TERRIFIC IMPETUS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 13 October 1941, Page 5

TERRIFIC IMPETUS

GERMANY'S GREAT OFFENSIVE

Slowed Down in Last 24 Hours

RED ARMY'S STRONG RESISTANCE

(Rec. 9.45 a.m.) Rugby, Ocl. 12 I hough the terrific impetus of Hitler’s fourth and greatest offensive on the Eastern front still carries his troops forward in spite of the almost superhuman effort of the Soviet resistance, which is inflicting such heavy losses on his forces, the last 24 hours brought no substantial gains. 1 his is officially decribed in the following Moscow communique last night; On 1 Ith October our forces engaged the enemy along the entire front, fighting being particularly severe in the central sector, where fierce resistance inflicted heavy losses on the enemy According to incomplete reports, 72 German tanks, 220 truck loads of troops and ammunition, 41 guns and many machine-guns were demolished. The Germans lost not less than 9,000 officers and men killed and injured. On one single aerodrome in this sector at least 65 German planes of various types were destroyed. ’’Severe fighting continued during the whole day in a south west direction of the front. In heavy attacks German forces attempted to break through our lines but the assaults were stemmed with heavy losses for them. Our Air Force destroyed 100 trucks with German infantry. 150 lorries with ammunition. 15 guns and a column of mobile petrol tanks.” Earlier messages state that continually flinging forward fresh troops, the Germans are making an all-in bid for victory in the battle of Moscow. Though the Soviet Army newspaper. "Red Star” denies that Russian armies are encircled, a German communique claims that the annihilation of the Russians encircled to the north of the Sea of Azov is nearing completion and that the destruction of others at Bryansk and Viazma is proceeding apace. A new threat to Moscow is said to be developing from 1 ula, the industrial city, 125 miles south of the capital, which Vichy radio says the Germans have captured. [ fhe latest report states that this is denied by M. Lozosky. ] The ' Red Star” says that huge masses of Russian troops, accompanied by colossal war machines, are now moving to the front to reinforce Marshal Timoshenko’s army. German planes are vainly trying to halt the endless columns of reinforcements, which are going to the front with clockwork precision. Huge forces of cavalry and artillery are following up the infantry and mechanised units.

Informed opinion here is that the Germans are exerting still heavier pressure. In the central sector two distinct offensives by the enemy have developed. The first consists of a thrust north of the Smolensk railway, designed to converge east of Viazma with an attack north-east from Roslavi toward Yukhnov along the road to .Moscow and the second offensive, farther south, has taken the form of a break-through on the line Bryansk-Glukhov directed on Orel, the important junction on the Moscow-Kharkov railway, which the enemy recently captured. It is not known how far the Germans have been able to exploit this advance. Considerable numbers of Russian divisions, it is feared, may have been encircled in each of these two offenIi: Finland no change has occurred on the Murmansk or Kandalaksha fronts, but Finnish forces have established a position on the western shore of Lake Onega and Petrozavodsk is in their hands. Round Leningrad the investment of the city continues with little material change in the position of the opposing forces. In the Ukraine the German advance from Poltava in the direction of Kharkov is still meeting with stubborn resistance and appears to have made little progress. In the Crimean and Sea of Azov zone the German attack on the isthmus is still held up. Russian resistance continues round Ivleli topul, west of Berdyansk, but the situation of the Russian divisions in .his area would appear to be precarious. BACKS TO THE WALL The Russians in the neighbourhood of the Sea of Azov are fighting with their backs to the wall and the situation there is serioul as a number of important industrial centres near the coast, are threatened. Fierce fighting continues. A Russian communique describes the ' fighting in the direction of Melitopol, as well as Viazma and Bryansk, as particularly intense. Fierce fighting is | also reported north of Orel by the “Pravda's” war correspondent, who says it is not yet possible to stem the advance of the enemy in spite of the heavy losses inflicted by the Russian I air force and troops. RUSSIAN KOCiil.: GUNS A German war correspondent, referring to repeated Russian attempts to break through in order to neutralise the cutting off the Crimea from the mainland, says that the Russians used ! rocket guns which fire 60 shells simul- 1 taneouslv and also made raging attacks with tanks. Moscow radio broadcast a telephone interview with General Charitinov. commander of the Russian 9th army which the Germans claim they have annihilated. General Charitinov said. “The Germans are still lighting, but we are holding them. The German reports that they have captured my headquarters are untrue. They never will. “They have a grudge against the 9th j army for beating them at Melitopol, ; when we inflicted huge losses. They | then got some men at our rear, but that not scared anybody and they have not surrounded us." AIR RAID ON MtkMAN.SK REPULSED The Moscow "Pravda” says that the j latest attempt by the Luftwaffe to raid : Murmansk was repulsed by the Red Air I Force and the Royal Air Force, with the j enemy losing five planes, three of which j were shot down by Hurricanes. Neither 1 the Russian nor British force suffered a j single loss.—B.O.W. and U.P.A.