STILL DEVELOPING

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 77, 27 September 1941, Page 9

STILL DEVELOPING

CRIMEAN OFFENSIVE

(Rec. 11.30 a.m.) RUGBY, Sept. 26.. Information reaching London indicates that the German attack on the Crimea, which has been proceeding in the last twenty-four hours, continues to develop in the region of Perekop, in the Crimea isthmus.

Severe fighting continues along the

counter-attacks at several points of the front where there are Hungarian troops.

SOVIET BATTLESHIPS SCORE

Foreign correspondents in Berlin say that the Germans are becoming increasingly worried by heavy naval gunfire on their left flank at, Leningrad. The fire comes ( from the • old Russian battleships Marat and October Resolution, lying in the bay at Kronstadt. A broadcast from Leningrad said that the two battleships are inflicting heavy losses on the enemy.

The same broadcast said that the fortified islands of Osel and Dago, off the Estonian coast, are proving impregnable to all Germans attacks. It added that 15,000 Germans who succeeded in landing on the islands were wiped out. The Germans claim to have occupied Osel a week ago.

Referring to the progress of the war, a Russian spokesman said that winter would not bring the Germans any relief from Russian pressure. Russian counter-attacks were being carried out at certain points along the Eastern Front from which fresh German attacks might be launched.

I whole front, especially around Leningrad, where the Russians have beaten off attacks from three different directions, and the Germans do not appear to have made any fresh progress. The midday Russian communique states: "On the night of Septemebr 25----26 our troops engaged the enemy along the whole front. On September 25 our air force brought down two German reconnaissance planes near Moscow."

A supplementary Russian communique states: "Our air force has inflicted heavy losses on tlie German army. On September 23 our air force destroyed 86 enemy tanks, 32 armoured cars, seven small tanks, 39 lorries carrying infantry, seven anti-aircraft guns, and also eleven anti-aircraft batteries. Five companies of infantry and one .artillery division were routed, and in aerial combats 138 German planes were destroyed. The air arm of the Black Sea fleet on September 22 destroyed 30 enemy planes on aerodromes. During September 23 we shot down eight enemy planes in aerial fights. On the south-western front one of our planes was attacked by four Messerschmitt 109's. We shot down two of them and the-, others turned tail and ! fled. The Russian pilot returned safely to his base. During the last few days on one section of the front our air force, in collaboration with British planes, shot down 26 German planes, and British planes shot down seven German planes. Our losses are one British plane and one Soviet plane."— 8.0. W.