APPARENTLY MADE BY GERMANS IN UKRAINE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 August 1941, Page 5

APPARENTLY MADE BY GERMANS IN UKRAINE

After Two Days of Fierce Conflict NO SLACKENING IN RUSSIAN RESISTANCE HEAVY DRAIN ON ENEMY OIL SUPPLIES LONDON, August 4. There is little fresh news of the great battle that has been raging for the past two days in the Ukraine. A military commentator in Berlin admits that Russian troops are attacking’ the German columns attempting to encircle Kiev, in which area the German forces have formed an arc extending from 90 miles north-west to 45 miles south of the Ukraine capital. The Berlin correspondent of a Swiss newspaper says there is no suggestion that Russian resistance in this area is slackening, nor is there any evidence of a noteworthy German advance. Further south the Germans claim that two converging columns are threatening the Black Sea port of Odessa. There is no confirmation of this in Moscow. * In the central zone, around Smolensk, there docs riot appear to be any substantial change in the situation during the past 24 hours. A Berlin commentator assures the German public that the battle is almost ending in extermination. Further north, where the German thrust is directed towards Leningrad, Moscow reports that fighting continued throughout yesterday and last night, the Germans are reported to have launched an attack of great violence in this area. The Finns claim that they have beaten back a series of Russian counter-attacks. Nazi reports continue to speak of the hardships and difficulties of the troops engaged on the Eastern front. The Germans are stated to be using’ 300,000 tons of petrol a day to supply the war machine on the Eastern Front. Much of the oil is used before it gets to the front. Out of every five lorry loads, two are used before the front is reached. In consequence the campaign is making an immense drain on Germany’s fuel reserves. The failure of German air attacks on Russian cities is said to be due to inability to pierce the inner defences. Attempts to raid Leningrad have been less successful than those on Moscow. During the week ended July 26, the Germans attempted to raid Leningrad 17 times and not one bomb was dropped on the city.