TRAPPED DIVISIONS LIQUIDATED

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 123, 19 February 1944, Page 7

TRAPPED DIVISIONS LIQUIDATED

Rescue Efforts Fail. At Kanev 50,000 GERMANS KILLED (By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.) (Received February 18, 7 p.m.) LONDON, Feb. 17The German forces in the Kanev pocket have been liquidatedIn an Order of the Day, Marshal Stalin said: “Troops on the Ukrainian front have today as the result of fierce fighting lasting without interruption for a fortnight completed the annihilation of the 1 0 German divisions and one brigade forming part of the German Eighth Army encircled in the Korsun-Srevchenkovsky area. “The Germans in the course of the operation lost 50,000 in killed and the Russians took prisoner 1 1,000 and captured all the German equipment and arms. The Russians are across the lower Dnieper between Kherson and Nikopol, according to an official Berlin announcement which added that General Tolbukhin a few days ago established a bridgehead 30 miles above Borislav, near the river port of Malayalepetikha, and is attacking the German flank forces which have been, resisting the Russians since the abandonment of Nikopol.

Tonight’s Soviet communique repeats Marshal Stalin’s Order of the Day, and adds that the Russians southwest and south of Luga continued the offensive, and captured several inhabited localities, and also south-west of Svenigorodka repelled tank and infantry counter-attacks. Earlier today, official Berlin commentators expressed good hope of penetrating to the units in the Kanev pocket. Commentators described operations in the area where General von Mannstein was trying to relieve the remnants of the 10 trapped German divisions as a see-saw offensive and counter-offensive which reached a high pitch of intensity since Sunday with an appreciable net German gain. Double Drive on Pskov. The Moscow correspondent of “The Times” says the Germans are fighting hard to stem the Russian advance against Pskov from the Luga and Gdov highways and the parallel railways. The sharpest fighting has so far occurred on the roads. The Russians advancing from Luga are now 50 miles from Pskov, and the Russians advancing from Gdov are less than 50 miles from Pskov. German reserves have appeared north of Pskov, and though these counter-attacked yesterday, they did not impede the Russian advance. The German troops occupying positions on the eastern bank of the Narva River are said to have been withdrawn.

A Soviet flotilla on Lake Ilmen, supported by light bombers, smashed the main German harbour base on the lake in a recent attack, states a Moscow message. Enemy craft which formerly landed scouting parties on the Russian shore have been forced to shelter on the south side of the lake, while the Soviet vessels have full freedom of action. Two German commentators tonight agreed that the Russian attacks at Vitebsk are on a large scale, but disagreed on the German prospects of holding the town, Berlin radio’s commentator, von Hammer, hinted that the Germans may be preparing to abandon the town. He said: “Fresh Russian attacks which occurred south-east and north-west of Vitebsk were repulsed. The Vitebsk area, however, no longer has any basis. of importance in the German defensive plans.” The German News Agency’s commentator, Hallensleben, said: “Major fighting is going bn at Vitebsk, where the Russians are making large-scale assaults. German resistance is so successful that one must assume that the German Com-, mand means to hold the position at all costs, at least for the present.”