THE RUSSIAN BATTLE FRONT

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 40, 16 January 1945, Page 4

THE RUSSIAN BATTLE FRONT

MUTTERINGS from the Russian front which extends from, the Baltic coast along the east Prussian border, through Poland, Czechoslavakia and Austria, into the northern Balkan States, make it obvious that apart from the bitter fighting going on in .Budapest, millions of Soviet fighters are mustering jfor an all-out offensive, dedicated to the final eradication of the Third Reich, and of Hitlerism. For over six months the Russian and German forces in East Prussia have remaine*d entrenched almost within constant sight of each other. The bitterest experience for the heroic garrison of Warsaw, was the failure of the Soviet forces to send relief in time to forestall the tragedy of the second and .final defeat.. Today the long awaited order for action has beejigiven,. ; and ialong the Polish battle front the two armies are once again locked in a grim war to the death. Already the-shock of the initial Russian advance has sent the front line, defenders reeling back upon their confused reserves. Poland has once again sounded the alarm in the east, and upon the outcome of this new and desperate struggle will depend the future of Soviet conduct and strategy. The defeat of the German forces, will mean a new menace for Germany from the most dreaded of all quarters, for it will initiate the battle for an ultimate con • quest of Germany herself by the combined Allied forces from three different directions. The new Russian drive is well timed, as it coincides with the Anglo-American counter offensive in the Ardennes. The dual pressure must create havoc on the German Home Front, which is already strained to breaking point. Competent observers are. already claiming that the latest Russian offensive heralds the beginning of the end, and the downfall of Hitlerism and all it stands for.