ROAD TO ESTONIA

Evening Star, Issue 25089, 2 February 1944, Page 5

ROAD TO ESTONIA

CRACKED OPEN BY RUSSIANS LAST STATION ON RAILWAY CAPTURED (IRec. noon.) LONDON, February 1. The Red army's capture of Kingisepp, the last station on the railway from Leningrad before the Estonian border, was announced by Marshal Stalin in an order of the day. This cracks open the road to Estonia, says Reuter's correspondent. Kingisepp is nine miles from the Estonian border and 16 miles from Narva. The British United Press points out that before the capture of Kingisepp the Russians outflanked the city from the north with the intention of pushing on to the Estonian border. The Germans had pinned their hopes on maintaining Kingisepp as a major bastion against the Russian forces which were reducing the chances of the enemy's main forces pulling out through the corridor between Narva Bay and Lake Peipus. Just as important as the blocking up of the Lake Peipus gap is the constant encirclement of enemy forces which General Govorov's men have carried out since they f|rst struck out from Leningrad. The' Russians, moving swiftly across the area of peat bogs and solitary pine trees, interspersed with thick forests, have, cut off and wiped out dozens of groups. Once these German groups are surrounded, special extermination squads are moved up, while the fast-moving forces continue westward. In the direct path of the Russians' northern advance lies Lake Peipus, which with its extension, Lake Pskov, stretches 90 miles from near Narva to the great rail junction of Pskov. The river Narva conveniently covers the stretch between the lake and she Gulf of Finland, and the Germans no doubt will make every effort to resist there. South-west between the river Lulfa and Lake Peipus, however, is a great expanse of desolate marshy country, with poor communications. It is across this area that the Germans must retreat if they to hold the (Russians on the Luga line, as seems to he happening. The frozen" lake in their rear offers a. bleak prospect. The Russians will presumably press on towards Pskov, and by doing so threaten to roll up the whole front between the Novgorod sector and as far south as Novsokplniki. ABNORMAL WEATHER. The .weather is still abnormally warm, not only on the northern sector, but along the whole 2,000-roile front.' It is realised that while the thaw hampers the Red army, which is employing specialised winter fighting methods, it is preventing the Germans from moving back heavy equipment. The Germans are abandoning so much that it is described as a one-way leaselend programme by the enemy. General Meretskov's troops are thrusting fiercely for Luga." They are only 12 miles from the main LugaPskov highway, and 21 miles from the Luga-Pskov railway. The Russians, after crossing the Luga River at a number of points,. are steadily blotting out isolated groups of Germans who have been left to fight delaying actions. The German News Agency's commentator, von Hammer, says the Russians yesterday threw in masses of men in an attempt to rip open the German defence lines at Nikopol, and after several hours succeeded in pressing back local German positions protecting their bridgehead in the south.