CENTRAL FRONT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24737, 14 October 1941, Page 7

CENTRAL FRONT

A RUSSIAN SUCCESS RECAPTURE OF VIAZMA BRYANSK EVACUATED (Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, Oct. 13. The Russians under General Boldin recaptured Viazma after a terrific 12hour tank battle. The Germans were driven back several miles. The Germans' week-end losses here are estimated at over 5000 men and 100 tank?. Some German tank units are reported to be at least 45 miles east of Viazma. Other panzer forces have apparently reached Tula Kaluga, but the Russians have isolated them and are beating back supporting infantry. The thrust against Moscow from the south is meeting with stubborn resistance just northward of Matsensk. It is officially announced from Moscow that Bryansk has been evacuated. The Germans appear to have renewed the offensive on the Leningrad front, but once again have been checked by the heroic defenders. Marshal Voroshilov is continuing local counter-attacks, daring thrusts by tanks taking substantial toll of the enemy's men and material. According to German prisoners, the German losses on the Leningrad front have been so heavy that expert parachutists are now being used as infantry. The Finns claim substantial progress from Petroszvodsk along the Lenin-grad-Murmansk railway towards Kondopoga. Further south the Finns are reported to have pushed along the rvier Svir, crossed the Onega canal, and captured Vytegra. THE NAZI THRUSTS SAVAGE AND DESPERATE (Rec. 11 p.m.) RUGBY, Oct. 12. A Russian night communique states: "On October 12 our troops were engaged in fighting in the directions of Viazma and Bryansk. After heavy fighting, which lasted several days, our troops withdrew from Bryansk. On October 10, 27 enemy planes were destroyed, and we lost 14. Four German planes were shot down near Moscow on October 11 and 12 on October 12." A supplementary Russian communique gives details of the savage ana desperate nature of the fighting in the Nazis' supreme effort to reach some decision before winter. It states: " Fighting on the central front is growing in intensity, and the German High Command is persistently throwing in new units. In some sectors the Germans have achieved superiority in numbers and are paying the price in huge losses of men and material. They have succeeded in advancing and pushing wedges into the line of defence. Our troops offer a stubborn resistance to the Germans in their desperate attacks. On October 12. in intensive fighting, uncompleted figures show that our troops destroyed 90 German tanks, 270 lorries with infantry and ammunition. 62 guns of different calibres, and a large number of heavy and light machine- guns.. During this;.day the Germans lost more than 12,000 officers and men killed or wounded. One tank unit covering the infantry operations fought a battle with a German tank unit and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. In this fighting'our tanks destroyed 14 German tanks, six anti-tank guns, 15 machine guns, eight mortars, and four companies of infantry."