DNIEPER LINE BATTLE

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 1, 27 September 1943, Page 5

DNIEPER LINE BATTLE

Vast Army Attacks UNITS CROSSING THE RIVER (Received September 26, 11.10 p.m.) LONDON, September 26. “The Red Army is smasliing its way across the broad Dnieper at half a dozen points along a 400-mile front from above Kiev to below Dnepropetrovsk, state dispatches from Moscow. Millions of men and incredible numbers of guns and tanks are deployed in this battle for the Dnieper—termed the gre a test battle in history since the smashing of the Hindenburg Line hi the last war. Powerful tank and motorized Russian spearheads are tackling the ttemendous task of crossing Europe’s third largest river, which -in some places is a mile wide. Hundreds of rafts, rubber dinghies, and flat-bottom-ed boats are.ferrying across the. river under the protection of a heavy artillery barrage where resistance is encountered. The mopping up of the remaining centres of German resistance between the Red Army and the whole of , the eastern bank of the Dnieper is now going on. The Russians are said to have stormed into the suburbs of Kiev. Another report says that three thrusts are converging on Kiev. Flanking columns both north and south of the city are endeavouring to cross the river. The Germans are putting' up very fierce resistance on this sector, and are counter-attacking all the

time. Crossings of the Dnieper have not yet been officially announced. In the Kuban area the Russians are pursuing the enemy across the marshes of the Taman Peninsula. Russian troops today are pouring into the shattered defence positions round Smolensk, and are massing for a strong new drive for Vitebsk, 80 miles to the north-west. Great fires were blazing on all sides of Smolensk and Roslavl when the Germans left, said Berlin radio. “The Russians saw the fires blazing, and increased their efforts to Interfere with our movements. Our troops held the Russians off, and we disengaged sector by sector, nnd left Smolensk after blowing up the bridges.”

RED ARMY’S GREAT. FIRE-POWER (Received September 26, 7 p.m.) ’ LONDON, September 25. Fire-power is the secret of the success of the Russians’ summer campaign, says the British United Press correspondent in Moscow. The Red Army has suddenly revealed that the infantry fire-power is seven times as strong and the artillery fire-power three times as strong as that possessed in 1939. For example, in the battle for Kharkov the Russians concentrated 200 guns over every 1100 yards north and east of the city against German artillery concentrations of 150 guns over every 1100 yards.

AXIS LAND-HOLDERS IN HIDING (

RUGBY, September 24.

General Konev’s drive from Poltava is like a big stick thrust into the anthill of the German New Order in the east Ukraine, says a Moscow message, which ad'lif that thousands of Germanfed drones have been abandoned to their fata and roam the countryside, having been transformed overnight from respectable citizens of the Reich into outlaws.

One estate manager drove out to superintend the work in some fields and when ho returned home for dinner he found ihe Red Army in jtossession. A former local land owner who came into his Inheritance for services rendered to the Germans was captured near his eatate-

n the woods netfr Poltava Red Army men unearthed what seemed like a nudist cnmj>~Oermnn soldiers undressed and ready to swirn across the Vorskla. In the woods two German soldiers were caught on the west bank trying to steal the uniforms of Russian soldiers bathing in the river.

FINNISH RELATIONS

(Received September 26, 7 p.m.)

LONDON, September 25.

Deprecating foreign discussions on Finland’s reported desire for pence, the Finnish Minister of Finance, Mr. Tanner, speaking in Helsinki, declared: “Such scribblings do Finland great harm. Our only enemy is Russia. Finland wishes to maintain.cordial relations with all other nations.”