BATTLE OF THE KIEV BULGE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 December 1943, Page 3

BATTLE OF THE KIEV BULGE

Soviet Troops Massed to Defend Red Line GERMANS REPORT STRONG RED ARMY ATTACK IN WHITE RUSSIA NEW CRISIS FOR ENEMY IN DNIEPER BEND 7 LONDON, December 15. In Russia, the battle of the Kiev bulge, which has now entered its fifth week, is raging with renewed intensity. The Russian troops are massed to defend the line of a river about 55 miles west of Kiev. Hard fighting far to the north and south of the bulge is also reported. . The Germans say that in the north, in White Russia, m the angle of the Beresina and Dnieper rivers, the Soviet forces have launched their expected: attack. They state that the Russians are using powerful formations of tanks and infantry. The Germans also report-a considerable increase in Soviet pressure south of the bulge. . . . , _ . . . . The Germans are facing a new crisis m the Dnieper bend, Xvhere advanced Russian units driving down from Cherkasy have linked up with another Russian spearhead pushing upward, from Kremenchug. When the junction has been consolidated, the 'Red Army will have a huge bridgehead ready for a new drive south-westward. Last night’s Red Army communique stated that the Russians have evacuated the town of Radomysl, which lies south of Malin on the Teterev River. The Russians are holding on to their other positions south-west of Malin, and the communique reports the repulse of German attacks there, with heavy enemy casualties. . The fighting in this month-old battle of the bulge is still the heaviest in Russia as the Germans try to batter their way toward Kiev, 50 miles east of Radomysl. The Germans have yet to cross the Teterev, behind which the Russians have strongfortifications. . There is no sign of the German attacks weakening. The latest reports from Moscow say the enemy is throwing in extremely heavy forces, and the final result of this vast battle still hangs in the balance. The position in the bulge is described in Moscow this morning as tense but not desperate.