RUSSIAN ATTACK

Grey River Argus, 21 November 1944, Page 5

RUSSIAN ATTACK

IN NORTH HUNGARY Budapest Sector Quiet (Rec. 11.50) LONDON, Nov 20 The Moscow correspondent of the Associated Press says; Broad aims of the Russian offensive in north-east-ern Hungary hav e become increasingly clear, as the sector on the outskirts of Budapest remains quiet, while a heavy concentration of men, tanks and guns is. fighting for the Matra Passes to the north-east. The Russians seem determined to let Budapest wait while they first try to splinter enemy forces ■ holding communication points in northern Hungary. The capture of Gyongyog gives Marshal Malinovsky nis strongest grip on southern terrain of the Matra mountains. Once the German Matra flank has decisively been shattered Russian forces will have, surmounted the most formidable natural barrier on roads to Bratislava and Vienna. Germans are fighting a stubborn painful rearguard action against Finns in th e snow and cold of Lapland, destroying and burning as they retire into Norway, says the Associated Press Stockholm correspondent. There is no well defined front. There are isolated actions on German escape routes, which General Rendulic is trying to rescue his army, which once was more than one hundred thousand strong. The Associated Press Moscow correspondent declares that Malinovsky's hammering against the German flank north-east of Budapest contrasts sharply with the protracted lull on most other parts of the Eastern Front which the Russian military sources flatly state will be broken Dy another great winter offensive. The onset of freezing weather is stated to be a necessary prelude to a renewal of large-scale attacks. Russian military quarters in Moscow believe it is most unlikely that Malinovsky win attempt to take Budapest by frontal assault. They point out - that the traditional Red Army tactics have been to by-pass, outflank and encircle fortified enemy cities. The German News Agency commentator, von Olberg, states that the Russians east of Budapest have brought up great reinforcements ana are attacking on a broad front, using 35 infantry and seven motorised divisions. Reuter’s Moscow correspondent savs: The strategic centre of the battle for Hungary is north-east ot Budapest. Malinovsky is apparently planning to destroy or neutralise the Germans grouping in this area before launching major attacks in the Budapest area. The struggle along the railway between Budapest and Miskolcz is now drawing to a close. The Russians hold the major part of the line, with the Hungarians and Germans occupying some intermediate widely-separ-ated points. The. Hungarians and Germans are throwing in counter-at-tacks elsewhere hoping to regain the strongpoints already lost. Apart from its importance as a line of communication, the railway, with embankments and buildings, . forms a vital part of the Hungarians ana Germans’ defence scheme, which the Russians must break in order to penetrate the areas north of Budapest and strike towards Bratislava.