"Fairy Tales of German High Command”

Manawatu Times, Volume 66, Issue 188, 9 August 1941, Page 7

"Fairy Tales of German High Command”

Russians Scoff at Wild German Claims Red Army’s Ever-growing Power of Resistance United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright. Received Friday, 11.35 p m. LONDON, Aug. 8. A Moscow supplementary communique headed “Fairy Tales of the German High Command” declares that the German \rmy s heavv losses and the lied Army’s ever-growing resistance against the invaders have disastrously affected not only the spirit and morale of the German Army but also the spirit and morale of the whole German people. It adds While concealing from the German people the German Army’s real losses the High Command feeds them on absurd lies like its fantastic figures cabled yesterday. It also endeavours to explain the heavy German losses and protracted nature of the campaign by creating a legend about the existence of a powerful fortified Stalin Line whereas no special Stalin Line exists. “The Soviet, of course, created fortified points wherever necessary, but these have not constituted a special Stalin Line. The Bed Army and population are transforming every inch of their native land into a fortified zone. “Nazi propaganda surpassed itself with fantastic figures of Soviet losses. The technique of these mendacious estimates is that the Nazis after seizing any Soviet area mobilise by force peasants and other workers and women for hard labour or drive them to the rear. Then they declare them as war prisoners. Thus the Germans fabricate the legend about the number of Bed Army men taken prisoner. The German High Command is forced to issue these obviously false reports as the result of the failure of its blitzkrieg and the failure of its bandit designs to secure grain, cattle, factories, and reserves of raw material.” The Moscow radio announced that the Germans lost 1,5000,000 killed, wounded and taken prisoner against Bussia’s 1,500,000 killed, wounded and taken prisoner against Kussia’s 600,000, also 6000 tanks against Bussia’s 5000, 6000 aircraft compared with Bussia’s 4000, and 8000 guns against Bussia’s 7000.

Analysing the German reserves the Moscow- paper Izvestia estimates that Germany’s total available manpower for military purposes is 7,000,000, including all men to the age of 50. Men available between the ages of 18 and 40 number approximately 4,000,000. It adds: “These figures explain why Hitler is trying to achieve victory with a lightning war. Therefore in the first few weeks of the campaign he sent his best soldiers and specialists to their death as a result of which the quality is gradually deteriorating. Insufficient manpower rather than economic difficulty due to the blockade constitutes Hitler’s gravest danger. Indeed it spells his doom.” French diplomats who have just arrived at Stockholm from Moscow- stated that 40 divisions of fresh Russian troops with a surprising quantity of modern equipment are stationed between Smolensk and Moscow-.

The Daily Telegraph’s Stockholm correspondent says the German claim to have driven a wedge to Kiev at Jitomir is correct, but the Russians signally repulsed German tanks which reached the gates of Kiev and delivered six assaults against the city’s immediate defences. Both the subsequent flanking attacks at Byelaya Tserkov and Korosten were held up. Marshal Budenny still has huge armies intact with large reserves ready to oppose any threat to Odessa. A Moscow message says 200 German tanks were destroyed when, according to dispatches from the front to-night, the Russians from three directions attacked a column of the Eighth Tank Division stretching several miles along the road. The latest Russian communique states that heavy fighting continues in the three main sectors with no important changes, but a German communique claims a big advance on the extreme southern front along the Dnieper, apparently with the object of threatening Odessa. The Germans claim to have defeated a big Russian force and captured its commander-in-chief.

Russian Line Holds In Main Sectors

GERMAN DRIVE ON KIEV IS NEXT ! BIG MOVE LONDON, Aug. 7. | The situation in the various battle zones- shows little change, according to . the correspondent of the Times on the • German frontier, the offensivo against j Leningrad from the south is proceeding , at a snail's pace owing to the difticul- j ties of the terrain and the fierce, Russian resistance, while the Finns from the north are taking a long time ; to overcome the great distances. The Russians have thrown the Germans j back northward of Lake Ilmen. The Russian line is holding northward and southward of Kholm. The German declaration that the fighting has finished in the Smolensk sector really means that it has for the moment ceased to have chief significance, because the main German efforts are focussed on the Ukraine, where, however, Marshal Budenny is still counter-attacking successfully. Despite the German claims, made weeks ago, that their forces were 41 standing directly before Kiev,’’ a dispatch from a German correspondent on the Ukraine front broadcast from Berlin to night admitted that “so far only our fliers save seen Kiev. A Panzer division got within 12 miles of Kiev, bnt tanks alone cannot capture this strongly-defended modern fortress. Infantry support is needed. Now our divisions have encircled Kiev, and everything is ready for the final attack.' * The correspondent of the Times on the German frontier says that the Wilhelmstrasse doubtless hinted at the truth when it explained that the third phase of the gigantic German l." 00miles offensive had now begun. The first phase, it said, was the encirclement, of Bialystok and Minsk and the approach to the Stalin Line; the second wa- a decisive break through the Stalin Lire and the destruction of the First Re 1 Army by splitting up. encirclement, and annihilation over the whole front. The third phase envisages the occupation of keypoints—notably Lenir trad, Moscow and Kiev. German military spokesmen insist t’ at the loss of these centres would be futal to the Russian war potential. They contend that, without the Ukraine Russia could not even feed her people These pronouncements distinctly reveal the underlying strategic plan of the third offensive, showing that the Germans intend in future to concentrate their supreme effort on the Ukraine. The Stockholm correspondent of the

Times reports that the most advanced • points of the German offensive against j Leningrad are still near Dno, southwest of Lake Ilmen, Novgorod, Luga, and Gdov. The Germans, he says, have apparently not captured the Narva Isthmus despite their claim yesterday that they were just outside Narva. The Russians have made their first mention of operations against Karisalmi (Kerholf), on the western shore of Lake Ladoga, although the Finnish command named Kakisalmi daily at the beginning of the war as one of its immediate objectives. Time after time, the Finns resumed their attacks at this point, while the Finns eastward of the Sortavala region, at the northern end of the lake, fought their way to the northern shore of the laic?. So far. however, the Russians have repelled all advances against Kakisalmi. If the Finns reached the coast there, they would isolate all the Russian forces north-westward of Lake Ladoga, from which the only communications with Russia would be across the j lake. Russia Closed as Nazi Supply Avenue AGGRESSION'S EFFECT i (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, Aug. 7. “Germany is unable, as things arc, to i replace the valuable supplies formerly j received from and through Russia,” stated Mr. D. M. Foot, Parliamentary .Secretary to the Ministry of Economic (Warfare, in the House of Commons today. | “During the past 18 months,” said Mr. Foot, “Germany imported from the Soviet substantial quantities of essential war materials, including cereals, oil, timber, manganese, chrome, apatites and cotton. Oil imports for that period were in the neighbourhood of one million tons, including lubricants and aviation spirit. “In addition, the Trans-Siberian railway was Germany's only link with the Far East, and during recent months goods have been reaching the Germans by this route in large quantities, consisting mainly of animal and vegetable oils and fats and also including rubber, tin, copper and tungsten. “The immediate result of Germany’s unprovoked aggression against the Soviet was to cut off all further supplies from and through Russia. Nor, as things were, could these be replaced by German imports from any other source.”

Hitler on South Front PREPARING OFFENSIVE AGAINST UKRAINE LONDON, Aug. 7. Hitler’s presence ou the southern Russian front is interpreted as a sign that Germany is preparing a concerted offensive against the Ukraine, where the Russians report furious counterattacks along the semi-circular front from Korosten through Jitomir to Byelaya-Tserkov. Lt is significant that the Germans have not claimed to have progressed beyond these towns, which they were reported to have occupied on Monday. The Times, in reviewing the position on the eastern front, says it would be unwise to belittle the extent of the German advance —at {Smolensk, 500 miles from the frontier —or to believe that Hitler’s energies are spent. He still has abundant reserves of men and material and may have unpleasant surprises in store, but there is reason to believe that the Germans were surprised by the quality of the Russian !material, the soldiers’ valour, and the {Soviet leaders' competence. In view of the Germans’ immense transport difficulties and huge fuel expenditure, The Times adds, there is 'ground for reasoned conlMence. -If the Russian morale holds—and it is holding right well—the German public may stand in need of reassurance this winter. According to a Rome broadcast, the Italian expeditionary force has gone into action on the Ukrainian front. The Italians went into the campaign with the greatest enthusiasm, said the announcer.