German Armies Having Very Hard Time

Manawatu Times, Volume 68, Issue 210, 4 September 1943, Page 5

German Armies Having Very Hard Time

LONDON, Sept. 2. The capture of Krolevets, 25 miles north of Konotop, cutting the BryanskKonotop 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 or the Sea of Azov nave captured Budeanovka, which is only 25 miles from Mariupol. The Russians west and southwest of Kharkov advanced and captured several occupied localities. General Vatutin started his drive on Sumy from Orel and took the town oy 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 snowing 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 Kharkov-Stalino railway. The Russians during last winter's offensive captured Lisichansk but lost it agaiu in the German counter-thrust. Reuter’s Moscow correspondent tonignt reports stiff iigating southeast oi Stalino, where the Russians have massed new forces’ at their spearhead. The Germans along tne now ragged line west and south of Stalino are trying to remove taeir heavy equipment. The Times’ Stockholm correspondent says that front-line reporters and other semi-inclepenaent German sources in their reports imply that the German armies in Russia are having an exceeuingly hard time. One correspondent goes so far as to say that the German retreat from the Mius line is the resulc of the gravest crisis of the whole summer campaign. Another neutral correspondent remarks from Benin 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 recently described whole units of 17 and 18-year-oid youtus getting their baptism of lire on the Mius front, which is the sector where the Russians broke through. Reuter’s Moscow correspondent says that tne Russians amousned German reinforcements in forests southwest oi Kharkov and mowed them down with machineguns. They inflicted heavy losses and the survivors were tnrowu into confusion and ran into minefields. big group of Germans souta of Bryansk abandoned their arms ana 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.