BALTIC COAST

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25021, 11 October 1944, Page 5

BALTIC COAST

REACHED BY RUSSIANS , GERMANS CUT OFF GUNS SHELLING MEMEL <F?ecd. 11.30 p.m.) LONDON, Oct, ID Russian advanced forces have cut through to the Raltic coast 20 miles south of Memel and only 10 miles from the northern border of East Prussia. This means that the German divisions in Latvia and Lithuania, including the garrison in Riga, are now completely cut off by land. One correspondent says Russian guns are shelling Memel itself. The Russians in Lithuania are going forward at the rate of about 17' miles every 24 hours. They are blasting their way through the most elaborate German defences. The Germans are suffering heavily and in one sector near the borders of East Prussia they lost 4000 men killed in a day's fighting. According to one report the Red Army is ten miles from Memel. A Soviet communique says the Russians south-west and west of Shavli captured 300 places, including Gezaiciai, 12 miles east of Memel, and Gaure, 12 miles from East Prussia. The Russians have reached the west coast of the Island of Osel, in the Gulf of Riga. Two German armies, totalling at least 500,000 men, are facing encirclement as Red Army tanks and Cossacks sweep on to cut their retreat, says the British United Press Moscow correspondent in an earlier message. The German Baltic army is hemmed into a corridor along the Baltic coast and is racing to prevent its own encirclement. The first four days of the Baltic battle cost the Germans two infantry and one panzer divisions and five security regiments. The correspondent points out that while the Germans held Vilki, Shavli and Jelgava areas they constituted a very dangerous salient, making it impossible for General Bagramyan to risk a thrust to the west. Moscow correspondents believe the Germans will probably use Libau and Windau as "Dunkirk" ports for their Baltic army. Von Hammer said German intelligence had established that the Russians were using 1,000,000 men, consisting of 60 infantry divisions, six tank corps and 12 tank brigades, in the sweep across Lithuania against Memel and Libau