10 GERMAN DIVISIONS TRAPPED

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 79, 4 February 1944, Page 5

10 GERMAN DIVISIONS TRAPPED

RED ARMY OFFENSIVE IN UKRAINE Narva River Reached on Estonian Front

(Rec. I 0.20 a m.) London, Feb. 3. The Smyela salient south of Kiev to which the Germans have clung so long is now being liquidated by Russian forces. M. Stalin, in an order of the day addressed to General Konev and General Vatoutin, states: "Second Ukrainian Front troops went over to the offensive from the area north of Kirovograd in a westerly direction and First Ukrainian Front troops went over to the offensive from the area south-west of Byelaya Tserkov in an easterly direction. Soviet troops broke through a strongly fortified enemy defence line and in five days' offensive fighting advanced in each direction 30 to 47 miles each and enlarged the break-through on both sectors 100 to 110 miles in width. “As a result of these offensives troops of the Second and First Ukrainian Fronts joined hands in the area of Zvenigorodka and Shpola and have completed the encirclement of an enemy army group north of this line consisting of nine infantry and one tank divisions. In the course of the offensive over 300 localities were liberated, including the towns of Zvenigorodka, Shpola, Smyela, Kaniev, Boguslav and the large railway junctions of Bobrinskaya, Tsvetkovo and Mironovka. The towns named are all well within the salient, Kaniev being the northern extremity and Shpola the southern.

DISASTER OF FIRST MAGNITUDE

The encirclement of ten German divisions holding the remains of the Dnieper front about 80 miles south-south-east of Kiev is the biggest event of this kind on the eastern front since the Stalingrad disaster exactly a year ago. While it does not appear to be on such a colossal scale as the battles of Stalingrad and Tunisia, it is clearly a disaster of first magnitude. Since Stalingrad, the German armies have been careful to avoid the dangers of encirclement, but apparently in the Dnieper bend political necessities have taken precedence over strictly military requirements and once more a huge price is being paid. The Russian ring of encirclement has been joined across the neck of the salient which extends from the north of Uman to the south of Smela. The success of the move is indicated by M. Stalin's announcement after a long silence about the whole offensive.

Russians in a three-pronged thrust are closing in over the last few miles to Narva under cover of a hail of shells from their own guns while Stormoviks are harrying troops movements in the rear of the town. The Gormans have taken up new positions commanding the last stretches of the highway and railway into the town.

‘'Red Star” says Russians in the region of the Luga estuary are eight miles inside Estonia and continue to clear Germans from the coast. After capturing a number of points they approached close to the river.

According to the Soviet Information Bureau German units lost as many as 90 per cent, of their troops during the three weeks of the Leningrad offensive. German prisoners state that some battalions had only 70 to 80 men left out of 800. General von Keuchler ordered everything to be thrown into the battle. Captured documents prove that he ordered divisional generals to hold the Leningrad front at all costs.

The Moscow correspondent of the British United Press describes the Narva gap as one ,of the great military highways of Europe and whoever gains mastery of it can sweep from Russia into the open Baltic or from west to Leningrad. General Govorov's strategy obviously is based on not giving General von Keuchler time to reorganise his shattered forces and make a stand on the frozen Narva river. General Govorov is harrying the Germans mercilessly, throwing all his strength into the most headlong of all the Russian advances in this war. His ski troops are encircling stranded enemy garrisons, tank fists are striking at the main German forces, while overhead Stormoviks batter the enemy’s communications.

A report from Helsinki states that the Germans are preparing to evacuate Tallinn.

The German news agency's commentator. von Hammer, reported that the Red Army is pressing against the middle Horny River. The river makes a wide loop around Rovno and at the nearest point is only eight miles f;om the town. Fighting is going on nßrth-west of Rovno and Shepetovka. Reuter points out that von Hammer's reports of fighting north-west of these vital Ukrainian rail hubs implies that the Russians have outflanked both of them. DRIVE WESTWARDS Driving westwards into Estonia General Govorov’s forces have reached the Narva River, according to Berlin reports. This means N they are at least six miles inside Estonia. The Narva River links Lake Peipus with the Gulf of Finland. Its course runs six to ten miles from the border and the town of Narva lies on its west bank. The German overseas news agency says the Russians are trying to cross the Narva River, which is a natural obstacle they must surmount before occupying the neck between Lake Peipus and the Gulf Finland. Reuter’s Moscow correspondent says the Germans after the loss of Kingisepp are streaming back to Narva, leaving the path strewn with wrecked and abandoned material. A big Russian wedge driven across the Luga River south of Kingisepp has been pushed rapidly westwards. Forward units are now only 12 miles from Slantsi, which is on the Narva-Pskov highway, and the railhead of a branch line to Pskov. The capture of Slantsi would virtually close the Narva escape gap to the Germans in the Luga' region. Russians northwards of Kingisepp hold the east bank of the Luga river right up to the mouth, which point is 20 miles due north of Narva. Russians are known to have crossed the Luga River at several points over this stretch. SPANISH LEGION WIPED OUT London, Feb. 2. The Red Army solved the problem imposed by the presence of the Spanish Legion on the eastern front by wiping it out, says the British United Press Moscow correspondent. Members of the legion who were taken prisoner revealed that General Meretskov in the first six days of the offensive on the Volkhov front killed 1000 of the legion’s 3000 effectives, and dispersed the remainder.