EAST OF MOJAISK

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 21 January 1942, Page 5

EAST OF MOJAISK

BROKEN AT TWO POINTS GERMAN DEFENCE LINE | (Rec. 11.25 a.m.) London, Jan. 20. Russian troops are now east ol Mojaisk. Fierce fighting continues in the south-eastern and north-western suburbs ol Mojaisk. The despatch from the front to Moscow reports that the whole scene is illuminated by two blazing villages near Mojaisk. Three German divisions are desperately defending the Mojaisk area. A Kuibyshev message claims that the Russians smashed the German defence line at two important points, drove across the Lama river 75 miles north-westward of Moscow, smashed three German divisions and cut the Briansk highway 140 miles west of Moscow They are continuing the offensive and are also reported to be harassing the Germans along the Moscow-Smolensk-Minsk highway, directly westwards of Moscow. U.P.A.

London, Jan. 19.. Russian Guard regiments, supported by armoured units, are! fighting through Mojaisk street) by street, says the “Daily Tele-j graph’s” Stockholm corrcspon-! dent. The cream of the German 1 Army is pouring westward from Mojaisk, harried incessantly by, Russian cavalry and ski patrols and constantly swept hv the Stormoviks’ bombs and guns. ' General Reinhardt’s crack i | panzer forces are covering the' 1 German retreat, fighting with! the courage born of despair from j every lane and street corner, j [They are systematically setting fire to the town as they retire. General Zhukov’s legions have trodden underfoot and inflicted appalling I I losses on the German shock troops ; rushed up from Smolensk. The Russian ! Air Force has beaten from the sky the i swarms of Stukas and fighters which* the German High Command desper- < ately (lung into the battle. The capture of Mojaisk was assured when Russian artillery blasted an open-j ing in the German defences at Vereya. Strong Russian forces immediately[ swept into the breach and compelled I the whole German line covering tho town to retreat in order to avoid encirclement. In the south the battle lor the im portant town of Kharkov is entering a i decisive phase. Marshal Timoshenko is i attacking with strong forces all along I the Donetz front running north and south of Kharkov.—U.P.A. EAST OF LENINGRAD PIERCED AT SEVERAL POINTS SMALL GERMAN SUCCESSES IN UKRAINE London, Jan.. 19. I The Russians claim that the German positions eastward of Leningrad have been pierced at several points. Bitter fighting is raging in the Volkov valley. Light Russian naval units are shell- j ling the marching Germans on the Azov! i coast roads. Russian naval com- j i inandos who landed in the rear of the ) • German lines at Mariupol and linked, i up with guerrillas have inflicted con- 1 . 1 siderable havoc among General von I i Rundsted's communications and sup-: j plies. The Stockholm correspondent of • "The Times” says that no Russian ad- , vances either from the north to Rzhev ! jor by General Zhukov’s left arm to-j | ward the Viazma-Smolensk railway j have been reported since yesterday. i OFFENCE DIFFICULT IN WINTER I The Russians obviously require ! time to bring up the heavy materials necessary for battering the German resistance on a terrain which is far more j difficult in winter for offence than dei fence. Progress on the whole appears jto be continuous and steady, but ; rapidity is nowhere possible except in | small spurts after prodigious prepara--1 tions. This is equally applicable to the whole of the Ukraine, where the Russians are laboriously developing important operations eastward of Kursk and Kharkov. The Germans claim small successes as the result of ; counter-attacks, particularly near 1 Kursk, but admire the great weight of (Russian pressure and the persistence of the Russian onslaughts in wave after wave. I However, even Berlin military circles (do not consider the German successes j more than fleabites on the vast Russian lighting zones and appear to be preparing the public for news of further strategical withdrawals. Moscow radio, referring ( ) the cap- i lure of Polotnyanyzavod, said that the ! Germans began burning the town i three days before their retreat. The main street and other streets were in ruins, and public buildings, j paper mills, and bakeries were burned.' i Russian troops found many fires ragling and families digging among the | {ashes for goods they had hidden in j cellars.—U.P.A. GERMAN MORALE DELUDING THE PUBLIC EFFECT ON FRENCH FEELING j (Rec. 11.45 a.m) London, Jan 20.! j In order that the Germans at home j do not see the extent to which the German soldiers are suffering in Hus- , sia the German High Command is sendj ing a resting battalion to France. Many I i embarked at Riga, from where they were shipped to France. Some were 1 even sent down the Channel to Blest, j The British United Press correspon- ; dent on the French frontier says that i there is evidence that tho German solI diers’ demoralisation has resulted in the bolstering of French hopes for a Ger- | man defeat, heightening of pro-British i sentiment and the growth of the French | spir it of active resistance against the Germans When R.A.F. planes fly over I hundreds of Frenchmen defy the Geri mans and rush out into the streets to' j wave and cheer. Recently a British | , pilot naled out and landed in a French j I coastal town. Before German soldiers ! reached the spot the airman was rushed | oft into hiding The Germans arrested j seres of people as a reprisal, but the 1 whereabouM of the flier was not re- | vealcd.—U P A ‘ PESSIMISTIC PRESS GERMANS ADMIT SETBACKS RUSSIANS MORE USED TO CONDITIONS ! (Re . 1125 am.) London, Jan. 20. ' The German press strikes a pessimistic note concerning the Russian cam;pa gr.. The "Frankfurter Zeitung” , : warns its readers against exaggerated ' i hones and admits that the Russians j have pierced the German defences in l * the west j The "Deutchei Beobachter” says:! ; "After six months’ fighting against Rus- : sia we see that events have not de- j | veloped according to expectations.” ! ! The “Borsen Zeitung” refers to the | severe winter, bad roads, terrific frost ' land the impossibility of digging: ! tre|f|ies or employing heavy guns. j ; I’he newspaper adds that the Gcrl man soldier is insufficiently adapted

for defence, and (he enemy is stronger than the German leadership suspected. The Russians are experienced winter lighters and are constantly throwing in fresh reserves— U.F.A. ILL, NOT SACKED REASON FOR GERMAN CHANGES GENERALS CANNOT STAND HARD CAMPAIGN (lft'c. 11.50 a.m.) Stockholm, .lan. 20. According to Berlin correspondents of Swedish newspapers after announcements ol the deatli of General von Reichenau and the operation on General von Brauchitsch, a new line of propaganda has appeared for the benefit of Germans. It is now stated that all changes in the German command are due to genuine illness and not differences of opinion Announcements of sickness of still more generals may be expected as higher officers have to share with the troops all the hardships of the Russian campaign, which advancing age naturally makes them less able to resist Berlin authorities stated that sufferings and hardships on the eastern front have caused illness among many commanders, one of whom had pneumonia. but would not return to service. Another was suffering from the same heart trouble as General von Brauchitsch.—U.P.A.