NEW RUSSIAN DRIVE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 79, 7 February 1944, Page 5

NEW RUSSIAN DRIVE

CAPTURE OF ROVNO AND LUTSK

Great Anxiety in Germany

London, Feb. 6. In an order of the day issued. M. Stalin states that troops of the First Ukrainian Front as a result of a violent blow by mobile units and infantry, and by a skilful outflanking manoeuvre, occupied the towns of Lutsk (Luck) and Rovno, and the town and important railway junction of Zdolbunovo, about eight miles south of Rovno. The line from Rovno branches at this junction, one running south-east towards Berdichev and the other southwest to Lvov*. Rovno with a population of over 30,000 is about 85 miles south-east of Kovel and 150 miles south-east of Brest Litovsk. The Germans admitted the loss of this town on Thursday. News of the Russian drive through Rovno and Lutsk and an admission that the advance had not yet been checked, caused great anxiety throughout Germany, says the Stockholm correspondent of the “Daily Express.’ A vivid indication of the anxiety is the comment by the Berlin correspondent of Aftonbladet, who says: “The important city of Lutsk was given up exactly one year after the fall of Stalingrad. Its loss has caused amazement and confusion in Berlin.”

The attack on the Rovno-Lutsk sector began a few days ago on the River Goryn, about midway between the two towns. The Germans along the river had strongly fortified the high west bank, and their guns had smashed the ice on the river to keep the Russians from getting across. However, Soviet units forced a crossing, outflanking the main German defences and establishing a bridgehead. Once across the main Red Army force split up into parts, one of which disappeared into the forest and later arrived with dramatic suddenness on the outskirts of Lutsk, capturing the town without much fighting and seizing great booty. The brilliant thrust outflanked Rovno, which the Germans abandoned. The Russians have since fanned out, driving a wedge 50 miles wide into the heart of the defences guarding the approaches to the key railway centre of Kovel. ENCIRCLED GERMANS General Koniev is using Stalingrad veterans for assaulting strongpoints the Germans are attempting to establish inside the shrinking pocket where they are encircled in the Kanev area. According- tc Reuter’s Moscow correspondent the Germans are retiring before blows from the Russians, who are steadily closing in on a kind of keep in which the enemy is apparently hoping to make a stand. Paris radio says Russians all along the front are now superior in men and materials. The centre of the fighting has shifted to Vitebsk, where the Red Army is using ten divisions against the town from the south-east and a similar number of divisions from northwest Fresh Russian attacks are also reported in the Perekop area and Luga. The Germans at some points have withdrawn to shorten their lines. A Russian supplementary communique states that Soviet troops advancing on the shores of Lake Peipus surrounded two enemy battalions, which were annihilated after refusing to surrender. Ortte Russian formation in the Narva area killed 600 Germans and captured many prisoners and much war material. Russians after the capture of Sosnitsi. ] Verest and Lipovets (all north of Luga >. j cleared the Germans from the Voso-lovo-Mtsinskaya railway and wiped out i 800 enemy troops. Occupying Lutsk, the j Russians captured enormous booty, in- j eluding 30 ammunition, provision and . equipment stores. The Russians in- j flicted heavy losses in men and material on encircled German divisions. Germans west of Svenigorodka threw | in four infantry regiments and over j 100 tanks. The Russians repulsed the j attack, destroying 65 tanks and killing over 1500 men.

railways on the Krivoi Rog-Nikopol railway. Marganets (meaning manganese in Russian) is also on the Krivoi Rog-Nikopol railway between Nikopol and Zaporozhe.

Reuter points out that the Russians | capture of Apostolovo and the gaining i of the lower Dnieper near Nikopol deprives the Germans of their main es- ! cape gap from the Dnieper bend. Reuter ! recalls how General Malinovsky's and i General Tolbukhin's armies last Novemj ber compressed the German bridgehead on the east bank of the Dnieper I opposite Nikopol into a narrow stretch jof 20 miles. This is the last remaining ! German bridgehead on the east bank [ of the Dnieper and although the RusI sians last November were only 12 miles ; from Nikopol the enemy has been able jto sit tight for ten weeks, until during [ the last few days Berlin reports indij cated that something large-scale was I afoot. ESTIMATE OF GERMAN KILLED (Rec. 1.20 p.m.) London, Feb. 1. The British United Press estimates that over 100.000 Germans are likely to have been killed in smashing actions north-east of Nikopol and north-east of Krivoi Rog. He estimates that these added to the ten divisions trapped at Kanev form a large proportion of the German forces kept in the Dnieper bend to hold back the Red Army from the approaches to Rumania. The Moscow correspondent of the “Daily Express” is of the opinion that the ten divisions trapped at Kanev are facing their last hours The enemy’s battle against the Red Army already merges into a battle against hunger. General von Mannstein’s men are reported to be eating horses and dogs for their one daily meal and German officers captured in the Kanev pocket admit their position is hopeless. Germans who were taken prisoner say that many of the entrapped companies have only 30 to 60 men left. German transport planes are carrying out not only wounded officers but officers in good health. One Ju which was shot down was carrying German officers who were all fit. BOOTY CAPTURED A supplementary Russian communique says troops of the Third Ukrainian Front in the course of fighting in the Krivorog and Nikopol areas destroyed 128 tanks. 160 guns, and 245 machineguns. and captured 65 tanks, 435 guns. 156 mortars. 390 machine-guns. 5312 lorries, 655 supply waggons, and 16 supply lumps. Also in the Apostolovo area they captured 45 tanks. 170 guns. 3000 lorries and 14 locomotives. A number of rail trucks were loaded with ammunition, provisions, equipment and stores.