Encircled By Russian

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 48, 26 February 1942, Page 7

Encircled By Russian

(By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright.)

LONDON, February 25, "^ About ten days ago Soviet troops on the northwestern front, under General Kurochkin, began an encircling movement against the 16th German Army in the region of Staraya Russa. The encirclement was completed a few days ago. Owing to the refusal of the German army, commanded by General yon Busch, to surrender, the Soviet troops started to attack. One infantry division of the Second Army Corps, commanded by General Brockdorff, another infantry division of the 10th Army Corps, commanded by General Hanzen, and an S.S. division were routed. The Germans left 12,000 killed on the battlefield, and an immense quantity of war material, including food and ammunition, was captured.

During the fighting Soviet troops commanded. 1)j Generals Morozov, Gryaznov, and Bergavin specially distinguished themselves.

The captured material included 185 guns, 29 tanks, 340 machine-guns, 355 parachutes, more than 1,000,000 rounds of ammunition, and more than 1000 railway trucks. Stores, provisions, equipment, and-ammunition dumps were also cap* tured. j • ' ..-'■••.{

Staraya Russa is south of Lake Ilmen and about 140 miles south of Leningrad. It is also 50 miles east of the LeningradVitebsk railway, which is threatened further south, near Kholni and Velikie Luki.