SOVIET OFFENSIVE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 December 1941, Page 3

SOVIET OFFENSIVE

PRESSED WITH UNABATED VIGOUR Germans Driven Out of Important Positions IN LENINGRAD AND MOSCOW REGIONS MORE DETAILS OF ENEMY LOSSES LONDON, December 26. The Russians have recaptured Oskuye, 62 miles south-west of Tikhvin, and Kaluga, on the River Oka, south-west of Moscow. . , „„ , x , „ . , The “Izvestia” says that m two days of fighting the Soviet troops have driven the Germans out of positions in which Hitler had ordered that the Russian offensive should be checked. The Russians crossed the frozen River Oka and captured Kaluga, killing 400 Germans in the town. Kaluga is an industrial town of 50 000 people, on the main road from. Tula to Smolensk. Another message states that 100 areas were cleared of the enemy yesterday. In one area 1,900 Germans were killed and a large amount of material captured. The Moscow radio states that in the Moscow area more than 10,000 Germans have been killed and a vast quantity of material captured. In six days’ fighting in the Crimea, 20,000 Germans have been killed.

MOSCOW BATTLES ' i WHOLESALE SLAUGHTER OF GERMANS MANY BURIED IN SNOW. VAST QUANTITIES OF BOOTY CAPTURED. LONDON, December 26. Today’s Moscow report deals with the heavy German losses in men and material during the recent fighting in the Moscow sector. It says that more than 10,000 German officers and men were slaughtered and that vast quantities of booty were captured. The data was still far from complete. Many of the German dead and much of the equipment were buried in the snow. FIGHTING IN CRIMEA 20,000 GERMANS KILLED IN SIX DAYS. LONDON. December 25. The “Red Star’s” war correspondent states that the Germans lost more than half their effectives, including 20,000 killed, in heavy fighting at the approaches to Sebastopol in the last six days.

SOVIET BROADCAST RED ARMY’S CHRISTMAS GIFT. NEW YORK, December 25.. Kuibyshev, broadcasting a special Christmas message to Americans, said: “The Red Army gave a wonderful Christmas present not only to Soviet people, but to all the world democracies by its victorious counter-offensive against the Nazis.” AT LOW EBB MORALE OF THE GERMAN SOLDIERS. MUCH SICKNESS & HEAVY DEATH RATE. ) (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day. 9.50 a.m.) RUGBY, December 26. According to prisoners captured by the Russians, it would seem that the morale of the German forces is very low. Prisoners have stated that the sickness rate has been very high in recent weeks among the German soldiers, and also that a large percentage of the wounded die.