NAZIS RENEW ATTACK

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 July 1941, Page 5

NAZIS RENEW ATTACK

GREAT PROGRESS CLAIMED

RUSSIANS DENY LINES BROKEN

“NO IMPORTANT CHANGE”

LONDON, July 13. The Germans have begun their second big assault on the Russian defences. The Germans and Russians agree on the main fighting zones, but the German claims of substantial progress are not confirmed by the Russians. The Russians in last night’s communique, report stubborn fighting m the regions of Pskov, on the road to Leningrad, Vitebsk, on the road to Moscow, and Novograd Volynsk, on the road to Kiev, and they say that there has been no important change on- these fronts. They reaffirm this in this morning’s communique. The Germans say that their mechanised units are advancing towards Leningrad, that they have captured Vitebsk and forts on the Dnieper River in an advance 125 miles east of Minsk, and that in the Ukraine their forces are close to Kiev. The advance in the Ukraine, they say, was the result of a combined offensive by German, Slovak, and Hungarian troops from Galicia, in southern Poland, and by German and Rumanian troops from Moldavia. The Stalin Line, they claim, has been broken at all decisive points. The Ankara radio reports that 8,000,000 newly-mobilised Russian troops are moving up to the front to meet the German offensive. Last night’s Russian communique states: “Stubborn fighting throughout the day in the directions of Pskov, Vitebsk, and Novograd Volynsk caused no important change in the front. Our air force, attacked enemy mechanised units and aerodromes and covered the operations of our troops. We bombed harbour works anct transport at Constanta, Sulina, and Ploesti. Guerrilla detachments behind the German lines are incessantly attacking communications, destroying munitions and fuel trains, and exterminating whole groups and units of German troops. Seventy Soviet sympathisers crept on a school in which a Fascist company was quartered. The attackers killed the sentries and trained machine-guns on the school, killing and wounding many. Another detachment surrounded a farm which the Germans were plundering. The Germans barricaded themselves in a barn and opened machine-gun fire. The Soviet commander was wounded, but crawled to a hayrick near the barn, and set it oh fire. The barn caught fire, and the Germans came out. All were killed or captured.” The Moscow correspondent of the British United Press states that people arriving from Minsk report that the Russians still hold the town, although it is being heavily bombed and shelled. The Moscow radio reports a growing guerrilla movement in Germanoccupied Poland. The Red Army, it states, will help all struggling to regain their freedom. . xn „ . A Russian naval action in the Baltic Sea is reported from Stockholm. Russian warships sank three ships, including the Tannenberg, one pt Germany’s best liners, which was in convoy off the south-east coast of Sweden. The warships are believed to have driven the convoy a minefield. According to one cuspatch, the German ships were transporting men from Finland to Germany. GERMAN CLAIMS. LONDON, July 13. The latest German communique says: “At all important points, German and Rumanian troops from Moldavia have thrown back the Russians on a wide front on to and beyond the Dniester. German, Hungarian, and Slovak troops from Galicia are pursuing the fleeing Russians. North-east of the Dniester, our troops are before Kiev. North of the Pripet marshes, we captured a strong zone of fortifications on the Dnieper. Thus in the central sector, our troops are already 125 miles east of Minsk. We found signs of disorganisation and disintegration among many enemy units. Vitebsk has been in our hands since July 11, and east of Lake Peipus our tank units are advancing towards Leningrad. The Luftwaffe is destroying railways and communications and has prevented any large-scale Russian counter-at-tacks The Rome radio says the Hungarians have broken Russian resistance on the River Zbruch and are continuing their advance. They have also occupied Kamenets Podolskiy. The Official German News Agency says that heavy rains in the last few days have increased the difficulty of the terrain in the southern sector of the eastern front, but German troops made a considerable advance in this sector on Friday and repulsed Soviet tanks and infantry formations, which put up a hard fight. In the northern sector, shock troops have been storming fortifications of the Stalin Line. German war correspondents claim that panzer patrols have crossed the Pruth and Dnieper Rivers at their junction. Rogachev, 35 miles east of Bobruisk,'has been captured by the Germans. The advance on the eastern frontier by German and Finnish troops is continuing. The Soviet forces are attempting to set fire to everything left behind. The Russians say that the Germans are venting their wrath on the Russian armies by attacking ambulance aeroplanes which are used co convey the gravely wounded to the The Berlin radio claims that the Luftwaffe bombed the railway near Hitomir, derailing trains. It also cut the Leningrad-Moscow line in two places.

HEAVY CASUALTIES. LONDON, July 13. Authentic reports confirm that German and Rumanian casualties are immense, states the Istanbul correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph. Hospitals throughout Rumania are unable to cope with the casualties, most of which are major cases. Schools, institutions, and dwellings are being rapidly converted into hospitals. Rumanian losses are estimated at more than 80,000. The vice-chief of the Russian Information Bureau (M. Lozovsky), in an interview, said that Germany’s difficulties were increasing, and she was heading for catastrophe. More than 1,000,000 Germans had been killed or wounded since the outbreak of the Russian-German war. GERMAN FAILURES ALLEGED. RUGBY, July 13. “Considerable advances” were claimed by the German High Command to-day, but an Information Bureau communique issued, according to the Moscow radio, by the Soviet Information Bureau communique, states there is no important change to report from the battlefronts. All enemy attempts to break through the Soviet lines and enter Soviet territory failed. In the south-western sector, the Soviet Air Force and the Red Army annihilated an enemy motorised division. Coastal batteries succeeded in

sinking a Finnish torpedo-boat. The same battery sank a German transport steamer which attempted to land a considerable enemy shock unit on Soviet territory. A German steamer blew up and sank off Memel. It is presumed that the ship ran into a minefield. Germans of the Y°^ a Soviet Republic are volunteering in masses lor the Red Army, in order to participate in the fight for freedom and humanity with weapons in their hands. The Moscow wireless announcer said: When German infantry units were attacked by Soviet guerrilla forces on a pontoon bridge, the German detachment was wiped out. The guerrilla forces took a considerable quantity of arms and ammunition. In stubborn fighting on the southwestern front, many German officers and men were killed. A great number of Hungarian prisoners were taken by the Red Army.—B.O.W. INVINCIBILITY MYTH. (Rec. 12.50 p.m.) LONDON, July 13. The Moscow radio said: German invincibility is a myth, which the Red Army knows how to dispel. Hitler’s successes are due to numerical and technical superiority. They do not imply invincibiliay. Hitler has managed to secure certain advantages, but has miscalculated his powers. Ihe Luftwaffe has failed to obtain mastery of the air, and has been subjected to mighty blows from the Soviet Air Force. Germany has been forced to ease her activity against Britain, and to transfer units from France, Belgium, Italy, Greece, and Africa.

NEWS AGENCY BOASTS. (Rec. 12.10 p.m.) LONDON, July 13. The Berlin News Agency boasts that, the piercing of the Stalin Line has brought about a complete German victory over Russia. Leningrad is immediately threatened, the occupation of Kiev is imminent, and the route to Moscow is opened up. There are no further natural artificial barriers, and supply lines are assured for the panzers. Victory against Bolshevism has become a beautiful certainty. A High Command communique claims that the centre of the German offensive had advanced 125 miles east of Minsk on Sunday. “The Times’s” Moscow correspondent says: While the battle is raging a few hundred miles away, the city is strangely calm and serene. Although many men have left for the front, there is no shortage of male civilians noticeable on the streets. Russian manpower is inexhaustible. AERIAL ONSLAUGHTS. LONDON, July 13. A Bulgarian newspaper states that the Russian Air Force has carried out destructive raids on Rumanian towns, and has made the port of Constanta useless as a base for shipping. , . , n , The Floesti refineries and installations. which the Russians claim supplied 80 per cent, of Germany s oil, are now almost unusable as a result of bombing. „ n . x It is reported from Budapest that Russians bombers destroyed the port of Galati, and that the Germans have evacuated Danubian and Black Sea harbours because of air raids. It is reported from Helsinki that the Germans bombed Leningrad and started big fires. HITLER’S ARMOURED TRAIN. LONDON, July 13. Tank patrols, a squadron of the Luftwaffe, and S.S. men guard the special armoured train in which Herr Hitler has his headquarters and from which he issues daily communiques! Other precautions whenever the train stops are barricades, barbed-wire, and a ban on traffic m the area. The train is equipped witn anti-aircraft guns. Foreign journalists in Berlin were invited to see an official film of the fighting on the Russian-German front . The exact effects of the modern Weapons on humans, animals, and villages were depicted in revolting detail. RUSSIAN COMMANDERS.

LONDON, July IL The Soviet State Committee . of Defence has announced three important appointments. The Russian front has been divided into three big commands, Marshal Voroshilov, the Defence Commissar, is to be Com-mander-in-Chief in the north-west, Marshal Timoshenko in the west; and Marshal Budenny in the southwest. The announcement does not define the areas more exactly than that, so it is presumed that Marsnal Voroshilov will have command on the Finnish-Leningrad front. Marshal Timoshenko on what has hitherto been called the central front, and Marshal Budenny in the Ukraine and Bessarabia. The Moscow radio says that the appointments have been made because the main directions ol the German operations are now apparent. Marshal Voroshilov was Commissar for Defence until Marshal Timoshenko succeeded him during the Finnish war. He then became president of the Council of Defence, and shortly after. the German invasion of Russia was appointed military member of the Soviet State Committee of Defence, of which M. Stalin is chairman. Marshal Budenny was famous in the campaign against Poland 20 years ago, as a dashing leader ol Cavalry, and for a time commanded the Moscow military district. He became Inspector of Cavalry. He is said to be particularly popular among the peasants. GUERRILLA ACTIVITY. (Rec. 2.10 p.m.) LONDON, July 13. The “Daily Telegraph’s” Moscow correspondent says that Russian guerrillas are holding Pinsk, where the marshes facilitate their activity. When three German tanks stopped at Pinsk, because of lack of petrol, guerrillas climbed on to them and put out of action their guns with hammers. The bewildered crews surrendered. Guerrillas attacked enemy motorised units at the Beiesina, killed 150 Germans, and dispersed the remainder. Other bands destroyed 18 tanks with Molotov cocktails. Peasants have blown up bridges and dismantled railways.— U.P.A. BLITZ TACTICS. (Rec. 2.10 p.m.) LONDON, July 13. A “Pravda” special correspondent described the German blitzkrieg attacks against the sectors where a break-through is desired. The attack was opened by motor-cyclists, composed of wild and insolent but unsteady youngsters aged 18 to 19. They race at whirlwind speed along roads and fields, maintaining ma-chine-gun fire. The Russian fire soon knocks a dozen from their motorcycles. The blitz troops then turn back with lightning rapidity. The tactics of the infantry are similar, being aimed at securing a psychological effect. They advance, shouting

“Hoch! Heil!” but when they see a number of daredevils fall, the others crouch on the ground. Our counterattacks then begin. The Nazis are unable to withstand counter-attacks. They may have succeeded in intimidating the brave but unsteady French and Belgians, but the well-trained Red Army is too solid for them.— SERBIAN UNREST. LONDON, July 12. The Moscow radio quotes a Nazicontrolled Serbian newspaper as saying that street fighting occurred in a Serbian town after civilians fired on German soldiers. Fighting with guerrillas lasted for 18 hours. The guerrillas set fire to powder magazines in a fortress where 2000 soldiers were quartered. ANGLO-RUSSIAN AGREEMENT. NO SEPARATE PEACE. LONDON, July 13. An agreement was signed in Moscow to-day between Great Britain and the Soviet. It consists of the following two articles:— (1) The two Governments agree to render each other mutual assistance of all kinds. (2) The two Governments undertake that neither will negotiate or conclude a separate peace except by mutual agreement. The agreement was signed by the British Ambassador to Moscow (Sir Stafford Cripps) and the Soviet Foreign Commissar (M. Molotov). dominions-uTsTa. APPROVAL.

(Rec. 12.50 p.m.) LONDON, July 13. It is authoritatively stated that the British-Russian agreement, signed by Sir S. Cripps and M. Molotov, on July 12, provided for full mutual support against Hitlerite Germany. Each undertakes not to conclude an armistice or treaty of peace, except by mutual agreement. . . It is learned that the Dominions were kept fully informed throughout the negotiations, and the step taken in consultation has their full approval. The United States was also kept informed. * x + A Moscow message says that toasts were drunk in. champagne at a function to mark the signing of the agreement. M. Stalin conversed with the Commenting on the agreement, the Berlin News Agency says: The united anti-European front between English plutocracy and Russian Bolshevism Fs now openly demonstrated. Events have fortunately gone so far that the destruction of both cannot be doubted. —U.P.A.

WELLINGTON, July 14. New Zealand’s Prime Minister (Mr. Fraser) attended the meetings of the British War Cabinet at which, ike agreement between Britain and Russia was discussed, according to a statement by Mr. Nash, this afteinoon and the New Zealand Government was kept fully , informed throughout all stages of the negotiati°Here in New Zealand, said Mr. Nash, members both of the War Cabinet and the Government Cabinet wholeheartedly endorsed the terms of the declaration. 2. ~ U.S.A. A PARTNER. (Rec. 2.25 p.m ) ~~MOSCOW, July 13. M Lozovsky, in an interview, described the Anglo-Soviet agreement as a mighty and effective coalition oi freedom-loving peoples. It is a document of the greatest historical significance, fundamentally altering insti tuitions. Britain and Russia have countered Hitler’s so-called coalition. M. Lozovsky, answering a question as to whether he regarded the United States as a silent partner in the alliance, said that the United States was too great for silence. It was a historical fact that the United States was allied with Britain —openly allied against aggressors! The Tass Agency announced that the people of the Soviet Union received the news of the Anglo-;Soviet agreement with great enthusiasm. U.P.A. RUSSIA AND CZECHOSLOVAKIA. RUGBY, July 12 A news agency report says that preliminary contacts are being made in London for discussion of matters oi common interest between Russia and Czechoslovakia, similar to che reus-sian-Polish talks. . . . The British Government is .interested in this, because of its desire for the utmost unity among all the countries fighting Hitlerism.

MR. ATTLE£S_WARNING. HITLER’S PEACE MOVE. “RUGBY, July 13. The possibility that Hitler may launch a great peace offensive fiom Moscow, if ever he ., reac f e s. H Mo was discussed by the Loid Pii J Seal (Mr. Attlee) in a speech to-night. “Hitler would like to proclaim himself the saviour of Europe from Bolshevism,” said Mr. Attlee. He would like to announce his new ordei. n Russia gave way, he would probably promise to restore to their peoples, some of the lands he has seized, and offer what would appear to be generous terms. He will seek to appeal every peace-loving person. 1 sav he will find some pacifists to iesoond. There are still a certain number of amiable, gullible woolly-minded people, who, with genuine loathing or war, shut their eyes to realities, y.h despite abundant instances of the impossibility of whatver in the words ol the Nazis, still go about bleating peace by negotiation. He may catch a few war-weary people here and there, and a lew peace-'at-any-price people, who put their nrivate fortunes above the public weal. I can assure you he will deceive nobody in the Government I am certain that the great mass of the people of this country and the countries of the British Commonwealth, will not be deceived.” T T;+lpr > q “Is there anyone who, on Hitlei s word, would be prepared to disarm. Who would feel safe to abolish the ARP while Hitler had the power to strike? Is there anyone who would be prepared to have the simplest business transaction with the Nazis? No we stand by realities. We will not make peace with the Nazi gang, because such peace would be no peace. It Would be a betrayal of everything for which this country stands. . Mr Attlee went on to say that Britain would endeavour to do everything practical to aid Russia, arm by attacking Germany, draw oft the weight of the attack. Germany is already suffering heavily from the great weight of blows delivered by the R.A.F. night and day. Mark this noint. We are carrying out over Germany and occupied territory, every day, the daylight attacks the Nazis attempted against us last Autumn, which broke’ down under the splendid efforts of our fighters, but our attacks are not breaking down.” Calling for a maximum effort, Mr. Attlee said: “Let nobody imagine lor a moment this issue is going to be decided by others than ourselves. Let nobody imagine the fight is not deadly hard, calling for our utmost efforts of heart, hand and brain. Thereis something more than a fight for citizenship and our land. There is our hope of the future. Slowly and stumblingly, mankind moves forward, enlarging the frontiers of freedom.’