RED ARMY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 December 1943, Page 3

RED ARMY

POURING LIKE AVALANCHE THROUGH BREACHES GERMAN DIVISIONS SLASHED TO PIECES. PANIC STAMPEDES SEEN. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, December 22. The Red Army having smashed the main German defences before Vitebsk, troops, tanks and guns are pouring through like an avalanche that cannot be halted, declared Moscow'radio tonight. Quoting reconnaissance reports, the radio added: "Positions which the Germans built with the labour of many months are being abandoned. The Russians who crashed through to the rear have linked up with the main forces. A strong German force which at the last minute hoped to stem the Russian attack was wiped out.” The “Izvestia” correspondent, reports that the Russian air force is in action, against long columns of German lorries retreating to Vitebsk. The roads, which are only narrow banks of firm ground, between the surrounding swamps, are being turned into ribbons of flame as the line of blazing vehicles extends. German tanks, in an effort to avoid the devastating attacks of the Russian pilots, are being forced off the roads into the swamps, and they can be seen dispersing over a wide area. The “Pravda” says that when the Red Army broke through the German lines north of Vitebsk German divisions were slashed to pieces. Germans, cut off from each other and ousted from their strongholds, were overcome by panic and stampeded through the forests and marshes. Abandoning their lorries and weapons they were surrounded by hundreds. About 100 Stormoviks had previously strafed the German defences for an hour. The Germans put up about 270 planes over the battlefield during the day in an attempt to check the Russian advance.