ENVELOPING MOVE

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 23, 27 January 1940, Page 13

ENVELOPING MOVE

APPARENTLY DOOMED

ASSAULT ON MANNERHEIM DEFENCES

WANING OFFENSIVE

LONDON, January 26.

The plans of the Russians to envelop the Mannerheim Line by breaking through north-east of Lake Ladoga seem to be doomed to failure, States a message from Helsinki. The invaders* general offensive has progressed to a minimum extent in the past .five days, though the pressure against the Finnish lines is maintained.

The Bed air terror continues, and a muttber Of places "remote from the military bases have been bombed.

The Finnish communique records most violent fighting at Aittojoki, where the enemy \v6re heavily repulsed, and also at Kollaanjoki, where the enemy, ior the first time, launched night attacks. The Finns were, equally successful at Markajarvi and in Petsamo, ib the far north. The enemy lost hundreds of men. A VITAL FRONT. The Finns regard the front' north of Lake Ladoga as vital but impregnable unless the Russians turn its flank. The Russian commanders are lavishly squandering lives in an effort to accomplish this and have expended 10,000 dead and wounded in the past week, while, many tanks fell into Finnish hands. The Finns feel that the Russians must takft a breathing space which will give them a respite and enable a reorganisation Of their defences.

Many Lapps are fighting on the Rovaniemi front, in the north. Their knowledge of the country is invaluable to the Finns. The Russians partly circumvented the loss of tanks through mines by pushing rollers before the tanks in order to explode the mines, but this was not completely effective.

A large-scale plan has been initiated to evacuate Finnish refugees to Sweden. The first stage deals with 20,000 women and children and aged people from the Tornea Valley (down the Finnish-Swedish border).