MASS AIR ASSAULTS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXIII, Issue 258, 29 September 1943, Page 5

MASS AIR ASSAULTS

SUPPORT RED ARMY VERY FIERCE FIGHTING (N.Z. Press Association.—Copyright.) (llec. 11.30 a.m.) LONDON, Hcpt. 28 The struggle for the Dnieper

crossings is developing into an

extended battle along the whole 300-mile stretch of river from Kiev to Zaporozhe, in which the Red Army is being aided by mass assaults from Soviet pianos.

The Russians have a firm grip on the east bank of the Dnieper on wide stretches, but very fierce fighting is going on in some sectors for the remaining bridegheads. Latest front-line reports state that the Red Army has established a bridgehead on the west bank between Kiev and Cherkasy, but there is no official confirmation of this so far.

Reuter’s Moscow correspondent reports that three Russian forces have begun crossing the river opposite Dnepropetrovsk, where, the Berlin radio to-night admitted that the Russians have launched a largescale attack. Reuter says that assault forces of a Russian crack guard unit are swarming across the remains of two railway bridges spanning the river. The Russians are also using small islands as steppingstones for the assault, which is covered by a shuttle service of fighter planes and a heavy artillery barrage. Meanwhile, at the other two key bridgeheads—opposite Kiev and at Kremenchug—the Germans have brought up a fresh division.