FURTHER GREAT ADVANCE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 January 1942, Page 3

FURTHER GREAT ADVANCE

MADE BY THE RUSSIANS West of Moscow and Further North GERMAN COUNTER-ATTACKS FRUSTRATED DESTRUCTION OF ENEMY PLANES AND SHIPS LONDON, January 23. Important Russian successes are announced in tonight’s Moscow communique and in a special announcement. These indicate that a big advance has been made between Moscow and Leningrad. Eight named places have been recaptured, including one 75 miles west of Rzhev, one 75 miles south of Lake liman and another 160 miles north of Smolensk, on the western bank of the River Lovat. This represents a big advance in the region of the Valdai Hills. German attempts to counter-attack in some sectors were frustrated. Twenty-three German planes were destroyed yesterday, against a loss of eight Russian machines. Three enemy transports, aggregating 13,000 tons, have been sunk. Between January 9 and yesterday, 17,000 Germans were killed and several hundred prisoners were taken. Two thousand inhabited localities have been recaptured. Soviet forces are now 25 miles west of Mojaisk and are within 30 miles of the Viazma gap, on which other armies are closing in from north and south.