SERIOUS DOUBT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20635, 15 August 1941, Page 7

SERIOUS DOUBT

GERMAN BOASTING UKRAINE CLAIMS SMOLENSK FIGHTING DISAPPOINTED FINNS (Elec. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Reed. Aug. 14, 3 p.m.) , LONDON, Aug. 13. Soviet military circles, replying to the Germans claims of a sweeping advance in the Ukraine, say that nothing important occurred .on the war fronts throughout the day. Reuter’s Moscow correspondent advances the opinion that it would be absurd for the Russians to use suck a phrase if something very important had happened, and the abseftce of new place-names in to-day's Soviet communique is a clear indication that the main German forces have not advanced. This does not mean that the German advance units may not have again ventured to push ahead, possibly towards Nikolayev, whose gigantic silos doubtlessly conjure up visions of vast grain stocks for the Germans. There is every reason to suppose that the Russians would move this grain inland if Nikolayex were seriously threatened, which it is not The correspondent of The Times on the German frontier says that the mere fact that no exact particulars can be obtained as to what is happening around Odessa justifies doubt ot the German claim that Odessa i is isolated and also that the Germhns control the lower Dnieper southward of Kiev. Onslaughts by Cossacks The correspondent refers to Moscow’s mention of a great battle 40 miles from Nikolayev, where the Axis forces are numerically superior to those of Marshal Budenny, but points out that the German statement of Sunday that 25'' of Marshal Budenny’s divisions were annihilated is still unconfirmed. As against this, onslaughts by Marshal Budenny’s Cossacks have in many places released the encircled Russians. Desperate fighting continues around Smolensk. The Russian forces encircled westward of Smolensk are far from annihilated or even checkmated, and constitute the heaviest encumbrance to the German advance. A high German commander who participated in the capture of Smolensk arrived at Berlin and related that while the Germans were advancing to Smolensk the Russians failed to destroy bridges, evidently expecting they would be able to successfully counter-attack, whereas on the approaches to the Dnieper line all bridges, even the smallest, were dynamited, this suggesting that the Russians had abandoned hope of driving the Germans back. The commander admitted that the fighting around Smolensk was still particularly violent because the Russians numerically were stronger, “but the Germans are gradually winning, thanks to superior arms and intelligence.” Smolensk Zone Fighters The correspondent of The Times on the German frontier comments that whatever is the exact worth of this voluntary communication, an essential point is that the termination of the Smolensk fighting, which the Germans noisily proclaimed over a week ago, is still far distant, while Kiev momentarily does not appear to be seriously threatened, because the German thrust has been diverted to the south. A German communique claims that infantry and mobile troops pursued the enemy retreating to the Black Sea harbours, “inflicting great losses on the Soviet rearguard.” The Stockholm correspondent of the Daily Mail paints a grim picture of the 1 desolation which awaits the invaders in the Ukraine as a result of the “scorched earth” policy. He says that millions of peasants released from the fields are swelling the guerrilla ranks to proportions which will create a serious menace to the Germans. Fifteen millions of Ukraine’s 31,000,000 people who have been living in areas ravaged by the Germans are making the greatest trek in history, destroying everything as they go, until the area, which is vital to the European granary, is now a desolation of desolations. Finn Admiration Waning . The Stockholm correspondent of The Times'says that the Germans on Tuesday apparently gained some ground in central Estonia as a result of a new and determined attempt to reach the Gulf of Finland and isolate Paldiski and Tallinn. This diversion from the general offensive against Leningrad was largely due to the necessity for re-establishing the Germans’ shaken prestige in Finland, where a distinct and widespread psychological reaction to the disappointingly- ineffective results of the German aid is developing. The bulk of the small German expeditionary force in Finland is virtually marooned in the Tundra after a vain attempt to seize Murmansk, which the Germans persuaded the Finns would be child’splay for General Dietl’s seasoned warriors from Norway. Other German troops are checked within Finland’s 1939 boundaries near the battlefield of Salla, where the Finns gained fame and glory during the terrible winter war. The Germans are better equipped than the admiring Finns, who have now ceased to admire. The correspondent adds that death notices in newspapers and crowded hospitals are contributing to make the Finns heartily sick of the war. It is a Finnish custom to send all recoverable bodies home for burial. The number of these homecomers is already appalling, making Finland a country of grief.