THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES Tuesday, February 10, 1942. THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24837, 10 February 1942, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES Tuesday, February 10, 1942. THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE

London opinion is that the Russian advance is still progressing well in the north and central sectors and the Ukraine, while the hold of the Caucasian army on the Kerch Peninsula has not been shaken by the loss of Theodosia. This appreciation of the • situation seems to be supported by the news. One factor of outstanding importance, bearing. on the apparent mobility of the Russian armies- over ■ vast distances, is that the railway from Leningrad to Moscow and southwards into the Donetz basin is virtually clear. If, as report suggests,' large Russian forces are being moved towards Leningrad through the Valdai Hills region, with: the object of coming on the rear of the enemy investing the fortress, the Germans in that area are likely to be placed in a difficult situation. Already the Red Army’s drive south-west of Moscow has carried ‘it . well on the road to Smolensk. Here, the Moscow newspaper ; Izvestia asserts, the Germans are not only 'retreating, but are 44 badly bustled and are no longer masters of the strategic situation.” If, as must be assumed, the Nazis are staking all on their ability to straighten their lines along the whole front and place their in a position to undertake a new offensive in the spring, it is of vital urgency that the Russians shall be halted and held at key points in the north;..centre and south. A Russian break-through anywhere between, say, , Smolensk and Velikie. Luki might result in . the Nazis being flung back iriib' Poland or the Baltic States, and from the point of view of Hitler’s plans for the spring, this would- be a! disastrous reverse. There; may ..thus be truth in the claim' from Moscow that the Germans "in the northern sectors of the central front have already fallen back to their main line of fortifications and are now turning to give battle. It will be imperative for the. German command to hold a line running before Velikie Luki , and Smolensk, if the assault on Moscow is to be resumed later with a reasonable prospect of success, Similarly, in the south, it is probable that the Germans will make a tremendous effort to stay the forward movement of Marshal Timoshenko’s armies;,' which are even now threatening the key points of Kharkov and Dnepropetrovsk. If these towns were retaken by -the Russians, Hitler would- be deprived of his most Useful advanced bases for,, the renewal of his drive towards Rostov and the Caucasian gateway. Furthermore, deep penetration by the Red Army in the southern Ukraine would jgravely prejudice the German armies hoW '.‘: spread, in a narrowing sector, along the coast of the Sea of Azov towards Mariupol. 'Marshal Timoshenko’s forces are already reported some hundred miles , west of Taganrog. Indeed, the Russian strategist seems to be rapidly assuming command of the whole Donetz basin area, where, it is said; only two of seven lines of retreat; remain open to the. enemy. It must appear, from the fact that v the Russians claim to be within twenty miles of Dnepropetrovsk, that • the German forces in the neighbourhood of .Stalino are even at this stage dangerously situated. Nevertheless, as The Times emphasised a* few days ago, there is still no sign of anything approximating to a rout, though the German command cannot view the disposition of its forces along the entire front with any satisfaction. The withdrawal, as The Times has remarked, has certainly not been “ according to plap.” Too much valuable ground has been lost for that phrase to apply; and the recovery of it, in the face of Russia’s steadily growing strength and the buoyant morale of her armies, must involve the Nazis in a tremendous effort. That the effort will be made when the time is judged opportune is not open to question, for Hitler must either retrieve his position in Russia or face the prospect of a war carried to Genpah soil; . The Times, regards the south as the " most dangerous sector.” The power and persistence of Marshal Timoshenko’s thrusts, towards Kharkov and the line of the Dnieper, imply that the Russians have a corresponding appreciation I of its importance in the general plan of campaign.