SOVIET VICTORIES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXIII, Issue 236, 3 September 1943, Page 2

SOVIET VICTORIES

3.45 P.M. EDITION

NAZIS' DESPERATE STATE. (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright.) (Rec. 1.45 p.m.) LONDON, Sept..2. The capture of Krolcvets, 25 ; miles north of Konotop, cutting the Bryansk-Konotop railway, takes the Russians 28 miles west of Glukhov, representing an advance of that distance in two days,

To-night's Soviet communique reporting the capture of Sumy says: The Red Army advancing south of Bryansk occupied over 130 inhabited places, including Krolevets, which is a district centre in the Sumy region. The Russians advancing along the shores of the Soa of Azov have captured Budennovka, which is only 25 miles from Mariupol. The Russians west and south-west of Kharkov advanced and captured several occupied localities. General Vatutin started his drive on Sumy from Orel and took the town by storm. Reuter's military writer says that an interesting situation is developing on the Sumy front, which may involve the encirclement of strong enemy forces unless they retire in good time. The Germans are. making a desperate effort to avoid the pincers and are showing a tendency to fall back as soon as they are threatened by outflanking movements. The capture of Lisichansk is the principal Russian Donetz Basin victory. Lisichansk is a most important communications centre. It is on the Donetz River and the KharkovStalino railway. The Russians during last winter's offensive captured Lisichansk but lost it again in the German counter-thrust. BAITLE NEAR STALINO.

Reuter's Moscow correspondent to-night reports stiff fighting southeast of Stalino, where the Russians have massed hew forces at their spearhead. The Germans along the now ragged line west and south of Stalino are trying to remove their heavy equipment. The Times Stockholm correspondent says that front-line reporters and other semi-independent German sources in their reports imply that the German armies in Russia are having an exceedingly hard time. One correspondent goes so far as to say that the German retreat from the Mius line is the result of' the gravest crisis of the whole summer campaign. Another neutral correspondent remarks from Berlin that, although the Germans in the last few days are talking about passing "crises", there is no evidence that the crises are becoming fewer. The German newspapers reccntlv described whole units of 17 and 18-year-old youths getting their baptism of fire on the Mius front, which is the sector where the Russians broke through: Reuter's Moscow correspondent says that the Russians ambushed German reinforcements in forests south-west of Kharkov and mowed them down with machine-guns. They inflicted heavy losses and the survivors were thrown into confusion and ran into minefields.

Another big group of Germans south of Bryansk abandoned their arms and fled when they found their supply transport was captured and the telephone lines cut. The Berlin radio reports that the Russians in the. Kuban attacked several times with heavy guns and flamethrowers.