AT A STANDSTILL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 December 1943, Page 4

AT A STANDSTILL

GERMANS IN KIEV SECTOR HITLER’S REPORTED THREAT SOMETHING WORSE THAN DISGRACE FOR MANNSTEIN DESPERATE ENEMY DEFENCE OF KIROVOGRAD |By Telegraph—Press Association —copyright) (Received This Day, Noon.) LONDON, December 19. Fought to a temporary standstill in the Kiev sector, the Germans are now concentrating armoured forces around Kirovograd, where they are fiercely counter-attacking, says Reuter’s Moscow correspondent. The stiffest fighting is going on east of the city, where, according to the latest despatches, the enemy's armour and manpower are being badly mauled. Hitler is reported to be threatening Marshal Von Mann- ■ stein not merely with disgrace, but with “something worse” if he cannot retake Kiev. The Red Army in the Kiev salient is prepared for more large-scale German attacks and desperate fighting. The British United Press correspondent in Moscow reports that the Germans are counter-attacking, with strong dive-bomber support, attempting to halt the three-pronged Russian drive towards Kirovograd, which threatens to disrupt the enemy’s road communications. The Russians’ new gains in this area have given them favourable positions for the development of their final assaults against the city. Some of the bitterest air battles of the past two years are being fought in the Kirovograd area. While German divebombers are supporting the enemy’s ground troops, the Russians are reaching out behind the city, attacking enemy concentrations and supplies.

NEVEL OFFENSIVE MAY HERALD SOVIET DRIVE TO BALTIC RIVAL ARMIES JOCKEYING FOR POSITION (Received This Day, 11.15 a.m.) LONDON, December 19. While Moscow has still not mentioned a large-scale offensive in the Nevel area (the Russians have now reported _ a break-through to a depth of 19 miles on a 50 mile front south of Nevel. The German-controlled Scandinavian Telegraph Bureau says a Red Army force of 200,000 men has closed in an iron ring around Nevel, adding: “The situation is extremely serious.” The Berlin radio earlier stated that the Russians, north-west of Nevel, had continued furious attacks, with a great number of tanks, and claimed that the Germans south of Nevel had repulsed renewed Russian break through attempts. The British United Press Moscow correspondent points out that cold weather in the Nevel area has hardened the ground sufficiently for major Red Army operations. There is every indication that the Red Army strategists have a big rod in pickle for the Germans and are carefully avoiding giving the slightest indication where the next push will develop. The rival armies are now jockeying for position along 550 miles of front from Leningrad to Jlobin, ready for the start of the winter campaign. The operations at Nevel, 270 miles south of Leningrad and only 60 miles from the Latvian frontier, may prove to be the first prong of a Red Army drive to the Baltic. Messages from Stockholm report feverish evacuations in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Moscow radio stated that 380,000 Russian ski troops are undergoing vigorous training in the Kalnin area, in preparation for the Russian winter offensive.

BADLY MAULED GERMANS IN WHITE RUSSIA. HEAVY LOSSES OF - MEN & MATERIAL. LONDON, December 19. Tonight’s Soviet communique announces the opening of a Baltic front offensive. The communique says: “Troops of the Russian First Baltic Front, commanded by General Bagramyan, in {he past few days have launched an offensive and pierced the strongly-fortified German line south of Novel on a front extending for 50 miles by 20 miles deep. The Russians, in five days of heavy fighting, liberated over 500 inhabited localities, including the district centre of Yezerjshche.' In the Vitebsk area the Russians, during fighting, routed three infantry divisions, one tank division and also several 1 security divisions. The Russians destroyed 69 tanks, 164 guns, 123 trench mortars, 686 machine-guns, 760 lorries and 16 dumps. The Germans left upwards of 20,000 dead on the battlefield. We took prisoner over 2,000, captured 194 guns, 75 trench mortars, 735 machine-guns, over 5,00 Q rifles and tommy-guns, 37 t,anks, 110 lorries, 24 ammunition supply dumps, and 200 carts filled with supplies. The Moscow radio military commentator stated that the Russians, in the first fortnight of December, destroyed or disabled over 800 German tanks, 60 to 70 per cent of which were put out of action by artillery.