COMPETING CLAIMS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 8 July 1941, Page 5

COMPETING CLAIMS

NAZIS SAV SMOLENSK IS ABLAZE CRITICAL DEVELOPMENTS. RED ARMY THROWING IN CRACK DIVISIONS. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, July 7. German-inspired reports claim that Smolensk is ablaze. The German forces are hammering against the whole of the so-called Stalin Line; two dangerous penetrations continue to threaten the Russians, but the Red Army claims to have taken the initiative. The Stockholm correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph” says the Russians do not attempt to minimise the critical nature of the position, but they say that their crack divisions are only now going into action as the big counter-at-tacks develop. The Russians believe they have sufficient men and material to tire the Germans to a standstill if the spirit of the Russian troops remains unshaken. Everything indicates that this spirit is still most firm, says the Stockholm correspondent of “The Times.” The Russians, the correspondent believes, should at least check and blunt the edge of the German offensive, specially as the imperfect Russian communications are shortened while the German lines are lengthened. Some Berlin reports estimate that there are between three and four million Russian troops between Minsk and Moscow. The German penetration toward Smolensk has developed only slowly, quite unlike the similar tank penetrations that were made in France last year. The Soviet troops have certainly delayed the progress of the attacks, but whether really permanently remains not clear. The military correspondent of “The Times” stressing the importance of the outcome of these Russian attacks, says that big counter-attacks when the front-line combatants are becoming exhausted may hold up an enemy and throw him into confusion, but on the other hand nothing tends to break up a defending army more quickly than the failure of counter-attacks. LATVIA & ESTONIA. “The Times” Stockholm representative states that the Germans are still progressing across Latvia toward Estonia. Trustworthy information does not mention any names there except the River Dvina, but the Germans have apparently advanced far beyond the Latvian section of the river on a broad frcnt. However, nothing supports some A>reports that they have reached Tarto, Pskov or Parnu or captured Tallinn and it is doubtful if the Germans have anywhere reached the Estonian frontier. Hanko still holds out, though the Finns have not yet attempted a determined assault. The correspondent adds that only one clear thing emerges from the confused descriptions of the fighting today: Namely, that the Red Army’s next stage of resistance is based on the original Soviet defences, which were begun on a large scale .10 years ago. HUNGARIAN ADVANCE. A Hungarian communique claims that the Hungarians advancing from the Carpathians have reached ths Dniester River. It adds that strong Soviet rearguards offered fierce resistance at some points covering the retreat of the Soviet forces across the Dniester. The Russians who are withdrawing in Bessarabia are reported to be inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. The latest reports arriving tell of bitter fighting in Bessarabia. On the Baltic States front infantry and armoured units attacking northward clashed throughout yesterday in the Disna region on the Lithuanian frontier. The Russians are believed to have halted the enemy in the Novobrad-Volynsk

sector and also in the Bobruisk sector, where they have repulsed German attempts to cross the Dnieper River. NAZI PROGRESS STEMMED. The Berne correspondent of the “New York Times” says that Russian counter-attacks in the vicinity of the Minsk-Smolensk road successfully stemmed the German progress for the second successive day. The Germans have abandoned their earlier divebombing in the Minsk sector in favour of heavy artillery fire with which they are attempting to smash the Russian lines. The situation in Bessarabia is confused, this correspondent says. The Russians admit having made initial withdrawals but claim a large counterattack in the Jassy-Falciu sector. ARCTIC CONFLICT. The “Daily Telegraph’s” Stockholm correspondent says that the Russians have definitely stopped the German and Finnish advance toward Kandalaksha on the Leningrad-Murmansk railway, and it appears possible that the Russian counter-attack in the northern sector may be successful. Another Stockholm message says that the Germans and Finns who are driving on Murmansk have crossed the Liza River and are still about 40 miles from Murmansk. The Germans allowed Swedish correspondents to visit parts of the front and give details. The captured territory is littered with enormous quantities of destroyed material, including Russian tanks which are claimed to be of 100 tons, and also destroyed crops. There are many German graves. One correspondent said, “The number of German graves justifies an assumption that the Russian campaign is incomparably the most bloody of the whole war.”