NAZI REVERSE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24699, 30 August 1941, Page 9

NAZI REVERSE

CENTRAL RUSSIAN FRONT BURSTING OF THE DAM HUGE AREA FLOODED (Rec. 1 a.m.) / '' LONDON,(Aug. 29. The latest Moscow communique states that last night troops of the Red Army confirmed fighting along the entire front. The communique describes further successes in the central sector and adds that in a two days' assault on the Russian line the enemy lost heavily in troops, tanks, and munitions and then retired. x In London, it is stated that the destruction ot the Dnieper dam will hamper attempts to cross the river for some weeks by raising its level and increasing the speed of the current, but eventually the water Will recede, making the river easier to cross. In the meantime, the Germans are confronted, with hundreds of miles of flood waters, which in some places have severed their lines of communication. ' < * •• , M.Lozovsky, announcing the destruction of the dam at an historic press reception, said::" We blew up the dam in order that this masterpiece of Soviet engineering would not fall into the hands of Fascist bandits. Measures have been taken so that the Germans cannot use the dam or equipment," . " The Berlin radio; again speaks of the tactics: of the '-Russian guerrillas in harassing the German troops unceasingly. "They may be badly clad," it was stated, "but they are well armed." The radio also claimed that on August 28 German planes attacked Russian supply columns and the railway in the Dnepropetrovsk-Zaporozhe area, derailing several trains, ' A Moscow report states that the Russians besieged in the Odessa area have built two armoured trains, which roared out at full speed into the German lines, causing immense slaughter and destruction.

DESPERATE STEP ACTION BY RUSSIANS DNIEPER DAM DESTROYED BARRIER AGAINST INVADERS LONDON, Aug. 28. It is officially announced from Moscow that the Russians have destroyed the great Dnieper dam. Before this action was taken the Germans .were getting dangerously close. The Russians also admit the evacuation of: Dnieperpetrovsk. The dam was known as" the first child Of; the Russian Five-year Plan," and its loss made a considerable impression. It cost £ 100,000,000 to build, and supplied most of the industries over a huge area. On all fronts the Russians report stubborn fighting all day. A German communique claims that their forces are within 20 to 30 miles from Leningrad, but the only Russian reference reports heavy fighting at a town 75 miles to the south-west. The Russians claim to have shot down 78 German aircraft in the last two days.. Two German transports have been sunk in the BalticM. Lozovsky, the Vice-Commissar of Foreign Affairs, stated that all German attempts to cut the MoscowLeningrad railway were unsuccessful and traffic was normal. The Kiev front seems to be stable, with the Germans nowhere within 40 miles of Kiev. ."■'.;. Operations between Lake Ilmen and Kirigisepp continue unrelaxed, in spite of the rains. The Germans have apparently slightly advanced, but, according to The Times Stockholm .correspondent, they are nowhere within 50 miles of Leningrad. The Germans are undoubtedly exerting the utmost pressure against Leningrad in the attempt to force a decision before winter. They claim to have occupied the whole of Estonia except Paldiski, Tallinn, and the islands. Tallinn and Paldiski are claimed to be invested and their capture imminent. The Russians reveal that the Germans unsuccessfully attempted a parachute invasion of Osel Island. The Finns .'claim to be gaining ground on the Isthmus,.but Wiipuri seems no nearer to capture than it was yesterday. The Germans and Finns are initiating more determined operations between Lake Onega and Lake Ladoga in the direction of Olonez and Petrozavodsk. The Tass Agency announced that the Russians had evacuated Dnieperpetrovsk.

THE GOMEL REGION RUSSIAN QFTENSIVE SITUATION CONFUSED BOTH SDES CLAIM SUCCESS LONDON, Aug. 28. Marshal KOniey's 12-day-old offensive in the Gomel region, is the outstanding feature of to-day's fighting. Its purpose;; seems to be to prevent General Bock from thickening the Smolensk wedge towards Moscow ■. via Bryansk. This,, after the feint .towards Gomel, appears -to be- the Germans' main central objective, and, according to German hopes, would envelop the Russian forces in the Klimovichi area. They must push on here in view of the danger to, the flanks of the southern German armies if Marshal Timoshenko's forces are left intact. ; The Germans claim that " local ... Russian relief attacks in the central front collapsed," but Moscow declares that Marshal Koriiev's offensive continues, resulting, in the capture of several more villages, the killing of 3000 Germans in the past few days, and the destruction "of many tanks, motorised vehicles, arid guns. It adds that the; Russians pierced the heavily fortified German ' line, swept across minefields, and "pushed back the Germans, who were sending in reinforcements in an effort to arrest the Russian drive. They have reorganised a second line of defence arid converted every , house into a fortress. The Berlin radio claims that the Germans have captured - a large island in the Dnieper, and that they threw back Russians attempting to regain a footing on the western bank, but the position on the southern front seems little changed in spite of the bloody fighting. Odessa, which is invested from a respectable distance, continues to defy the invaders. n There is no confirmation of> the Germans' claim to have reached Zaporozhe, but M. Lozovsky's announcement that the Dnieper dam has been blown up suggests that the Germans are at least close. The latest news of the fighting on the eastern front to reach London indicates that there has been renewed activity on the Finnish front. This is, however, not considered by competent military observers here to be of particular, significance. On the central front the German claim to have captured Velikie Luki, 150 miles north-west of Smolensk, is not yet confirmed. There is still no official confirmation of the Russian recapture of the important city of Gomel, which had been reported by correspondents. ; The position of Dnieperpetrovsk is not yet clear. It is considered prob-v able that the Germans have been in the city for two days arid news is therefore, expected here shortly of a German setback of their crossing of the River Dnieper.; Though there is no confirmation, the possibility should, not be excluded that an Hungarian claim already to have crossed.the river is true. - •.'•. -s

A Russian mid-day communique states: " During the night of August 27-28, our troops were engaged in stubborn fighting with the enemy in the, Kingisepp, Gomel, Dnieperpetrovsk and Odessa directions." "