NAZIS LAUNCH BIG OFFENSIVE

Southland Times, Issue 24585, 6 November 1941, Page 7

NAZIS LAUNCH BIG OFFENSIVE

TIMOSHENKO READY FOR DIVERSION (Rec. 8.40 p.m.) LONDON, November 4. The correspondent of The Times on the German frontier says that the fifth offensive against Moscow is reported to have begun at dawn on Monday. Southward of the Moscow sector Marshal Simeon Timoshenko has massed his forces on a broad front. They have been reinforced by troops from Kursk and are expected to relieve the pressure against Moscow at the critical moment. The Berlin correspondent of the Stockholm newspaper Allehanda says the battle for the Caucasus oil has begun. The Luftwaffe already is heavily attacking the Caucasus railways and the lower Volga. The Wilhelmstrasse regards the occupation of the Crimea as an important step in the Battle of the Caucasus as German planes operating from bases in the Crimea will be able to dominate the Black Sea and also directly participate in the eventual fighting in the Caucasus. PANZER ARMIES’ ATTACK Hitler has launched the second wave of the great winter offensive against Moscow, says The Daily Telegraph’s Stockholm correspondent. All yesterday German tank, infantry and reconnaissance units attacked the Russians along the central front. This morning General Fedor von Bock’s four great panzer armies thundered forward through the snow-powdered forests against strongly prepared and reinforced Russian positions in five key sectors, Tula, Malo Yaroslavets, Mojaisk, Volokalamsk and Kalinin. The battle for Moscow is developing into a trial of strength between superior German tank forces and overwhelmingly superior Soviet artillery, which is a weapon in which the Russians have always excelled. Up to the evening the Germans had not made considerable progress. Indeed Russian shock brigades had reoccupied the southern suburbs of Tula and are now fiercely engaging General Guderian’s tank division along the appoaches to the town. SKI TROOPS ARRIVE Whole divisions of ski troops have been flown from the Urals to points near the Moscow sector by Maxim Gorki machines, which are the world’s largest troop-carrying aeroplanes, says the Stockholm correspondent of The Daily Mail. Because the number of troop-carriers and landing grounds are limited convoys cease in the neighbourhood of Moscow and the last 60 miles to the front are covered in lorries and trains. STRONG DEFENCE OF MURMANSK F LONDON, November 4. "After four large-scale enemy offensives over a period of 120 days the Soviet Arctic port of Murmansk is still an impregnable fortress,” says the Soviet newspaper Izvestia. “The Germans have now been forced to build trenches. They are unlikely to stand the Russian winter and will probably force the Finns to man them.” The Soviet Army newspaper Red Star reports that Soviet bombers escorted by Hurricanes and Russian fighters have bombed the German positions at Murmansk. Other air activity by the Soviet forces is referred to in a supplementary Russian communique, which reports that Russian planes on Monday raided Staraya Russa aerodrome near Lake Ilmen, where 40 enemy planes were concentrated. The Russian command decided to destroy the aerodrome and the planes. Five Soviet planes flew to the aerodrome and, despite bad visibility, found the target and dropped several thousand kilograms of high explosives. Violent explosions followed. Soon afterwards Russian Sturmoviks attacked the planes on the aerodrome, lire German planes could not take off because the airfield had been badly damaged in the previous attack. Enemy attempts to drive away Russian planes by a strong barrage were frustrated and the Sturmoviks burnt out five enemy planes and destroyed 10 by direct hits. Many soldiers were killed by machine-gun fire. All the Russian planes returned safely to their bases. FINLAND’S ATTITUDE TO RUSSIA (Rec. 7.40 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 4. The Vichy News Agency, quoting authoritative Finnish sources, says Finland’s reply to America about peace with Russia will be on the lines of her reply to Britain. The Finnish Prime Minister was reported to have said last month that Finland would never make peace with the present rulers of Russia. A spokesman in Berlin denounced the United States request to Finland to conclude a peace with Russia as an arrogant demand by Washington ghetto gangsters and a piece of Jewish shamelessness that could scarcely be exceeded.