CRITICAL STAGE

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24050, 22 August 1941, Page 7

CRITICAL STAGE

WESTERN IK MINE RUSSIANS' TACTICS PRESERVATION OF ARMIES LONDON, August JO The most vital, and perhaps the most critical, of the struggles of the ! vast; eastern front is still the battle raging westward of the Dnieper bend, according to Renter's Moscow correspondent, who describes the scene of the lighting as the area eastward of Xikolaev and KrivoiRog, and adds that the Germans are clearly seeking to trap Marshal Budenny's army, but the Soviet generals are aware of this aim. Therefore it is certain that the first consideration will be preservation of the forces, even at the cost of giving up the important industrial area westward of the Dnieper. More reliable news is necessary before the position on the lower Dnieper can be properly assessed Many Local Offensives I'he (German thrust against Odessa suggests that the invaders dislike the idea of this post becoming a Soviet Tobruk. It remains to be seen whether the German attack in the Gomel sectoris intended ultimately to support the German troops in the Smolensk area or is a prelude to a drive southward along the left bank of the Dnieper. Anyway, it is part of the "all over the place" tactics by which the Germans are trying to prevent effective concentration of the Soviet forces in particular areas and the stabilisation of the front. The Germans' unfortunate experience around Smolensk seems to have taught them to adopt somewhat different tactics and to use the mobility of their forces to strike here, there and everywhere, not necessarily with a precise immediate object, but to compel the Russians to move their troops about. Indeed, it can be said that the Germans from the Gulf of Finland to the Black Sea are desperately attempting to prevent the stabilisation of the front, which is the Russian aim. Front Straightened Out The present front is considerably straighter than a few days ago. It runs roughly straight from the Gulf of Finland to Smolensk, with an eastward pocket toward Novgorod. The Germans south of Smolensk are clearly trying to follow roughly a line along the Dnieper, and are therefore attempting to absorb the Soviet pocket west of Gomel. The Berlin radio to-night claimed chat the Russian attacks on the central front were bloodily repulsed. A special German High Command communique states that the Russian forces have been heavily deteated around Gomel and also northward of Gomel, and 78,000 prisoners taken. Five Villages Retaken The Red Army's newspaper reports a strong Russian local offensive in the central sector, where an attack began four days ago and is still being maintained, resulting in pushing the Germans back through five villages. The Russians landed tanks carrying infantry behind the Germans, after which they attacked the invaders from the front and the rear.

GIGANTIC DAM

LAKE 60 MILES LONG GREAT ECONOMIC VALUE The building of the Dnieprostroy dam, which was more than a mile long, altered the geography of the surrounding country for many miles. The water level was raised over 120 ft., and behind the dam the waters of the river formed a lake between 50 and 60 miles long and over half a mile wide. The pressure of the water reached the town of Dnepropetrovsk, GO miles up the river. One of the features of this huge concrete construction was the series of locks, which allowed ships to pass up the river. This had never been possible before, because of the turbulent rapids. The locks consisted of three chambers with a lift of approximately 10ft. each, and large enough to accommodate any ship that could navigate the river. The ultimate plans envisaged the installation of nine turbines with a maximum yearly capacity of 3,000,000,000 kilowatt-hours. Such a generation of power was said to be many times the requirements of the area for many years to come, but the Soviet had adopted a long-range policy. The generation of power from the Dnieper waters gave birth to innumerable industrial establishments. I