USE MADE OF LULL

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 12, 9 October 1943, Page 5

USE MADE OF LULL

Official Report On Battles

LONDON, October 7. An order of the day which was issued tonight by Marshal Stalin states: After the lull necessary for bringing up frt - sl * troops from the east, Soviet troops haxe again launched an offensive against the enemy along the whole front from the Vitebsk sector in White Russia to' the Tainan peninsula in the extreme EOU t“; “Troops of the north Caucasian fiont are engaged in successfully liquidating the enemy bridgehead in the Taman peninsula. The town and port of Taman and a large number of other places have been captured. Enemy troops who did not have time to evacuate the peninsula are being annihilated. . “On the middle. Dnieper sector Soviet troops have successfully forced the river and captured bridgeheads at three places —north of Kiev, south of Pereyslavl, and south-west of Kremenchug. “The Germans have launched strong counter-attacks against the Red Army troops across the Dnieper, but these are being repelled with heavy losses to the enemy. Step by step the Red Army troops are enlarging their bridgeheads. Pereyslavl is about 40 miles southeast of Kiev. The bridgehead mentioned in the communique is in a pronounced loop of the river in this region.. The .Kremenchug bridgehead is 100 miles farther to the south-east. The communique does not identify the bridgehead north of Kiev, 'but Reuter expresses the opinion that it is probably in the marshes at the confluence of the Pripet and Dnieper river?, where the Germans reported that the Russians had breached the river defences two days ago. Nevel Break-through. The order of the day continues: “Our troops on the Kalinin front have broken through a strongly defended line_ on a stretch of I's miles to a depth of 15 miles after two days of fierce fighting and have captured the town and rail junction of Nevel, besides 100 inhabited localities.” It is also announced that troops on the Volkhov front north of Kirishi, which is 50 miles south-east of Shlusselburg, broke through the enemy defences and advanced nine miles and, after fighting for the town and railway junction of Kirishi, captured them, besides many other inhabited localities.”

Moscow radio observed the procedure for big occasions. The communique was read twice and patriotic songs followed.