The Evening Star TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1943. THE RUSSIAN FRONT.

Evening Star, Issue 25047, 14 December 1943, Page 4

The Evening Star TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1943. THE RUSSIAN FRONT.

The great battle of the Kiev bulge'has readied its climax, and, after withstanding powerful German pressure fur nearly lour weeks, the Russians are again taking the initiative. When General Vatutin pushed forward to capture Jitoinir and Korosten wo held that he might have over-reached his forces, and the subsequent evacuation of these points and the loss of a fair amount of territory to the Germans obviously supported this contention. The Germans were not slow in launching tank attacks on a very great scale against the weakly-held salient, but tho Russians, in their slow fighting withdrawal, have inflicted such huge losses on these tanks and on the Wehrmacht—losses to the Germans incompatible with their gains—that it became certain, unless thex could effect a speedy breakthrough, the Germans' hopes of recapturing Kiev for the winter were doomed to frustration; It" was significant that throughout this struggle—although a note of gravity crept into correspondents' reports—Russian official communiques never once expressed real concern over the situation, while the Germans did not play up their successes to a notable extent, suggesting that they held doubts as to the outcome. The war in Russia has been moving more slowly on all fronts lately. Along the line of the Dnieper the Germans have been doing their best to make a stand, taking fullest advantage of the great natural obstacle to end their retreat, which, it must be admitted,, has been as much one of expediency as enforcement; but inexorably, if not spectacularly, their line has been slowly levered back. Germany is no longer righting for conquests; "she is fighting for a stalemate. Dr Goebbels said two months ago that Germany possessed " sufficient defensive power to tie down Russia far from,'our borders," and that tying down policy is now being implemented. The real strength of this German defensive strategy will be shown only when the Russians launch their winter offensive. The " big freeze " has been later than usual, preventing the Soviet forces from exploiting their customary winter tactics, but the offensive is now not likely to be long delayed. It is not so much, on the past few weeks that the Russian campaign should be judged. After such a long summer campaign, the Red armies would necessarily require rest and reorganisation, and the present lull, which exists generally, apart from the Ukraine, could have been anticipated, The success of their efforts must be gauged by the achievements preceding the lull. At the limit of their advance the Germans in November, 1942. occupied 530,000 square miles of Russian territory. Since then they have been eiected from two-thirds of that' area. Thnt'is the measure of success on which comment must be 'based. -The lack of anxiety in all Russian communiques and the continued German stress on defensive operatipns place the situation in its right perspective, and there can be little doubt that the enemy looks to this third winter campaign with no little misgiving.