RING UNBROKEN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25737, 8 January 1945, Page 3

RING UNBROKEN

BESIEGED CITY BATTLE FOR BUDAPEST GREAT CLASH OF TANKS (Rec. 8 p.m.) LONDON, Jan. 6. Tank, artillery, and air battles as fierce as those which raged oyer the Ukrainian plants west of Kiev in the autumn of 1943 are going on in the mountain sector northwest of Budapest, says the Moscow correspondent of the Associated Press. The Germans are continuously throwing in tanks, infantry,, and planes in an effort to relieve the battered garrison of Budapest, which is now trying to fight its way out of the city. The whole sector south of the Danube bend is most fluid, with villages changing hands several times a day. The Germans brought up a number of King Tiger tanks, and stronger Luftwaffe forces than have been seen on the eastern front for many months went up in support of the German ground troops. The fighting is still tough in Buda, where the Germans hold several important heights in the city, from which they are firing with good effect. , _ . . The Russian push through Pest is believed to be very close to the Danube at several points. Reuter’s Moscow correspondent says the immediate threat of a German break-through to Budapest appears to have been averted. A Red Star despatch from Budapest announced repeated German counter-attacks inside the city, in which the enemy suffered heavy losses. The Germans set fire to houses, seeking to protect themselves by a ring of fire. Prisoners related that terrible scenes of slaughter are occurring in me heart of the capital, the Germans shooting and bayoneting any civilian appearing on the streets oir anyone leaving work assigned to him. The Messerschmitt aircraft and entyinn factory. 3 radip factory and a number of other factories in Budapest were captured by the Red Army m toe past 24 hours, states a Russian communique. The Russians yesterday captured 173 blocks of buildings in the Budapest area. On Friday they took 1630 German and Hungarian prisoners destroyed 130 German tanks, and shot down 17 planes. Strong enemy infantry and tank attacks north-west of Budapest were repelled. The German High Command has issued an extraordinary statement concerning toe two Russian officers who, while under the white flag when taking surrender terms to the trapped Budapest garrison, were shot down by Germans. The statement says: “According to an official Soviet statement broadcast by Moscow radio on December 30, two Soviet officers carrying a flag of truce were shot at and killed by German troops outside Budapest on December 29 at noon, m spite of the fact that they could clearly be distinguished as negotiators. The German High Command states that toe persons who appeared outside the German main battle line were not Soviet negotiators but four German prisoners of war who had been forced by the Soviet to play the part of negotiators and were to transmit to the garrison in Budapest the demand for surrender. •Naturally the men immediately presented themselves to the German troops and declared that they had accepted 'this order only to escape from imprisonment. The Soviet lies, which are full of hatred and contrary to international law, require no further reply. The statement was boadcast by the Berlin radio on Saturday.