ANOTHER NAZI FORCE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 8 April 1944, Page 31

ANOTHER NAZI FORCE

TRAPPED BY THE RUSSIANS Between Odessa and the Dniester « EXTERMINATION ALREADY IN PROGRESS VAIN ENEMY EFFORTS IN OTHER AREAS LONDON, April 7. Another large German force has been encircled by the Russians and is being steadily wiped out. This is the main item of news in tonight’s Moscow communique. Between five and six German divisions have been encircled near Razdelnaya, between Odessa and the Dniester. The Soviet forces have already begun to exterminate the trapped divisions and in two days ’ fighting thy have killed more than 5,000 enemy troops and captured 1,000. The Russians are also taking a heavy toll of the German divisions encircled many miles to the north-west, in the Skala area. The town of Skala has been captured by the Russians. In yesterday’s heavy fighting west of Skala, the Russians wiped out more than 4,000 Germans and captured numbers of transport planes, gains, tanks and lorries. German troops outside the ring again tried to break through to relieve the encircled troops but the Russians once more broke up all these attacks. The encirclement battle at Tarnopol has likewise been raging fiercely. As in the battle of the Korsun trap some weeks ago, von Mannstein has got together a relief army in an attempt to reach the Germans clinging to part of Tarnopol, but so far his attacks have been unsuccessful and very costly. Soviet forces continue to advance towards Odessa on a wide front. Today they captured more than 60 towns and villages on the way to this big Black Sea port.