RUSSIAN SUCCESSES

Evening Star, Issue 24409, 22 January 1943, Page 3

RUSSIAN SUCCESSES

ADVANCES ON ALL FRONTS VAST GERMAN LOSSES BEGINNING TO TELL (British Official Wireless.) (Rec. noon.) RUGBY, Jan. 21. Russian troops are keeping the enemy on • the defensive on all parts of the eastern front. In southern Russia the Soviet troops are threatening Hitler's bases and supply lines. ' Large numbers of prisoners and guns have been taken, and in one locality several train loads of supplies fell into Russian hands. Three important railway centres leading to Rostov are. being threatened, while in the Caucasus rapid progress has been made by'' the Russian forces, an advance of over 180 miles haying been made in 18 days through difficult country. A special Moscow announcement tonight reported the capture of Voroshilovsk, an important Caucasian rail centre. The Russians are reported to be onlv 25 miles from Voroshilovgrad, the centre of the Donetz industrial ,area.

The Germans and their allies have lost 600,457 killed or captured on all sectors of, the Russian front since the Stalingrad drive began on November 19. comprising 334.000 killed and 266,457 captured. A Moscow message giving these figures adds that the number of wounded is believed to be about 900,000. making a total loss in effectives of about 1.500,000. It is stated that the exhaustion in Axis man power has particularly shown itself on the Donetz front, where two generals, Oppel and Hofman. commanded only 3,500 combatants. These figures compare with those given by the chief of the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Soviet Union, who said at Moscow that the enemy during the same period lost 6,000 tanks, 12,000 guns, and 3,500 planes. He put the number killed, however, at over 500.000.