FOLLOWING UP SUCCESSES

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLXII, Issue 15240, 5 January 1943, Page 3

FOLLOWING UP SUCCESSES

SECOND EDITION

SOVIET’S DETERMINED ADVANCES MAN.Y BREAKS IN GERMAN BINES. NAZI DIVISION ENCIRCLED AT j STALIN GRAD. I (Received L 1.35 a.m.) United Press assu —By Electric | Telegraph. —i Dpyri^lit. I . . LONDON, Jan. 4. | Soviet troops aiv, determinedly foli lowing up tile recent major j in tlie Caucasus and. ojii tile central | front. On the middle Don front als**, i fresh gains are reported. Moscow j claims- that German resistance in | the central Caucasus is collapsing. ' On v prong of the Russian drive ■ which inflicted a crushing defeat on the Germans at Mosdok i-s 11.0 - hammering at Nalchik, while four Russian columns a,re closing in o n Prohhladnaya, 10 miles north of Nalchik. Reuter’s Moscow correspondent reports that the Russians are making a tilree-preneged drive from’ Velikiys Luki, one force now fighting at the aj>proaches of SokoJnihi, another is i-ushiiio- northwards along the valley of the River Lovajt and a, third is thrusting sou,th westward toward? Neva! On the middle Don front the Russians smashed through a stronglyheld portion of the German line and took three fortified villages but Die speed of the Soviet advance on this front lias slowed down during the I->ast two days. A break in the enemy new defence line was mad© after a heavy battle for a strong point which repeatedly changed bands until German resistance collapsed. Moscow radio said that the iron ring encircling a Geimau division near Stalngrad lias been expanded and is now over 60 miles deep.