HIGHEST PITCH

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21303, 15 January 1944, Page 3

HIGHEST PITCH

RUSSIAN BATTLE

EAST OF VINNITSA

FIERCE ENGAGEMENTS

(Noon.) LONDON, Jan. 14. The fighting on the eastern front has jjeached the highest pitch since the opening of the war between Germany and Russia, according to the German Overseas News Agency, which added that there was no doubt that the enemy was throwing his entire reserves into the battle. The Red Army west and south-west of Sarny, after throwing back the enemy, is successfully forging ahead, says the Moscow radio. The Germans have thrown fresh troops into the battle straight from the march and are rushing reserves to the front from other sectors.

The Red Star states that fierce engagements are going on east of Vinnitsa, where the Russians are driving to the Odessa railway. Violent German counter-attacks there were repelled. Large German tank and infantry forces tried to cut the Russian troops in two by an outflanking movement but Soviet artillery and Stormoviks destroyed and disabled half the enemy force. The roads of the Red Army’s advance on a front of over many hundreds of miles are strewn with smashed and mauled German equipment and thousands of German bodies. ,

A Russian supplementary communique states: “The enemy converted the whole area between Mosir and Kalinkovichi into a powerful defensive line studded with artillery, mortars and machine-guns and the Russians are having a hard fight to break his resistance. More than 2000 Germans were killed yesterday in the fighting east of Vinnitsa, which is assuming a most violent character. Some localities changed hands several times. The enemy suffered heavy losses without achieving any success.”

Frenzied Nazi Counters

The Germans are stilL making frenzied counter-attacks east of Vinnitsa but are being forced back more and more northwards, where General Vatutin’s men are only 13 miles northeast of Shetetovka, which is the main gateway to south Poland. Moscow military commentators declare that this area is more important than Sarny.

Reuter’s correspondent describes the savage fighting east of Vinnitsa as a battle of guns versus tanks. General von Mannstein has mustered all his available tanks in a determined ell'ort to halt the Russians, but General Vatutin has assembled powerful concentrations of artillery which won the final battle of the Kiev bulge at Jitomir.

Fierce sea engagements are going on in the Kerch Straits, where storms have been raging for the past few days.

The Russians west and south-west of Russians west and south-west ol Sarny captured several localities and a number of railway stations, including Tutovichi, 10 miles west of Sarny; also west and south-west of Novograd Volynsk they captured over GO places, including Korets, 40 miles east of Rovno, and the railway station at Maidanvila, 13 miles north-east of Shetetovka.

The Red Army west and south west of Berdichev fought offensive battles and occupied several localities; also east of Vinnitsa they repelled strong counter-attacks.