SPEEDY SEBASTOPOL VICTORY

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 191, 11 May 1944, Page 5

SPEEDY SEBASTOPOL VICTORY

Prisoners And Booty END OF FIERCE DEFENCE v' (By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.) (Received May 10, 11.20 p.m.) LONDON, May 10. Marshal Stalin, in an order of the day addressed to the Russian Chief of Staff, General Vassilevsky, and, to General Tolbukhin, hist night, stated: “Troops of the Fourth Ukrainian Front, supported- by massed blows from the air force and artillery, several hours ago carried by assault the fortress, town of Sebastopol, the most important military and naval base on the Black Sea. “The Russians, after three days of offensive fighting, broke the strongly-fortified German defences, constructed over a long period, and comprising three lines of reinforced concrete defence works, and thus liquidated the last centre of German resistance in the Crimea, which is now completely freed of the German invader.” The Russians’ haul of prisoners is increasing every hour, and masses of booty have been captured. Already sappers and engineers are clearing up the great naval base and airfields.

The "Red Star” today gives a graphic description -of the last phase of the “un precedented attack.” The Germans in the city made 20 counter-attacks in three hours, clinging to the shattered buildings. They had been offered double, pay to hold on, and Red Army men saw the enemy machinegunning their i own troops who were falling back out of the last main fortified line. The Russians now control all the great eastern and northern ports of the Black Sea. The Red Air Force bombers will be able to strike easily against the Rumanian ports and supply bases less than 200 miles away, while the Red Fleet will have an additional base from which to operate against the Rumanian coast Three hundre’d and twenty-four guns at ,Moscow, greeting the capture of Sebastopol and the liberation of the Crimea, roared for nine minutes in 24 sal vow, after which Moscow radio broadcast the new Russian national anthem, sung by a choir. It took the Russians four week to achieve in the Crimea what the Germans achieved in 10 months up to July, 1942. The Russians defended Sebastopol for eight months. The German defence lasted three weeks. Reuter’s Moscow corresponftent. in a message yesterday, said that the doomed Sebastopol garrison had received “do-or-die” orders from the German High Command.- It was fighting savagely, but its defence points were going under one by one under a rain of Russian shells and the onrush of the Red 'Army storm troops. In bitter and bloody fighting picked groups of the Red Army storm troops punched their way through the outskirts of the snloke-hung city. Red Air Force planes were ceaselessly flying over the battle area, and the Germans faced an earth-rending concentration of guns and planes. The Russians stormed forward in the half-light of yesterday’s dawn and went into battle cheering and wearing medals, because this was the final battle for the “Heroes’City” and the revenge for 1942.

Russian artillerymen, manhandling their guns over the shell-churned earth, fired point-blank against German knots of resistance, and Russian snipers kept up a constant harassing fire against the Germans crawling up with supplies and picking off German officers attempting to rally their troops. German dead lay thick round the positions where there was heavy bloodshed in Von Manustein’s storming of the city in 1942. Describing the final operations, a Moscow communique says: “One Soviet guards formation last night after stubborn fighting completely cleared the enemy from the northern shores of the northern bay, and then placed 60 guns round the shore and, firing at close range, destroyed: enemy vessels in the northern and southern bays. “Red Army infantry and tanks supported by planes and artillery ' simultaneously stormed the inner ring of the Sebastopol defences and broke through the last German iren and concrete fortification line at the immediate approaches to the town. The Russians, after fierce engagements, completely routed the enemy and liberated the whole of Sebastopol. The Germans suffered enormous losses in manpower and equipment.” A Russian air communique states that a large bomber force last night attacked shipping at Sebastopol. They set fire to transports, military stores and landing points, blew up a number of ships and motor torpedo-boats in the open sea, and sank two enemy transports totalling 7000 tons.

The German news agency’s military commentator said that Sebastopol had lost much of its strategic value since the front was shifted back from the Dniestei estuary. Moscow reports that long-range bombers last night successfully attacked the Estonian railway junction of Tapa. The Red Fleet Air Arm attacked the Finnish por t of Kotka, sank a transport and two cutters, and damaged the quays. The German overseas news agency, quoting a High Command spokesman, Sa -.K 5- a ■ Russ ‘ nn armoured thrusc with 4o tanks has reached a point four miles from Jassy.