DNIEPER LINE STRUGGLE

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 19, 18 October 1943, Page 5

DNIEPER LINE STRUGGLE

May Affect Length Of War THREAT TO CRIMEA (British Official Wireless.) (Received October 17, 7.5 p.m.) RUGBY, October 16. In the last week the military situation on the Russian front has undergone a change so drastic that it may well affect the duration of \the war, according to London observers. It is becoming increasingly evident that the struggle for the Dnieper line which began more than a week ago may become one of the decisive battles of the war. At any rate, the success of the Russian assault on this line after so short an interval is already ensured. The Soviet Army will begin its winter campaign with important assets which seemed till recently outside its grasp. It is clear from remarks of official spokesmen in Berlin that the High Command was confident that the German troops could make a prolonged stand on the right bank of the Dnieper from Kiev to Zaporozhe, through MeUtopol to the Azov coast. It was anticipated that the Russian forces, exhausted by three months’ continuous advance over devastated country, would be forced to sit down in front of this barrier and before fresh troops could be brought up and supply lines reorganized the mud would take charge and impose a static period before the ground froze. Much at Stake for Germans.

Much was at stake from the German viewpoint. Kiev is the nerve centre of the German defence throughout the south and also the hinge between the southern and central armies. Kiev was virtually impregnable provided the Russians could be prevented crossing the river and enveloping it. But the Russians achieved these vital crossings and are also threatening the vital reaches of the lower Dnieper, where flat steppes offer little help to defence.

Moreover, if the Germans are compelled to give up the Crimea their right wing resting on the Black Sea coast becomes vulnerable all the way back to the mouth of the Danube. Another reason for holding the Melitopol line is that behind it, on the right bank of the Dnieper, is Nikopol, which has one of the richest deposits of manganese in the world. Now it appears that the Germans on the Zaporozhe-Melitopol-Azov line are being rolled up from the north, and the Russians may possibly strike south-west across the open steppe to Kherson, cutting off the Crimea.