BREACHING KIEV’S DEFENCES

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 15, 13 October 1943, Page 5

BREACHING KIEV’S DEFENCES

Red Army’s Ascendancy STEADY GAINS IN OTHER GREAT BATTLES •Hr Telegraph.—Press Assn. —Copyright i (Received October 12, 8.20 p.m.) LONDON, Oct. 1 I. A bitter battle is being waged for Kiev, where the Russians have fought their way within the defences. The Germans, in an effort to save the city, are still throwing in masses of men and tanks, but there is no indication that the Russian tide has been stemmed. Guerrillas are hampering the German defence, necessitating many troops and planes being detached to deal with them. The Russians under General Popov, moving against Gomel from the north and east, are making good progress on both wings of the two-pronged advance. Gomel is already outflanked from the north, the Russians being astride some of the railways which link Gomel with other German strongpoints. Soviet units today entered Novo Byelitsa, a suburb of Gomel on the near side of the Sozh River.

Berlin radio’s commentator, Captain Sertorius, admitting Russian gains on the Gomel sector, said that the bridgehead on the east bank had ’been narrowed to gain a more favourable liueof resistance, but Gomel was still firmly in German hands. (He added that the German lines on either side of the road westward from Smolensk had also been withdrawn io new positions under renewed enemy pressure.

The British United Press correspondent in Moscow says that ou the northern front all the German positions round Vitebsk are in danger of being rolled up by a Russian advance west of Nevel. Movements in north Russia also may result in developments ou the Leningrad front.

A correspondent sums up the general position of the lighting in Russia as follows: “At the moment the Germans are lighting back wherever they are challenged, but they are steadily losing ground, and it looks as if they are no longer capable of stopping the Russian armies with their present resources.”

Heavy fighting is going on at the outer approaches to Vitebsk, . reports Reuter’s Moscow correspondent, who says that the Red Army is slowly but surely gaining ground. The Germans are making determined efforts to save Vitebsk and have thrown in reinforcements for the Luftwaffe, which the Red Air Force is fiercely attacking. Paris radio, quoting a report from Berlin, says the centre of gravity on the eastern front is-Kevcl, where the Germans were compelled to retreat because of crushing Russian superiority. Kiev Break-Through.

Messages from Moscow say that the German line north of Kiev has fallen. The Russians have pierced in depth the semi-circular outer defences of Kiev. “Pravda” says the Russians, have captured the enemy’s defence zone on the west bank of the Dnieper, fought their way far beyond the river, and occupied dozens of villages. , The news paper adds: “The breach is so wide that two entire infantry formations, probably divisions fully equipped with anti-tank guns and mortars, have gone through the enemy’s lines. “The battle is now not so much for the Dnieper as for the high hills and important positions west of the river. The break-through may well mean the fall of Kiev.” .Tonight’s Soviet communique reports that the Russians on the .middle Dnieper continued their offensive, extended their bridgeheads, and considerably improved their'positions. Earlier a correspondent reported that one of the Russian bridgeheads now extended many miles west of the Dnieper, and that Soviet troops had occupied many strongly fortified villages. He said that Germans were throwing in fresh tank and infantry reinforcements. At one point they made eight counterattacks in quick succession and were using aircraft lavishly to try to restore the battle. Both sides are suffering beaty casualties in some of the bloodiest figntinir of the war. , 'The German-controlled A icliy radio admits that the Russians now have four bridgeheads across the Dnieper, lhese are situated at the confluence of the Pripet and Dnieper Rivers, also near 1 creyaslavl, south-east of Kremenchug and n firth-west of Dnepropetrovsk, flier have made a new strong landing attempt between Kiev and Kremenchug. The new Russian offensive- be.ween Zaporozhe and the Sea of Azov, has assumed great violence. The Russians are using strong forces and seem determined to break through at any price. During Sunday 126 German tanks wore destroyed or disabled and loti aircraft shot down.