NO BREAK IN LINE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21141, 8 July 1943, Page 3

NO BREAK IN LINE

TWO-DAY BATTLE

HEAVY ENEMY LOSSES

NAZIS DENY OFFENSIVE

'By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright.) (11 a..) LONDON. July 7.

The results of tire first two days of fighting on the central front in Russia cannot be regarded as decisive, says Reuter's correspondent in Moscow. The Germans made no largescale break-through, although they held all the advantages of a superior force concentrated at one point. The British United Press’ correspondent in Moscow says that the toll the Germans have suffered thus tar is the heaviest they have had in any initial engagement of the war. The Germans up to noon yesterday had lost over 750 planes and 10.000 men. The ollicial Russian figures give the German plane losses as 314 and the tank losses as 1009 in two days of fighting.

Reuter’s correspondent says that the Russians are meeting the first round ol' the summer battles in a new and stronger spirit than ever before. At the top of one newspaper appears Lenin's slogan, "We are much stronger than the enemy. Victory is, not far off. It will be ours.” The double German thrust against the Kursk bulge extends in a giant semi-circle with'a radius of 50 miles centred on Kursk. The Kursk-Orel sector lies somewhere between two railways, the first the Lgovbryansk and the second the Kursk-Orel, part of which is in Russian and part in German hands. The Germans are trying to protest their left flank by launching secondary attacks southwest of Mtsensk, where probing has been going on for months. The attack on the southern Byelgorod sector is developing along a 40-mile front. The thrust at one point was strong enough to capture two villages, but these were subsequently recaptured by the Russians.

Sky Full of Fighters The sky is full of Russian fighters, including the latest model Yak VII, which played havoc with successive waves of dive-bombers. The Russian defences have been considerably strengthened during the lull and are generally more powerful than last year. The Germans still say that they have not opened an offensive. The Berlin radio described reports of a new German offensive as nonsense and added: “The fierce battles iat Byelgorod, which spread to the area north of Kursk, are the result of a Russian attack on Monday morning. The attack was carried out to counter a German advance which was halted north-west of Byelgorod, when a strategic height from which the Russian hinterland could be kept under observation was captured. If the British now speak about a German offensive this is without foundation. It is likewise false to claim that Moscow is the final objective of the German operation. These allegations are put out to enable an announcement later that the German High Command has not reached its objective and has suffered failure. The allegation that the Germans lost hundreds of tanks is unfounded.” The Berlin radio described the battle area as a pocket between Orel and Byelgorod containing a network of railways and roads most important to both sides. The radio late last night announced that the Russians, despite the use of considerable forces of tanks and men, had not broken the German lines at any point and added that the lighting was fiercest in the Orel sector, especially south of the town, where the Russians launched a counter-attack. Ferocious Attacks The Moscow radio announced that a large force of Soviet aircraft, two of which are missing, on Monday night attacked enemy troops and equipment in the Orel, Kursk, and Byelgorod areas. Big bomb-loads were dropped on troop concentrations and a large number of tanks were destroyed and several ammunition dumps blown up.

A Moscow message reports that the Germans redoubled the weight and ferocity of their attacks in the whole of the Byelgorod-Kursk-Orel area and are trying to widen the wedges. They have taken two more places near Byelgorod. but the Russians recovered one by a counter-attack. In the Orcl-Kursk direction, after the first day’s failure, the enemy switched to a new direction where, however, the position proved even stiffer. A supplementary Russian communique slates: “In the Orel-Kursk direction, a Soviet formation for the second day repelled incessant attacks by German tanks and infantry. Our troops are firmly holding their positions. In an attack against positions held by this formation, the Germans, after an artillery preparation, threw into the battle 400 tanks. In the course of the battle our artillery, infantry, and tank-busters destroyed or damaged 110 tanks and wiped out over 3000 troops. On other sectors in the same direction, all enemy attempts to break through out first-line defence failed. The Soviet troops are showing stubbornness and heroism.

“In the Byelgorod direction, the Germans renewed their attacks from this morning. Our troops, by powerful fire from all types of arms, repelled the enemy to his initial position. In the latter half of the day, the enemy brought up large tank forces and renewed his attacks. Over 200 German tanks were destroyed. At one place, at a price of high losses, the Germans succeeded in occupying two localities. A further German advance has been stopped by Soviet troops despite all the enemy's attacks. In the evening, the fighting continued.”