FIERCE CONFLICT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 October 1941, Page 5

FIERCE CONFLICT

ON LENINGRAD APPROACHES RUSSIANS TAKING INITIATIVE AT SEVERAL POINTS. PERSISTENT SOVIET ATTACKS IN CENTRAL FRONT. LONDON, September 30. The struggle continues with unabated violence on the blood-soak-ed approaches to Leningrad. There is some evidence in support of reports that the Russians, far from concentrating on the mere defence of Leningrad, are actually taking the initiative at several points. The “Red Star” reports the recapture of the strategically important town of “B,” after a 12-hour battle which culminated in fierce hand-to-hand fighting. A Russian regiment approached the town apd' entrenched under cover of darkness. Russian artillery on the next morning laid down an extensive barrage, after which tanks advanced and the infantry followed and stormed the defences. By noon the regiment had occupied the southern and western suburbs of the town, and other units had reached the north-eastern outskirts. The main Russian forces by 6 p.m. had forced a passage over an unnamed river, completed the recapture of the town, and drove the Germans back a significant distance from Leningrad. An entire German regiment was destroyed. Marshal Timoshenko’s armies on the central front again attacked the enemy on the night of September 28, recapturing more villages. The Stockholm correspondent of “The Times” says Marshal Timoshenko’s counter-blows on the central front show a tendency to become more than of local importance, but it is still advisable not to over-estimate his power and intentions.