CROSSING THE DNIEPER

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 87, Issue 231, 30 September 1943, Page 5

CROSSING THE DNIEPER

RUSSIANS ON WESTERN BANK PARATROOPS JOIN BATTLE (By Telegraph--Pre9B Association—Copyright) Reed. 7.30 p.m. London, Sept. 28. The struggle for Dnieper crossings is developing into an extended battle along the whole of the 300-mile stretch of the river from Kiev to Zaporozhe, in which the Red Army is being aided by mass assault from Soviet planes. , The Russians have a firm grip on the cast bank of the Dnieper on wide stretches, hut very fierce fighting is going on in some sectors for the remaining bridgeheads. The latest front-line reports state that the Red Army has established a bridgehead on the west bank between Kiev and' ' I' Cherkasy. Moscow radio said that Soviet planes of all types are providing enormous assistance to the troops at the approaches to the Dnieper. “They arc intensifying their blows.against the Dnieper crossings, to which the retreating Germans are rushing.”

Front-line reports say that a lingo army of paratroops is forming up behind the Russian lines to join in the battle for the Dnieper. This will be the first major test for Russia’s great parachute army, probably the finest in the world. Already some of these paratroops have landed beyond the bank of the Dnieper and they are contesting the German attempt to wipe out .he bridgeheads over the river established by the Russian forces. Reuter's Moscow correspondent reports that three Russian forces have begun crossing the river opposite Dnepropetrovsk. where Berlin radio tonight admitted the Russians had launched a large-scale attack. Reuter says that assault forces are swarming across the remains of two railway bridges spanning the river. The Russians are also using small islands as stepping-stones for an assault which is covered by a shuttle service of fighter planes and a heavy artillery barrage. Meanwhile, at the other two key bridgeheads—opposite Kiev and at Kremenchug the Germans have brought up fresh divisions. Reuter adds that the Germans have also increased their air support, using a tremendous concentration of artillery, hut that their resistance is gradually being worn down. Kremenchug, on the csat bank of the Dnieper, is being taken into a steadily-narrowing grip. The Russians are closing in from the northcast, where they are only five miles distant, and also from the east and north. The German news agency reported to-night that the Russians were attempting to occupy in strength some of the Dnieper islands north of Kiev and also were endeavouring to build a pontoon bridge under cover of night. Meanwhile, the Red Army's advance into White Russia, which is termed the key to Poland and the Baltic States, is assuming triumphal proportions, states Reuter's Moscow correspondent. “Only four days after the capture of Smolensk thousands of Russians are advancing on a front of over 200 miles well on the road to the key towns Mogilev, Orsha, and Vitebsk, three vital points in the advance towards Minsk, the capital of White Russia and anchor of the old MinskOdessa line.” At. the southern end of the long front the German news agency reported a fierce battle on the outskirts of the suburb of Melitopol. The news agency claimed that Russian attacks had been held in violent defensive fighting. The agency also reported a new Russian attack on the Kuban bridgehead, where the Russians attempted to land reinforcements south ( of the Taman Peninsula. SPANISH BLUF DIVISION RETURNS HOME Reed. 9 p.m. London, Sept. 29. Madrid radio says that 650 volunteers of the Spanish Blue Division have returned to Spain from the Russian front.

NEW OFFENSIVE LAUNCHED BY RUSSIANS Reed. 1 a.m. London, Sept. 29. The Russians launched a new offensive in the Zaporozhe area, says VicAiy radio. Heavy fighting is going; on south-east and south of the town. German reconnaissance planes report large reinforcements behind the Russian lines. Violent fighting continues along the whole front, particularly in the central sector, where both sides have brought up reinforcements. The Russians succeeded in landing troops in some strength on the western oank of the Dnieper in the vicinity of Kiev. Pravda says the Germans are launching 10 to 12 counter-attacks daily bn the approaches to the Dnieper in the Kiev direction, but the Red Army gained such momentum that nothing seems capable of stopping it. The Berlin news agency says that the Russians in the Chernigov area brought up strong fresh forces in an attempt to drive through the German rearguard. . The Exchange Telegraph’s Stockholm correspondent says that Berlin now emphasises the fierceness of the fighting south-east and cast of Zaporozhe, where the Russian plan aims to cut off the retreat of the Germans in the Crimea. A German spokesman surveying the situation admitted an occasional break-through in recent weeks but claimed that serious consequences had- been avoided by “clever retreats.”