RUSSIAN FRONT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21143, 10 July 1943, Page 3

RUSSIAN FRONT

BIG GERMAN BID SOVIET UNES HOLD INSIGNIFICENT WEDGES (By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright.) (11 a.m.) LONDON, July 9. The great tank battle covering points where the Germans forced wedges in the Russian positions by sheer force is still raging on the Byelgorod front. The. Germans are throwing in still more armoured infantry and the air force is trying to follow up successes on this part of the front. The British United Press correspondent in Moscow says that spearheads consisting of 20 or 30 Tiger tanks, backed up by older types of tanks, guns, and infantry are repeatedly pushing against the Russian positions. The Russian forces on the Orel-KursK front are reported to have taken the initiative, dislodging the Germans Iron* a number of points and also have improved their own positions. The Germans are rushing up reinforcements on this front. The Russians retain air superiority, successfully combating enemy attempts to reinforce by air. The Germans are hurling in fresh divisions and changing the direction of their attacks frequently.

There has been no serious break on the Byelgorod front, says Reuter's Moscow correspondent. The German wedges in the Russian lines are insignificant. The Russian air force is not only holding its own against the Luftwaffe, but in many cases has local air mastery. The Russian tank losses so far are small while the German tank losses are really stupendous. The latest official Russian figure is 1843 German tanks destroyed or disabled. The morale of the Russian armies, at Kursk is very high and their fighting spirit is terrific. The Russians after the first three days of the summer battle feel that they have the measure of the Germans, even though the Kursk battle is by no means won.

The Red Star says that fighting between Kursk and Orel is developing on a still larger scale, particularly the tense struggle going on for a town south of Orel. During six hours yesterday the Russian defenders of the town beat off 13 German attacks led by 250 tanks, supported by planes and artillery. Although the fighting went on into the night, the Germans did not gain ground. The Oslo radio says that the Russians on the Orel-Byelgorod front are concentrating large forces for a counter-attack. The battle is believed to be approaching a climax. Supreme Effort

The correspondent says that the Luftwaffe, in groups of up to 200, attacked the Russian ground forces all yesterday, but did not obtain air superiority. The German command clearly intends to make a supreme effort to straighten the front-line between Orel and Byelgorod. General von Kluge may strike south of Maloarkhandelsk towards Rzhava. Kursk on the Russian side is only suppled by a secondary railway from Voronej, although Voronej is directly linked with Moscow and also with the south.

The British United Press’ correspondent in Moscow says that fighting is going on over wheatfields which, with the Ukraine, are the granary of Russia. “To-day many of them have become oceans of flame over which the fury of the blitzkreig is again unleashed,” he says. “This must r seem a nightmare landscape from the German viewpoint. Although the great battles are being fought out on a front of less' than 200 miles, the assault which the Red Army is holding is as fierce as any it has ever had to face. The Russian artillery is mowing down the German infantry and turning to scrap dozen after dozen tanks, but the Germans still send in reinforcements. It seems that at least 3000 tanks and approximately 650,000 men are being used for the offensive.” “Masters of Defence” Russian fighters are not only being used against German planes, but are also making increasingly frequent attacks against ground targets, says the correspondent. They are attacking, in particular, tanks. Large numbers of dive-bombers are also being used for this work. The Berlin radio says that Berlin military circles claimed that the position of. the Russians on the Orel-Byel-gorod salient was precarious, but admitted that the Russians were masters of defence and added that the Russians were still keeping back part of their armoured reserves. The battle had not yet reached a climax, although its violence was increasing. The Russians are clinging to their fortifications, using a new type of tank —the 34. Swedish correspondents in Berlin says that the Germans already have been obliged to throw in operative reserves. an indication that the resistance is much stronger than was expected.