battlefields on which the Germans have got nowhere worth mentioning for days, aerial armadas are striving to reintroduce the blitzkrieg into the invasion of Russia. The Soviet air force is replying with weight.

As indicating: the extent of the air activity, though grossly exaggerating the Russian losses, Berlin sources claim the destruction of hundreds of Soviet planes in the last two days. According to the Moscow radio, the Luftwaffe, which is sending hundreds of nlanes in waves against Moscow and Leningrad, is suffering heayy losses and achieving little. The “Isvestia” describes a Soviet attack on a German advanced aerodrome. Fighters attacked first, setting fire to Junkers and Messerschmitts, and then Soviet bombers joined in. The crews in the last wave counted 30 planes in flames on the ground, and 20 others were riddled with bullets and put out of action. The Soviet fighters paralysed the enemy’s anti-air-craft fire. The raid lasted for several hours, but no German plane succeeded in taking off. Finally, the aerodrome was destroyed.

Defence of Moscow. It is learned in London that last night’s air raid on Moscow began shortly before midnight and ended at 3.30 a.m. An immense flak barrage compelled the raiders to fly high. No large fires occurred. There was no news of any German air raid on Moscow last night. It is officially stated that the air offensive against Moscow, Leningrad, and Kiev has not produced what the Germans expected. Only a small number of planes have succeeded in reaching their objectives, and most of them have been destroyed. The Germans are reported to have used picked pilots in these raids, but judging by the amount of fuel in their machines they have not been able to make use of advance bases for the raids. The latest Russian communique says that the Soviet airforce, in co-operation with the land forces, continued successful operations against enemy units. Oil depots at Constanta were also bombed, and" a Finnish warship engaged in coastal defence was hit by a 500 kilogram bomb. The Moscow correspondent of the •Daily Telegraph,” confirming that the Smolensk garrison is still holding out with the greatest firmness and courage, says that the Nazi war machine has been definitely’ checked on the central front. .Marshal Timoshenko’s army, which lias been heavily reinforced, is counter-attacking gamely round Smolensk. According to other reliable reports, the large-scale counter-attack launched by the Russians in the vital central front continues.

The German news agency yesterday said that two Soviet divisions were completely wiped out in the Mohilve area, and 23,000 prisoners were taken. A German communique said: “Operations are continuing successfully on the whole of the eastern front.” A Finnish communique today de-

clared' that German motorized

troops have penetrated south of Leningrad from the Lake Ladoga front, thus completing the encircle-

ment of the city. The Russian midnight communique recorded no change on the front. It said that Soviet planes in the Baltic yesterday sank a submarine, two tor-pedo-boats and two oil tankers. Nazi Divisions Cut Up.

The war correspondent of the “Izvestia,” Moscow, describes a night raid which was made against the headquarters of a German tank division, the whereabouts of which was discovered by scouts. Soviet infantry, supported by a light artillery battery silently surrounded the headquarters at dusk and attacked simultaneously from three sides.

The Germans attempted to resist but were soon put to flight. Members of the divisional staff jumped from windows in panic, abandoning important documents. The. Russians took 300 prisoners, including eight divisional and 10 battalion staff members. The Stockholm correspondent of the “Telegraph” tells of how the Russians lured 10,000 Germans to their doom on the Smolensk front, cutting up the German sth Infantry Division, consisting of motorized infantry from General Schmidt’s famed army corps. The German sth Division arrived at the front on July 18 to support panzer columns which the Russian tank charges had driven from the blazing outskirts of Smolensk. Small groups of Russian scouts on July 19 approached a village where the Germans had assembled and captured two sentries from whom details of the German strength and dispositions were extracted.

For three days the Russians collected assault troops and materials, and then small motorized groups approached the village, opening up vigorous machine-gun fire. The Germans replied and began to pursue the motorized unit into a thick forest.

where the main Russian forces were waiting. The Germans, who believed that no Russian forces were, within 10 miles and that they were dealing with an isolated band of guerrillas, dispatched the main part of their mobile forces to surround and mop up the band, leaving their base unguarded. Russian tank forces waiting on the flanks then launched crushing blows against the Germans. Tank-fire accounted for most of the German vehicles in addition to nearly 10,000 Head.

The correspondent adds, “That is not the only evidence that the Germans’ second great offensive has probably been stranded. It is childish to assume that the Nazis have made no advances in the last twelve days or that the Russians have not suffered severe losses, but the Germans know that every minute’s delay hastens the doom of their dream of lightning victory.”

RUSSIANS’ STAND Nazi Swallows Former Brag (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, July 27. It is felt in authoritative circles here that all signs point to the fact that there has been no serious or marked change in the position during the last week. There were few signs of any further advance by the Nazi hordes, and there was only a small advance by the Finns in the north. Communiques and reports coming in have confirmed the view: that the Russian armies are doing well, while the Russian air force is doing extraordinarily good work, particularly in attacking the German armoured formations and also oil refineries in Rumania.

Great significance is attached to the changed tone of the German propaganda, which recently claimed that the Russians were throwing in their last reserves.

The German High Command spokesman said last night: “It has become evident that the enemy, in spite of bis heavy losses, is still able to throw fresh units into the battle. Time and again very fierce Russian counteroffensives have to be checked.” He followed this by’ the statement: “If you review this state of affairs without bias, you must comprehend that such a battle takes time,” quite forgetting that he had already announced that organized resistance by Russia was ending, that the Stalin Line had been pierced everywhere by the invincible Nazis, and that the Russian campaign would end quickly.

CLAIM OF RED ARMY PURGE (Received July 28, 10.30 p.m.) ' LONDON, July 28. A Helsinki message reports that captured Russian documents revealed that M. Stalin has inaugurated a fresh purge iu the Red Army, “liquidating” nine generals.