Late News RUSSIANS SWEEP ONWARD

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 118, 14 February 1944, Page 6

Late News RUSSIANS SWEEP ONWARD

200-Mile Front In South GERMAN WASTE OF PANZERS (By Telegraph.—Press Assn. —Copyright.) (Received February 14, 1.30 a.ni.) LONDON, February 13. The Red Army is sweeping forward on a 200-miie front against the entire hank of Hitler’s forces in southern Russia, reports Reuter’s Moscow correspondent. The German troops in this area protect the roads to Rumania and Ploesti. The Russian advance also threatens more seriously General Von Mannstein’s vital railway lifelines for the German forces centred on Kherson. Nikolaev and Odessa. The Germans are halting their retreat from the eastern Dnieper bend, apparently hoping to hold up the Russians on a line barring the approaches to the Black Sea cities. The position is unchanged at Krivoi Rog but the Russians are now favourably’ placed to launch a general assault. Cossacks are cutting to ribbons the Germans trapped north of Shpola and a huge ring of Russian guns is continuing to hammer the remaining Germans, yon Mannstein in the past 24 hours has failed with repeated attacks aimed to relieve the dwindling divisions still holding out. „ The British United Press correspondent says that the military authorities in Moscow cannot understand why the German High Command keeps throwing m panzer units from the west a'gainst the Red Army ring encircling the Kanev pock; et .and continues to replace scores ot tanks which are. daily knocked out m futile effort. Officials are of the opinion that Hitler may be senselessly throwing away a valuable division in the merest hope of evtricating even a few of the entrapped troops so that he can say that the Germans avoided another encirclement defeat which German soldiers have grown most to fear. Vichy radio reports that the Russians have established several bridge-heads on the lower Dnieper and Kherson areas in operations believed to be a prelude to a powerful offensive. The Russians are now closing in on Luga from the north and east.

' A Russian supplementary communique states that an extremely fierce battle developed north-east of Syenigorodka when the Germans threw in large tank and infantry forces in a bid to break through and relieve the encircled group. Russian artillery fire and counter-attacks took severe toll, of the Germans who were driven bach, losing more than 2000 men. The Russians in the fighting for S.hepetovka routed large German forces and more than 3200 German bodies were counted in the streets alone. ,