GERMAN REPORTS

Grey River Argus, 7 October 1941, Page 5

GERMAN REPORTS

BLACK SEA FRONT SUCGEbSbS. [Aus. & N.Z Cable Assn.] LONDON, October m The Germans continue to report favourable progress on the Eastern F A n German communique states: Offensive operations in the East are progressing favourably. Our infantry divisions in the southern Ukraine took over 12,000 prisoners in the period from September 24 to 29 in fighting for strongly-fortified positions in the Perekop area, and during the mopping up of the peninsula south of the Dnieper mouth, and in a number of smaller islands in the Black Sea. Possibly referring to Marshal Budenny’s counter-attack from the vicinity of Militopol, a Roumanian communique reports a battle in the Sea of Axov area and claims that Russian forces were repulsed and are retreating. A German communique states: — Pioneers in assault boats, starting from Osel, occupied the island of Abruka, south of Osel. The Luftwaffe last night attacked military objectives at Moscow, Leningrad and Kharkov. GERMAN PRESS VIEW. OF RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN (Rec. 12.50). LONDON, October 6. A message from Berlin, received in Zurich, states: All leading German newspapers to-day carry articles warning the public against unjustified optimism. The “Frankfurter Zeitung” says: “Although the fuehrer said that the actual danger on the East Front has passed we must be prepared for many more hard battles.” ■ The “Frankfurter Zeitung’ argues that Britain will thank God for the German victory when she realises that Russia would most likely at the grimmest moment when the British and German troops were fighting each other, have, swooped down, crushing both nations. The Munich paper, “Neuest.e Nachrichten,” says: “The war m the east will not end soon. It will remain the greatest test of the nerves and endurance of the German nation. Ou.r utmost hatred must be directed against Britain and America, who have forced us to take up arms against Russia.” A number of German papers explain that the occupation of Leningrad would have little . importance from a military viewpoint. It is only important to encircle the city. This has been accomplished. RUSSIANS REPORT ADVANCES. IN CENTRE AND NORTH. (Rec. 7.30) LONDON, October 5. “The Times’s” Stockholm correspondent declares: < “Tsarkoe-Selo, Leningrad, is still in Russian hands. There are no signs'that the Germans have regained the Initiative around Leningrad. On the contrary, .^ us " sian forces are believed to be widening a gap in the German ri . through which they are contacting outside Russian forces. The maintenance of the break would seriously jeopardise a German force that is isolated towards Shlusselburg. (Rec. 12.50). LONDON, October 6. Moscow reports state that the Rea Army in the Central Sector has advanced at some points distance ot miles. Moscow also reports that the defenders of Leningrad have made a successful thrust. LATEST NEWS. OF SOUTHERN FRONTS. ' RUSSIANS’ OFFENSIVE ’ , (Rec. 915). LONDON. October 5. The National Broadcasting Company’s Ankara correspondent says: The Russians are reliably reported to have begun a counter-offensive m all sectors of the southern front. (Rec 1.55). LONDON, October 6. The German people are buoyed up by Hitler’s reference to a big new offensive, and are of the opinion tnnt it is being waged against the Ukraine and the Crimea . On the other hand, unofficial reports at Moscow, from the Ukraine, state that Marshal Budenny has thrown back the German right wing 20 miles. Moscow’ also claims successes in Other parts of the Ukraine. Berlin admits there has been a Soviet attack on the southern front with numbers of tankjs, including 52-ton tanks, but it claims that the attack has been repulsed. . In the meantime, masses of Nazi troops and supplies are reported to be pouring towards the Ukraine 'front. ~ The Moscow radio says:—Russian airmen continue to render immense assistance to the defenders of Odessa They smashed regiments ot Roumanian infantrv and cavalry. Russian Black Sea Fleet airmen sank three "Monitors and two transports, and nut out of action a destroyer and ten transports.”

GERMAN PARA-TROOPS. (Rec. 7.10). LONDON. October 5. The Moscow "Red Star” reports: German parachute divisions, from Crete, have reformed after resting. They are expected shortly to launch major operations. S.A. :A'CE IN RUSSIA (Rec. 7.30) LONDON. October bThe Moscow radio told the life story of Pilot Officer A. G. Lewis. D.F.C. and bar. a 23-vear-old South African, who is serving with the RA.F. wing in Russia. The rad'o described him as a “worthv son of the courageous British people, and the destroyer of 30 Nazi planes. ’ ine radio added: Often German planes would combine forces to hunt him with a dozen planes simultaneiusl.v. Lewis in three days last year destroyed five, seven and six planes. He was seriously burned and obliged to bale out last October, when his plane caught fire. GERMAN LOSSES. SWISS EXPERT’S ESTIMATE. (Rec. 1.58). LONDON. October 6. A Zurich message renorts that a Swiss newspaper, “Die Nation,” says: After a careful investigation a mlitary expert states that heavy German losses on the Russian front have been due to the fact that the Hign Command, in adopting the “blitzkrieg” method at the beginning ol the fourth week of the fighting, threw the. entire German fighting strength into battle. The Germans from that dav onward lost 24.000 men daily, and one effect of modern I weapons is that 17 per cent, of the casualties are killed, as compared I with 10 per cent, in the last war. I The German losses by the end of the ninth week totalled 1,400 thousand. | The Luftwaffe, in the opinion of experienced pilots, had an average daily loss of 80 planes, with a total for the first nine weeks of 4100 planes and 16,000 pilots. The German Arm-v to-day had, he estimated, about three hundred divisions in action, but their effective strength had been reduced, and had been made up bv onlv fiftv ner cent. I The aircraft production in Germany last Mav was about fifteen hundred l planes, but a shortage of raw ma- | ter’al and destruction of some factories reduced the figure to eleven hundred planes per month.