Sweeping Forward, Russians Make Crimea Fritz-Trap

Northern Advocate, 14 April 1944, Page 3

Sweeping Forward, Russians Make Crimea Fritz-Trap

(Rec. 1 p.m.)

LONDON, April 13

THE RUSSIANS, IN A FURTHER A GREAT ADVANCE, HAVE SWEPT COMPLETELY ' ACROSS THE CRIMEA, AND TO-NIGHT MARSHAL STALIN WAS ABLE TO ANNOUNCE THE CAPTURE OF THE WEST COAST PORT OF EUPATORIA, THE SOUTH COAST PORT OF THEODOSIA AND THE CAPITAL OF THE CRIMEA, SIMFEROPOL.

Earlier in the day correspondents reported that the Russians were still 20 miles from Eupatoria and were flooding through the outskirts of Simferopol, taking full advantage of one of the worst German routs in the whole Russo-German war.

The British United Press correspondent says Moscow newspapers refer to the Crimea as a “Fritz trap.” “Pravda” declares: “The Germans did not retreat —they ran.” The correspondent continues that it was obvious the Germans staked everything on their ability to hold Perekop Isthmus, the south bank of the Sivash and Kerch Peninsula. The enemy concentrated his main strength in these positions and once the Russians penetrated the hard shell of the outer defences,, there was almost nothing to halt them, and within 24 hours they had over-run two-thirds of the Crimea. These great breakthroughs plunged the Germans and Rumanians into complete chaoS. Officers and staffs abandoned many units in headlong flight towards Sebastopol, commandeering cars and other vehicles and leaving men to their fate. Other ranks abandoned equipment and fled. Some managed to jump into lorries, but were caught by machine gun fire from Russian planes, which swept the roads.

Can Be Written Off

One Rumanian division broke up completely and fled on foot in all directions.

The Russians took thousands of prisoners in the northern sectors. Isolated detachments which escaped, at present are being rounded up. One group of .2000, stranded on the south bank of the Sivash, was completely wiped out. There was an equally great debacle on the Kerch front after General Yeremenko’s tanks ran the gauntlet of Gei'man artillery on an 11-mile front and turned their positions before the Germans were able to put up effective resistance. Gun crews fled from emplacements, leaving the Russians complete masterk Reuter’s Moscow correspondent reports that the Rumanians, cut off on the narrow Arabat split between the mainland and Kerch Peninsula, after making vain all-day appeals for shipping to evacuate them, are now trying to disperse individually by land. The correspondent believes that although the Crimea's defences have caved in. there may be still’ battles to recapture the ruins of Sebastopol and a possibility of the Germans making a stand along the mountain wall south of the Peninsula, but for strategical purposes the Crimea garrison can already be written off, he declares- “ Pravda” says that the Crimea is blockaded from the air and sea. The air force is seeking and destroying enemy convoys. A German naval reporter in a broadcast from the Black Sea, relayed over Berlin radio, said: “From dawn to dusk the Russians arc mercilessly attacking our Crimeabound convoys. An endless procession of bombers, dive-bombers, and fighters are raining down bombs on our ships and riddling them with cannon fire. The Russians are all out to isolate the Crimea.” At Walls of Jassy Reuter’s Moscow correspondent, detailing the situation in Rumania, says that Marshal Koniev’s forces are almost at the walls of the German’s key bastion of Jassy. The drive to the Danube mouth received a new impetus after fresh Russian forces were released by the fall of Tyraspol. Move on Finnish Front The Moscow correspondent of tlie British United Press says that heavy air fighting has flared up on the Russo-Finnish front. Planes of the Red Air Force and Russian Baltic fleet in combined opei'ations are taking heavy toll of German transports moving in and out of Finnish and Gulf of Finland ports. Tonight’s Soviet communique says that the Russians south-west of Odessa after stubborn fighting, captured a district centre of the Odessa region of Ovidipool, besides several other places. Troops of. the Fourth Ukrianian front fought their way into over 500 places and took 11,000 prisoners. At Theodosia they took 9,000 prisoners. Rumanians Want Peace

The Rumanian Government is studying detailed Russian peace terms, says foreign diplomats in London. These terms are said to have been approve.d by Britain and America. They are understood to be generous and there is little doubt that if the Rumanian Government was sufficiently free it would accept them, says the “Daily Express.” The paper adds: ‘Rumania now is a German-occupied country but there are signs that the Rumanians are becoming hostile to the Germans who, they feel, have left them in the lurch.” The Ankara correspondent of the British United Press reports that a Rumanian peace delegation, headed by the Vice-Premier, Mihail Antonescu, has left Bucharest for Moscow. g. Three Orders of the Day Marshal Stalin today issued three Orders of the Day. The first announces that forces under the ai'my general (Yeremenko) driving througn the Crimea occupied Theodosia on the south-east coast after breaking through strongly fortified Akmanay positions. The second Order addressed to General Tolbukhin says: “Troops of the Fourth Ukrainian front, continuing a successful offensive, today occupied, by a daring blow of tank formations and infantry, the town and Black Sea harbour of Eupatoria, important stronghold of German resistance on the western shores of the Crimea.” The third Order announces the capture of Simferopol, capital of the Crimea, about 50 miles from Sebastopol. , important Gains Seventeen Soviet commanders are singled out for mention for successes against the Germans. Moscow tonight saluted tlie capture of Theodosia with 12 salvoes from 124 guns. Moscow radio reported that Crimean Partisans had increased activities against German and Rumanian troops in the past fortnight, and have killed over S3O enemy and wounded over 700. One Partisan group routed the garrison of a settlement near Simferopol. The town and harbour of Theodosia were taken by German troops in November, 1941. The Russians recaptured the town about six weeks later, only to evacuate the area again the following month. Theodosia is an excellent harbour which was psed fpr exports. The population

was over 30,000. The harbour of Eupatoria was occupied by the Germans in November, 11)41. Eupatoria, with a population of over 2.1,000, is on the nonnern snore or Kaianms nay. Disastrous for Germany The Russians, says Reuters Moscow correspondent, nre cutting up and wiping out German forces in the Crimea in one of the swiftest campaigns of the war. The i campaign also has been one of the most disastrous for the Germans. The Russian successes are paving tiro way for complete mastery of the jJlavk »Sea. Tire rapid advance clown the centre of the Crimean peninsula places the Russian force in the rear of the German line at Ishun, and it is difficult to see how the Germans in this position can hold out for any considerable time. Russian artillery, which breached the German lines north of the Crimea, changed its firing angles several times to shell the enemy's second and third lines. When the Gei> mans emerged from front-line dugoutx, believing that a Russian infantry attack had begun, the guns swiftly switched hack to the first angle with devastating effect. Most of the Germans in the front line were put out of notion when Russian infantry .attacked. After establishing bridgeheads on the west bank of the Dniester following the capture of Tyraspol, tlie Russians are now in a position to fan out west towards the Pruth and south, on the flank of the German troops retreating from Odessa. The Red Army also has made a further advance in Rumania. The capture of Fniticeni places them :t0 miles beyond Rolosani. A Russian supplementary communique states that after the capture of Tyraspol, Soviet troops forced the Dniester south of the town and established bridgeheads on the western hank. The communique points out that two days ago the front line ran 15 miles east of Tyraspol.

Aircraft of the Black Sea Fleet, attacked the port of Theodosia, sinking four self-propelled lafiding barges, four cutters ,and a motor torpedo-boat, and damaging other vessels.