The Wanganui Chronicle. TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 1942. GERMAN BASTIONS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 64, 17 March 1942, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 1942. GERMAN BASTIONS

j tin: news from the Russian ITunt continues to be, favourable, details or specific engagements arc lacking. This is not stirpiisiiig tn view or the nature of tiie campaign. The Gentian policy is Io maintain bastions of resistance nt Russian territory, amt they have lett large, well-equipped garrisons in the fortiheu iowns lor lite purpose of holding out against the enemy. Buch bastions have great value to an army commander who intends to move forward again. These bastions keep the Russian front in a fluid state: they prevent the defenders making use of the railway system which hampers tile Russian advance. The by-passing of these bastions is good infiltration tactics and the Russians are pursuing the right policy in so acting, but unless they can capture the railway junctions their supply services must remain of an improvised nature. These transportation facilities will deteriorate when the spring thaw sets in, and so the Russians must make strenuous efforts to capture the bastions, while Germany must do everything Io prevent this being achieved. flic continuance of the siege of Staraya Russa is of great moment, ft is significant that notwithstanding that the Germans | have ample railway facilities converging upon this town, the RusI sians have been able to sustain their encirclement of the Sixteenth German Army. ft is Io be assumed that no effort would be I '.pared by tile German High Command to relieve this army from j ns present plight. The pressure of the relieving force must have I been very heavy, yet the Russians have been successful in withi .sianditig the pressure from the outside and have also compressed i die encircled area. J his is a great achievement, but it doesn't staml aione. l‘he important bastion of Viazma is also being siib- | jeeteii to compression, while further to tiie south the Russian ! armies continue to press on to recapture Kharkov. 1 i;i- point Io notice in respect In these bastions is their ability to resist. Leningrad and Moscow, Odessa and Saba.stopol already I nave pioied this in a modern defensive ellort. This deteiininai lion oi defensive ability, however, has also been provided by the I Herman garrisons in the Crimea, in Taganrog, \ iazma, Rjev, I haleiiiu, and Schlisselburg, outside Leningrad. .It is claimed that | Leningrad has been relieved, hill the German besieging forces are ■ still I Here and tin possibility of their again taking the initiative ' siiouid not be discounted. If the Germans do take the initiative : against the liussians the presence of these bastions will provide ! points at which lo drive: and as the Germans can be expected to move along the railway lines as they did during their advance of last aullimn, the importance of the bastions is obvious.