FALL OF LUGA

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 119, 15 February 1944, Page 5

FALL OF LUGA

By-Pass Manoeuvre By Russians (British Official Wireless and Press Assn.) (Received February 14, 7 p.m.) RUGBY, February 13. Ruga, the important German base, 85 miles south-west of Leningrad, has fallen to the Russian arms. Marshal Stalin announces the latest victory in yet another order of the day. Addressed to the army of General Govorov, it says in part: “On the Leningrad front troops developed the offensive as a result of a skilful by-pass manoeuvre, then by storm yesterday occupied the town of Luga, an important centre of communication lines and a powerful centre of German resistance.” J Luga was occupied by the Germans on Augrust 26, 1041. Describing the capture of Luga, a Russian supplementary communique says that the Germans were overcome by street fighting. They had converted stone buildings into strongholds, and erected numerous firing points in which they offered stubborn resistance.' Rus ; sian formations, while the street fighting was in progress, outflanked the town from the east and west. Not allowing the Germans to regroup, the Russians captured the town by storm. The capture of Luga opens up prospects of a new drive for the Baltic. The'' German collapse in the north has been a. major reverse. It is less than a month since the . Soviet northern armies launched their double offensive between Leningrad and Lake Ilmeh, and in this time they have driven the enemy from all but the south-west corner of this front.

Reuter says that the fall of Luga seals the fate of the Germans east of the Leningrad-Luga railway. Luga, 80 miles south of Leningrad, is the situation of the junction of the Leningrad-Pskov-Vilna trunk line. The Leningrad Province has been completely cleared of Germans. General Govorov beat General Mergtskov by a short head in the race to take Luga. Its capture deprives the Germans of their last main keypoint between Lake Ilmen and the Narva River; nevertheless the Germans held it long enough for most of their troops threatened with encirclement in the Volkhov area to get out. The Moscow correspondent of the United' Press says that llth-hour German efforts to stop the Russian drive against the line of the Luga River failed ip the face of a terrific bombardment from the Red Army’s siege guns, which had been dragged up ou to high ground. The Germans had installed concrete fortifications on the west bank of the river, which is higher than the eastern bank. German sharpshooters thus had the advantage of sweeping the river from high vantage points, and -were able to maintain a murderous crossfire; but the Red Army guns blasted out the German strongpoints, and ■ infantry swept across the river. One German line wilted, and the Russians were able to turn the whole river defence of Luga itself.

Tonight’s Soviet communique says: “The eastern shore of Lake Peipus has been cleared of the enemy. Troops on the Leningrad front in the past five days have captured the district centre of Gdov. midway down the eastern shore of Lake Peipus, through which runs the important Narva-Pskov railway. They also captured I.yady. 35 miles east of Gdov.. ’ The Russians on the eastern shore of Lake Peipus also occupied more than 800 inhabited places, including three railway stations.