BLOW TO HITLER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 February 1943, Page 3

BLOW TO HITLER

GREATER THAN THE STALINGRAD DISASTER Kharkov the Enemy’s Main Supply Base. FOR THE WHOLE OF HIS OPERATIONS IN SOUTHERN RUSSIA DENIAL OF RUMOURS REGARDING GERMAN HIGH COMMAND LONDON, February 16. The Soviet armies have today won their greatest strategic victory of the war by the capture of Kharkov. This news was announced in a special flash message from Moscow. The loss of Kharkov will be an even greater blow to Hitler than the German disaster at Stalingrad. Kharkov was the main supply base for the whole of the enemy’s operations m Southern Russia. Kharkov is the second greatest railway centre in the Soviet Union and had been in German occupation since October, 1941. It is the fourth city of the Soviet Union and had a normal population of nearly 1,000,000. Before the Germans overwhelmed it, it was the centre of vast, factories, but most of these and huge stocks of war material were either destroyed or removed by the Russians before they withdrew from the city. The German radio says there is not one word of truth m the rumour that Hitler is giving up command of the German armed forces and that he had handed over, supreme command to Field Marshal Mannstein. The enemy radio quoted a report that Hitler had consented to a drastic shortening of the line and had accepted personal responsibility for the retreat. This was described as being untrue.