RUSSIAN SWEEPS

Grey River Argus, 23 September 1944, Page 5

RUSSIAN SWEEPS

IN THE BALTIC

And Towards Hungary

(Rec. 12.55) LONDON, Sept. 22. The Moscow correspondent of the British Associated Press says: Russian and Estonian shock troops, arc tearing the Germans’ northern Baltic front to shreds. They thrust westward to outskirts of a railway junction, Tapa, 45 miles east of Tallinn after over-running Rakvere and hundreds of other places along the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland. The Red Army cleared Estonia’s two main railways to withing artillery range of Tapa. Russian superiority is so overwhelming that it seems 'likely the enemy will be unable to make even a temporary stand short of Tallinn Further south, in .a bulge west of Valk, Russians are hammering away against stiff resistance, and deepened a salient designed to cut off the German Estonian wing. The enemy still retains his narrow corridor connecting Riga with western Latvia and East Prussia. General Govorov’s sweeping advance in northern Estonia is equalled in strategic importance by a great enveloping manoeuvre begun by General Malinovsky on the eastern edge of the Hungarian plain with the object of trapping from the rear all Hungarian and German forces pinned down in northern Transylvania. The drive may spell doom for the best divisions of the Hungarian Army. General Malinovsky has turned north of Mouthmkkes Mures Valley, where it meets the Danubian Plain, and is developing a threat to enemy communications. Russian forces partially outflanked a railway centre, Arad, by capture of Lipova, also Vinga. Medium forces of heavy bombers yesterday continued an assault against ’enemy communications ■ in Hungary and Yugoslavia, states an Allied Mediterranean air communique. They attacked m.any railyards and rail bridges. Fighter-bombers also struck at a railyard hr Yugoslavia. Tactical planes did not operate because of adverse weather. Balkan air force planes were active over Greece and Albania, attacking military objectives, but weather restricted these operations. . Bombers at night attacked port facilities at Salonika. One enemy plane was destroyed in these operations. Ten of our'planes are missing.