KHARKOV EVACUATED

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 87, Issue 63, 17 March 1943, Page 5

KHARKOV EVACUATED

RED ARMY MAKES WITHDRAWAL ADVANCE AGAINST SMOLENSK CONTINUED BY RUSSIANS (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) Recd. 6 p.m. London, March 15. An official Moscow statement says that Kharkov has been evacuated by the Russians. Discussing the possible effects of the capture of Kharkov, British military observers point out that further north Orel, from the German standpoint, is an awkward salient. If the Germans advance on the Kharkov front between the Kharkov and Orel sectors and swing back east, the Russians may be faced with an awkward salient and may have to withdraw. The Russian advance west and south-west of Viazma along the upper reaches of the Dnieper continues and several dozen localities have been reoccupied, including the district and railway station of Senlevo, 13 miles from Viaznia. South of Bycloi, several localities have been occupied and stubborn fighting continues in the Izyum area, where the enemy, regardless of huge losses, con- . tinues to attack.

The Germans are losing heavily in the Donetz push and they are simultaneously being forced .< out of the defensive system west of Moscow and south of Leningrad, which they have fortified for 18 months. If the Red Army clears out the Germans to behind a line from Velikiye Luki to Orel, even if it does not capture Smolensk, it will have achieved what was seemingly impossible last year.

The German attack on Kharkov and the counter-offensive to the Donetz fvrther south can be seen as part of the one campaign, designed to hold up the Russian drive which was developing so dangerously into the heart of the Ukraine and which threatened disaster to all the German armies in the south. Further down the front, the Russians west of Rostov are patrolling and probing the heavily-defended area, in the vicinity of Taganrog. There has been a flare-up of artillery fire on both sides. On the central front, the double Soviet thrust towards Smolensk shows no sign of slackening. The advance south from Byeloi and west from Viazma has taken more villages and German strong-points. A correspondent estimates that the Russians have cleared the enemy from about 400 square miles of territory since the offensive began. Another correspondent says the Germans had planned to make a big stand on the upper Dnieper. When the position was getting dangerous they moved up tanks, infantry, and aircraft to stiffen the defences, but the Russians smashed their way through three defence lines east of the Dnieper and reached the line of the river. Along the west bank the Germans had built a great barrier of snow. In spite of this, the Russians were able to pin-point the enemy’s gun positions, and Red Army guns opened fire with great effect. Then

came the assault on the great wall of snow. Using scaling ladders, Red Army infantry got through the wall at three places, while other units worked round the enemy's rear and established a bridgehead. The place where the Russians forced the crossing of the upper Dnieper was 3b miles north-west of Viazma. The Russians in their central offensive are still advancing, although gradually hampered by the snow. They have crossed the upper Dnieper near Zhirkovsk, 35 miles north-west of Viazma, which is a considerable achievement, because the right bank is dominated by strongly fortified heights. Flat, snow-covered fields are facilitating the encirclement of German strong-points at the approaches to Nikitinka.

The Russian thrust at the ViazmaSmolensk railway has reached within 15 miles of the important rail junction of Durovo, which is also threatened by the advance northward. The Russian drive from Byeloi towards Yartsevo has also progressed, capturing a number of villages in the past 24 hours. Other Russian thrusts directed against Dorog Obig and Yelnia apparently are still unstemmed, although fresh German armoured, motorised and infantry forces are being pushed into the battle. The Russians seem confident that the advance will continue. The Russians annear to be gradually withdrawing their main forces in the Kharkov area to the Donetz River, 20 miles to the eastward, where Gen»ral Golikov seemingly intends to jiake a determined stand while regrouping his forces in the rear. The Stockholm correspondent of the Daily Express reports that Russian siege guns to-day opened a heavy bombardment of the Germans' first defence line before Smolensk, the chief pivot of Hitler’s hedgehog system on the central front. The defence line runs 50 miles eastward of Smolensk. with Durovo, which is General Koneik* immediate objective, as its northern bastion, and Yelina its southern strong-point.