German Front Stretched To Breaking Point

Manawatu Times, Volume 69, Issue 59, 13 March 1944, Page 5

German Front Stretched To Breaking Point

(By Telegraph—Press Assn.—-Copyright.) Received Sunday, 9.40 p.m. LONDON, March 11. Exploiting the Ukrainian front victory the Russians to-day are rapidly advancing beyond Uman with less than 35 miles between them and the middle reaches of the River Bug, says Reuter’s Moscow correspondent writing on Saturday. The two other Russian armies are also approaching the Bug which is the last natural barrier left to the Germans west of the River Dniester and the Rumanian frontier. One Russian army northeast of Nikolaiev crossed the Ingulets River and is within 20 miles of the Lower Bug. The second has already crossed the upper reaches of the Bug at several points northwest of Vinnitsa. The Russians at this point have pushed within 13 miles of Vinnista, but German resistance here is very strong. The Germans further to the southeast are facing a rout which, however, may be avoided by a swift manoeuvre. German killed and wounded in the five days’ battle on General Koniev’s Second Ukrainian Front are now estimated to total 60,000-80,000. The Berlin radio says the Russians are believed to be preparing for a new offensive between Bobruisk and Vitebsk. A Moscow supplementary commimique says prisoners state that the Soviet offensive in the Uman-Khristinovka sector which was launched in bad weather completely suprised the enemy. Uman was captured after fierce street fighting. The Soviet forces are now well beyond the town. The German Overseas News Agency’s military correspondent says the main German defence line in Southern Russia is now stretched to breaking point all the way from the Lower Dnieper to Lutsk. Almost everywhere exceptionally strong Russian forces are attacking it, but hitherto its elasticity has stood the test. A German High Command communique says: “A fierce offensive battle is still raging along tbe Lower Dnieper as far as the Tarnopol area. The Russians gained further ground southwest of Krivoi-rog, in the Kirovgrad area and southwest of Svenigorodka. The Russians in the northern sector strongly attacked northwest of Nevel in the Ostrov area and at Pskov and Narva. ’ * The German Overseas News Agency says the Russians have believedly planned an offensive on the Central Finnish and Arctic fronts. The time of the offensive depends on political rather than military reasons. The Vichy radio says considerable Russian forces have been observed moving to the Finnish front. The Germans left behind in Uman huge stores of food including beans and coffee and vast quantities of tinned food. There is no mistaking that they hoped to stay and no mistaking how fast they went, says the British Unitea Press’ Moscow correspondent. The Russians captured countless tanks including the Tiger, Panther ana Cat types. They were all ready for action, full of petrol and the guns supplied with ammunition. The Russians are now using them to pursue the Germans. A Moscow radio says 18 fully-laden trains reached Uman a few days ago. We captured all these and their previous loads. Reuter quotes a Berlin military spokesman over the Berlin radio as saying: “The Russians in the first big onrush of their southern offensive have achieved remarkable successes and tbe fighting has reached a climax.” The German News Agency’s commentator (von Hammer) said the German counteroffensive launched northwest of Tarnopol had made further headway. A Moscow communique said: “The Russians on Saturday overcoming counterattacks continued fighting in the streets of Tarnopol and in the Proskurov sector continued their offensive. They captured more than 30 inhabited places, including the railway station at Krasilovh 13 miles due north of Proskurov on the railway from Shepetovka. 4 * The Red Army northwest, west and south of Uman continued their offensive and captured more than 100 inhabited places including Ladyskino 38 miles west of Uman. Northwest and west oi Kirovgrad the Russians captured 40 inhabited places including Slatopol 27 miles from Kirovgrad. The Russians northwest and west of Krivoi-rog captured more than 50 inhabited places and closed in on the railway junction ol Dolinsk, also southwest and south ol Vshivoie they captured more than 60 inhabited places including Borislav a district centre in the Nikolaiev region. ’ ’ A supplementary communique says: ‘JThe Germans in the Uman area hurriedly attempted to reform their routed divisions and are throwing in reserves and organising resistance from the most favourable positions. All these attempts so far have ended in fiasco. The Germans under blows from Russian infantry and tanks are still retreating and abandoning tanks, guns and lorries. German equipment litters the streets oi Uman. The Red Army in liberating Ladyskino prevented 20,000 Russians from being sent to Germany for forced labour. The Germans since the invasion oi Russia killed 2,000,000 Russians including a large number of prisoners of war states a report of the War Crimes Investigation Commission, according to the Moscow radio. Some of the victims were put to death by gas.