BERLIN'S CLAIMS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24049, 21 August 1941, Page 9

BERLIN'S CLAIMS

WESTERN UKRAINE CAPTURE OF REGION BOOTY AT NIKOLAEV LONDON, August 19 A Berlin communique says: "The entire region west of the Dnieper is now in our hands. We have launched an attack on Odessa and isolated bridgeheads on the lower Dnieper. "The enemy has suffered heavy losses in the course of these fights, and 60,000 prisoners have been taken, in addition to the number reported in the battle of Uman. Thirty-four tanks, 530 guns and an abundance of other war material have been captured. We captured in the harbour of Nikolaev a battleship of 35,000 tons, a cruiser of 10,000 tons, four destroyers and two submarines, all still on the stocks, and in addition sank a gunboat and severely damaged another, and captured a floating dock fully laden with locomotives." Russian Defences The Berlin radio war commentator asserted that a successful advance by the southern German wing up the Black Sea and the Dnieper estuary had brought a decisive change in the Ukraine situation. He admitted, however, that small bridgeheads on the lower Dnieper were still strongly held by the Soviet. Also, he stated, the fighting in the Kiev and Korosten areas was proceeding slowly because the Russians were defending themselves behind modern fortifications. According to despatches received in Moscow Russia's Black Sea fleet has smtashed German attempts to land forces on the Russian coast as part of the Ukraine campaign. No details are given. The sweeping claims by the Germans that they control the whole of the western Ukraine are not confirmed either in Moscow or London, and there is still no suggestion that Marshal Budenny's withdrawal behind the Dnieper bastion is not continuing in an orderly fashion. 4 Effective Rearguard Action In spite of the speed of the German thrust, it is believed in London that the retreating Russians are still fighting an effective rearguard action and continue to exact heavy toil of the advanced German forces. Although the German people believed the capture of the Ukraine would solve their food problem for the coming winter, the Berlin radio said that the Russian wheat crop was not as big as they had been led to believe. The Moscow radio, however, stated that the grain harvest totalled 131,000,000 tons, being far in excess of the bumper crop of 1937. BOMBING OF OILFIELDS LONDON, August '2O The Ploesti oilfields have been bombed again by the Russian air force. There were explosions and large fires. A Budapest message states that the Russians bombed Hungarian territory in daylight, but caused no damage*