RED ARMY FIGHT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20630, 11 August 1941, Page 5

RED ARMY FIGHT

Slows to Nazis LAND AND AIR UNITS BERLIN CLAIMS IN SOUTH (Elec. Tel Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Reed. Aug. 11, noon.) LONDON, Aug. 10. ‘Reuter’s special correspondent in Moscow says that the sober tone of the ; Soviet communiques and their mentioning principal place names has created a good impression among foreign observers. Greater weight is attached to the Soviet ‘‘balance sheet” thah to-the German claims which so frequently have proved extravagant and, if half true, make the continuation of the Soviet resistance inexplicable. Observers are impressed with the. candid Russian admissions of losses, which are regarded as a sign of strength. A Soviet communique of yesterday stated: “During the night preceding Saturday our troops engaged in stubborn fighting in the Kholm, Smolensk, Korosten and Byela-Tserkov directions and the Estonian sectors. On other sectors reconnaissance activities and encounters of a local character took place. Our air force in co-opera-tion with the land forces dealt heavy blows on enemy motorised and mechanised units, infantry, artillery and planes on aerodromes. On Thursday 81 German planes were shot down by the Russians who lost 14. During daylight on Friday Soviet fighters brdught down a German reconnaissance plane in the vicinity of Moscow. Thp crew was taken prisoner.” Heavy Blows Dealt A Russian High Command communique broadcast overnight on the Moscow wireless stated: “During yesterday fierce fighting took place in the sectors of Smolensk, Korosten and Byela-Tserkov. On other sectors of the front there was no particular change. Our air force dealt heavy 1 blows, to motorised .and mechanised enemy units on the front and behind the lines, as well as on enemy aerodromes. During Friday our air force destroyed 14 enemy aircraft. Our lobes were 12 planes. One enemy E>boat was sunk and three others damaged by bombs.” The Red Army newspaper, the Red jjt'ar, reported very heavy losses to 10 German divisions in addition to all previously reported. The newspaper says that intercepted reports from' the enemy’s news service show that the ilth infantry division suffered 20 per cent losses, the 7th tank division 35 pgr cent, the 56th, 297th and 299th infantry divisions 40 per cent, and the llth, 13th, 14th and 16th tank divisions 40 per cent, while the losses of the lfi'th tank division were reported to be enormous. The Stockholm correspondent of The Times in a message of Friday stated that the Germans were assisting a new determined Finnish attempt to’ reach Lake Ladoga with a view to applying the favourite German annihilation tactics against relatively large Russian forces which the capture of Kholm would isolate. The Russians were resisting stubbornly. The Finns so far had made only slight progress in any direction. No confirmation of Berlin’s latest claims to successes in the southern add central sectors was contained in the Russian Saturday night communique. Similarly no light was thrown on Helsinki’s claim that a second great offensive was beginning north-east of Lake Ladoga. Claims Treated With Reserve German claims of yesterday of a spectacular ’victory, in the Ukraine Were treated with reserve in London in the absence o£ a Russian version of the fighting. Both Russian and German sources are agreed that the fighting had intensified in the previous 36 hours. A German High Command special communique of yesterday claiming thb “first great success in the Ukraine”, said that the 6th, 12th and jjart of the 18th Soviet armies, totalling 25 divisions had been destroyed and that 103,000 prisoners, including tKb commanders-of the 6th and 12th drmies fell into German hands and alsu 317 tanks, 858 guns and vast quantities of war material. “The enemy has suffered heavy and bloody Tosses, amounting so far to ovfer . 200,000,” added the German communique. “The German forces . Captured Korosten after several days ot battle in dense forests and marshlands. Soviet forces encircled 60 miles south-east of Smolensk were annihilated- Thirty - eight thousand prisoners were taken and 250 tanks and armoured cars and 359 guns were Captured. The German forces in Estonia captured Turi, an important railway junction.” The Hungarians first communique since August 2 was issued on Friday. It stated that the Hungarians “continued offensive operations and gained notable successes in the battle of annihilation along the River Bug. Germans and Hungarians checked enemy attempts to break out. The enemy suffered' great losses.”