IMPORTANT BASTION CAPTURED BY RUSSIANS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 July 1943, Page 3

IMPORTANT BASTION CAPTURED BY RUSSIANS

Simultaneous Success On Other Parts of Battlefront • GAP BEHIND ENEMY ARMIES NARROWED GERMANS REPORT SOVIET ATTACK IN LENINGRAD AREA LONDON 1 , July 22. The Russian army driving’ forward north of Orel today captured Bolkhov and cleared the enemy out of the northern bastion of the Orel defences. A Moscow communique, giving this information, also reports progress by Russian forces in the Byelgorod sector. In face of stubborn enemy resistance, the Russians have advanced four or five miles and captured a number of places in addition to Bolkhov. By the occupation of Bolkhov they have completely liquidated a strongly fortified enemy zone north of Orel. During the ten days of their offensive on the Orel front, the communique states, Soviet troops have captured nearly 400 tanks, more than 700 guns and a quantity of other war material and have taken 6,000 German prisoners. In the same period they have destroyed or damaged nearly 700 tanks, destroyed nearly 900 aircraft and nearly 900 guns and killed 50,000 enemy troops. In. the Byelgorod area, Soviet troops, after overcoming enemy Tesistance and beating off counter-attacks, advanced four cr five miles. In the Donetz Basin, south of Isyum and southwest of Voroshilovgrad, Soviet troops have fought battles of local importance. The Germans say that at the northern end of the front, the Russians have launched a powerful attack near Leningrad but so far there is no news of this from Moscow.