SMOLENSK AND KIEV

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 September 1943, Page 5

SMOLENSK AND KIEV

FURTHER RUSSIAN PROGRESS HUGE AREA RECAPTURED LONDON, September 21. To-night's Russian communique announces the occupation of over 1130 localities, making a total in the past three days of over 3000, including a great number of towns and railway junctions. Advances of from four to sixteen miles was made on all offensive fronts to-day. Notable captures to-day were the town and large railway junction of Grebenka, and the town of Kozolets on the Kiev front, the district centre of Karyukovka in the Chernigov region, the district centre of Keltnya in the Bryansk region, Kholm in the Smo-lensk-Roslovl region, and Velish, north-west of Smolensk. Reuter’s Moscow correspondent says the area recaptured by the Red Army in two months of the offensive is relatively small compared with the advance last Winter, but the military task performed is many times greater. This Summer, the Rusians attacked a line which the Germans have been preparing lor 18 months and which they boasted was impregnable. The Red Army has out-fought and outwitted the German army by combination of high military skill and sheer strength of numbers, armour and guns, applied at the right place. Russian and German troops, 250,000 strong, are locked in a great struggle for Smolensk. The Russians, following their practice of cutting communications before- closing in, have outflanked the city to the north by capturing Velizh, 70 miles to the north-west and about half-way between Smolensk- and Velikye Luki. Velizh lies on the Dvina River, and the Russians are now moving from the river towards Vitebsk. Soviet forces are also pushing forward in the Roslavl sector, between Smolensk and Bryansk. Yesterday they advanced 15 miles. They are now within 23 miles of Roslavl. The huge salient west of Kiev is now 150 miles deep and the Russians yesterday pushed it 25 miles further to the north by capturing Kozolets, 40 miles east-north-east of Kiev. North-east of Chernigov the Russians yesterday widened one of their Desna bridgeheads and canturc-d Karyukpvka, 40 miles south-west ot Novgorod Sieversk. One Russian force, striking towards the Dnieper, is 18 miles from Zaporozhe; another force has cut the railway from Zaporozhe to Dnepropetrovsk: and another force is within 13 miles of Melitopol.

The latest Russian communique announces the occupation c.f more than 1130 localities, making a total in the last three days of more than 3000, including a great number of towns and railway junctions. Advances of from four to 16 miles were made on all offensive fronts yesterday.

The concentration of mon and armour against Smolensk and Kiev has not caused any slackening of pressure anywhere along, the winding front from north of Smolensk to the Sea of Azov. The Germans are failing back at all points before the relent less hammering.

CHERNIGOV CAPTURED. RUGBY, September 21. The capture of the important North Ukrainian town of Chernigov, on the west bank of the Lower Desna is announced, in an order of the day by Mr. Stalin: "Troops of the central front, continuing the violent offensive crossed the River Desna and by a skilful by-pass manoeuvre, after three days’ fierce fighting, to-day took by storm the Ukrainian regional centre of Chernigov, the most important centre of enemy defence in the power part of the Desna. Thus, the enemy’s defence prepared on the western bank of the Desna has been overcome on the entire length of the river. The enemy’s plan to stem our advance on these positions has to be considered as frustrated." CLOSING THE TRAP (Recd. 12.5 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 21. Three vital fortress towns upon which the entire German front hinges are now directly threatened by the Russians —Smolensk, Kiev, and Dnepropetrovsk. The Russians captured Chernigov to-day, and in doing so have smashed through the last water barrier before the Dnieper Line. They have begun closing the trap against Kiev, which is the anchor of German hopes of a strong Winter line in this sector. Rokossovsky’s men had to force their way across the Desna and then fight southward in an outflanking movement. The Russian spearheads are now less than 25 miles from Kiev and the armed forces beyond Slavgorod (halfway between Zaporozhe and Dnepropstrovsk) are less than ten miles from the Dnieper. The Germans are making a desperate effort to concentrate their forces for the defence of Kiev, but there is little sign that they will be able to do more than fight a delaying action, for the Russians are now" converging against the city from the east and from the north-east. Guns thundered within 18 miles of Smolensk as the Russians softened up the defences and moved steadily and relentlessly against the German fortress. The column nearest the city is advancing along the main road from Kholm. The column from the Kalinin front outflanking Smolensk from the north is moving down the Dvina Valley towards Citezik. The Germans are being forced back on all fronts. More big German withdrawals in Russia, possibly as far as the Polish border, are indicated by the latest reports from Berlin published in the Swedish Press. The “Dagbladet’s" Berlin correspondent quotes authoritative Nazi circles for the statement that it would be a. mistake to assume the line the Germans are now takingup is to be the Winter line. The present German aim is to form a buffer line, and it is too early yet to speak of a Winter line. This statement, says the British United Press Stockholm correspondent, is all the more startling since the Nazis are already stressing the gigantic scale of the present shortening of the front, which is something far bigger than the previous small-scale withdrawals. The Paris radio’s commentator, Jean Paquis, says the German retreat in Russia opens the last chapter of the war. It probably will be very bloody, but Germany remains confident.

GERMAN TROOPS WITHDRAWN LONDON, Sept. 21. A withdrawal of German reserves from the Russian battlefront to meet the Allied invasion of Italy is admitted by the Berlin newspaper "Voelkischer Beobachter.” It says: “The Wehrmacht was facing a situation in Russia which was tending towards breaking point, and the Fuehrer therefore ordered that flexible tactics must henceforth be adopted. The front line had to be straightened, and we do not attempt to belittle the surrender of Kharkov, Novorossiisk, Stalino and Bryansk. This general retreat in Russia, however, has set free new reserves for us. It is because of these reserves that the British and American invasion of Italy is not being a walkover,”