WESTWARD SWEEP

Evening Star, Issue 24116, 10 February 1942, Page 5

WESTWARD SWEEP

DONETZ BASIN FRONT N RUSSIANS ATTACKING DAY AND NIGHT (British Official Wireless.) Press Association —By Telegraph—Copyright (Rcc. 11 a.m.) RUGBY, Feb. 9. The methods contributing to the success of the Russian sweep westwards on the Donetz front are described by the Moscow wireless, which says: “ Our troops are constantly advancing despite all German attempts to stem the offensive. Despite bad weather conditions and snowstorms, our troops are attacking day and night. One unit carried out a night attack on the important locality of ‘ D.’ After one and a-half hours’ fighting the locality was captured. A great part in this attack was played by our artillery ; which shelled successfully enemy positions behind the locality, and they gave the enemy no chance to send reinforcements. Another Soviet unit is advancing by driving wedges in the enemy’s positions and surrounding one locality after another. The enemy is throwing reserves into the fighting, but without success.” STORMING OF RJEV EASTERN SUBURBS OCCUPIED NAZIS' HOPELESS RESISTANCE LONDON, February 8. The Russians have occupied the eastern suburbs of (Rjev, says the Stockholm correspondent of the ‘ Daily Express.’ The Germans are now putting up a hopeless resistance from the city’s bigger buildings, around which they have erected barricades. The Rjev garrison consists of one badly mauled infantry division without panzer support. The "German mechanised forces wore withdrawn when the Russian encirclement was being completed. As a result of fierce attacks on tlie central front, the Russians again forced the Germans to retreat, says the Moscow radio. Russian dislodged tbe Germans from six localities and inflicted heavy casualties. The Russian air force is more intensively bombing and dive-bombing the retreating German forces and is also attacking aerodromes. The Kuibyshev radio stated that Russian guerrillas banded, together and captured a large island in the Karelian Lake. They almost wiped out six Finnish garrisons and captured considerable booty. The Russians have also occupied Tronsa, which is 42 miles south-west of Orel. VAST LOSSES GERMANS USE ARTILLERY RESERVES (British Official Wireless.) (Rec. 9.50 a.m.) RUGBY, Feb. 9. The Moscow army newspaper ‘ Red Star ’ says: 11 The enemy losses in artillery are so vast that the Germans are unable to replace them, although they have seized practically all the artillery plants in Europe. Losses of field guns have caused the German High Command to use artillerymen as infantry and to throw into the battle part of the artillery reserved for the spring offensive.

German newspapers print a map of the front line in the east, which is described as having now been . consolidated. It is pointed out in Berlin that the Russian defence is so weakened and the German resistance so strong that no further important changes may be expected before the German counter-offen-sive begins. Russia’s High Command reports that offensive operations were continued during the night.

LAND FORCES ROUTED RUSSIAN TORPEDO BOAT IN ACTION (British Official Wireless.) (Rec. noon.) RUGBY, Feb. 9. The part played by a Russian torpedo boat in the land operations on the Sebastopol sector is described in a Red fleet article quoted by the Moscow radio. - Torpedo boat “ N,” operating in the Black Sea, recently carried out three attacks on an enemy land fortress near Sebastopol, shelling a concentration of enemy infantry. During a second attack an enemy battalion was routed, and during a third an enemy motorised column was shelled and losses in tanks and lorries inflicted.

BEHIND THE RETREAT WHITE RUSSIAN GUERRILLAS AT WORK NAZIS BADLY HARASSED (British Official Wireless.) (Rec. noon.) RUGBY, Feb. 9. The activities of the many thousands of White Russian guerrillas constantly harassing the enemy rear and thus rendering valuable assistance to the Red Army are described by the Moscow radio. As the Russian forces approach White Russia these guerrillas intercept troops going to the front and inflict heavy losses. One partisan group recently destroyed an important bridge over the river Use, and at the same time a supply line leading to the town of Gomel. Near the same town a great railway depot, where the Germans repair tanks and lorries, was destroyed by guerrillas. In Gomel an ammunition dump was blown up, and buildings round the dump wore on fire for two days, and in the same town guerrillas set on fire a restaurant whore German officers wore eating. The Nanis are worried about the activity of partisans, and special puni-

live detachments are constantly search, ing for them. Recently they caught! five guerrillas. They brought them to the town of. Demidovo and hanged them. The inhabitants of this town and the neighbouring villages were ordered to be present, the Nazis trying • in this way to frighten civilians; but# the White Russians are continuing tha; struggle, and will continue until liberation by the Red Army. '

FINNISH FRONT COMMAND (Rec. 11.25 a.m.) LONDON, Feb. 9. The Vichy radio announced , thntJ General Diet!, who was prominent afl Narvik and in Poland, has been appointed commander of the German;' forces on the Finnish front. GERMAN ADMISSION LOSSES NORTH-EAST OF LAKE ILMEN LONDON, Feb. 10. German sources admit heavy Russian! attacks north-east of Lake Ilmen, which is 100 miles south 1 of Leningrad.! A Russian message says that, in tna Crimea the Germans have lost 40,000 killed and wounded „in the fighting around Sabastopol. It is claimed that so far the Russian Navy has sunk 81 enemy warships, 270 auxiliary vessels, and hundreds of transports.