Mõned uudised suvest 1944/ Some news about Estonia from summer 1944

Such info searched out by Jerry Waters, an estophile.

June 28, 1944
GERMAN TROOPS IN HELSINKI . FIRST "TOKEN OF SOLIDARITY" RIBBENTROP'S PROMISES

STOCKHOLM, June 27.-German troops marched through the streets of Helsinki to-night towards the Finnish eastern front, as the first token of the "solidarity and perfect understanding" between Finland and Germany. A detachment of Germans marched past the Finnish Parliament building while the deputies were in session. -A.vsociated Press. FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT STOCKHOLM, JUNE 27 According to the best-informed circlcs here Ribbentrop, during his three-day visit to Helsinki, succeeded in persuading the Linkomies Cabinet to shelve their plan for the reconstruction of the Government and to stay in office and continue the war against Russia at Germany's side. It is less certain whether this is the last word in the development of the Finnish situa- tion. The newspaper Aftoni Tidningen reports that Ribbentrop went to Helsinki after Marshal Mannerheim had refused an invitation io Berlin. The last-minute cancellation of the secret session of Parliament last night indicates that the Cabinet is fearful of Parliament's attitude, for the intention was to announce this newdeci- sion then. Strong opposition i.s certain within the *Social Democratic, Liberal, and Swedish Party groups. The postponement of the Social Democratic Party congress scheduled for July 1, which is announced to-day, may also have something to do with Tanner's wish to avoid an open clash with his party colleagues. Since German threats have lost most of their sting, Ribbentrop's foremost means of persuasion was the promise of increased mili- tary help from Germany. Some anti-tank formations, it is reported, are being shipped from Estonia to the Viipuri front.

The Times | June 29, 1944
KEITEL IN HELSINKI
From Our Correspondent STOCKHOLM, JUNE 28 The chief of the German armed forces, Field Marshal Keitcl, has arrived in Hel- sinki to organize German military rein- forcements on the Finnish front. The notorious S.S. Gcneral Sepp Dietrich, chief of the " Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler," is also expected. German spokes- men make much of German chances of restoring the Finnish military position, and specifically describe the fall of Viipuri as " purely temporary." A curious remark by one Berlin spokes- man to-night indicates that General Dietl, hitherto commander of the German divi- sions in north Finland, may be out of the picture. He referred to rumours abroad -which nobody here has heard-that Dieti had been killed in an aeroplane crash, and said he was not in a position to confirm them. In addition to an anti-tank brigadc from Estonia, tile Germans have sent an infantry division to southl Finland, the first to operate outside Dictl's north Finnish sector. The Lufivaffe have also contributed fighters and fighter-bombers for the defence of the Karelian isthmus. The announcement of. Ribbentrop's visit to Finland, which was published in Helsinki last night, showvs that President Ryti and the Forcign Minister, Ramsay. committed Finiand to continued cooperation with Germany with- out even formally consulting Parliament. The announcement says that Ribbentrop complied with the Finnish request for armed aid. Actually, it is authoritatively learnt that Ryti and Ramsay, in return for this promise, pledged Finland to political solidarity with Germany and renounced the right to make a separate peacc-an undertaking wvhich Finland has refused or wriggled out of several timcs before. As the Government have obviously given up any idea of submitting-so Parliament thc ne'v arrangement with Germany-involving com- plete abandonment of the hitherto jealously guarded, principle of Finland's " own war `- the only constitutional way which rc- mains of forcig a debate is for the Opposi- tion to put a formal questicT, to the Prime Minister. This step is now being considered in the Opposition camp. Parliament will sit again on Friday. Swedish newspapers of all political shades to-day, with striking unanimity. deplore the Finnish pledge to continue the war at Germany's side. and most of them represent it as tantamount to sealing Finland's doom

The Times | July 4, 1944
RUSSIANS' HOT PURSUIT

From Our Military Correspondent The Russian pursuit has continued at an almost incredible speed. In previous offensives this year and last the Russians have been handicapped by inadequate mechanization; they lacked motorized divisions and were therefore unable to give proper support and backing to their armoured thrusts. On this occasion they appear to be better off, and it is said that lorry-borne infantry is following close upon the heels of the armour. Another factor in their favour is that they have so little armour against them. The Germans are believed to hold most of their remaining Panzzer divisions on this front south of the Pripet. The transfer to France of a whole Panzzer army corps is particularly crippling to German defence in view of the deterioration of the infantry-and, incidentally, it may be because of this deterioration that Roimmel is using his Panzer divisions so largely for defence at Caen: seven Panzer or Panizer S.S. divisions to only four inlfantry divisions. n f The Germans themselves state that their forces on the Bcresina vere extricated and felt back, hotly pursued by the Russians, to the area of Minsk. But on both flanks the Russians were moving parallel with the retreat, and moviig faster; and their loiig tcntacles have now closed in on the city. Nothing could be more certain than that it has been impos- sible to clear Minsk, which is understood to have been the main German advanced post on the northern front, of its stores. The Russians must have captured a great quantity of booty. A YAWNING BREACH The Germans are hanging on to the flanks of the break-through, attempting at all costs to prevent the yawning breach from widening still further. At Polotsk the garrison held its ground for some time, but has now been driven out, and previously the Russians had been pouring througlh south of the towvn, moving iS miles in 24 hours. Again, the Germans claim to have checked the Russians west of Slutsk, in the southern arm of the enveloping movement round Minsk, but again the Rttssians have swept past it. A double thleat to the trunk line frotn Warsaw to the nortlh is developing at Vilna and Dvinsk, especially at Vilna. Should this rail- way be ctit it is deemed untikely that the enemy would be able to maintain his northern front for long. He might have to clear out of Estonia ancd fall back to some position such as from the Gulf of Riga to the western side of the Pripet marshes, using the middle stretch of the Niemen where it would serve his pur- pose by running conformably to his dis- positions. This would leave him still in touch with his Volhynian and Galiciati front south of the Plripet. But lie seems to be feeling no small anlxiety about that front also. As our Special Correspondent in Stockholm reported yester- day, the Germans prophesy that this will be the scene of the main Russian offensive this summer. They probably hold it in greater strength, but if the offensive against it is, as they suggest, going to put that in White Russia into the shade, they may well wonder what it is going to be like. Within a day or two it will be apparent whether the Germans can avoid complete collapse oti their hard-pressed White Russian front. They have not yet reached that stage, except locally, but they do not appear to be far from it. The official report yesterday annotinced the death in action of two full generals and otle lieutenant-general, an extra- ordinary occurrence wllich throws fresh light on the nature of the fighting.

The Times | July 12, 1944
THE DRIVE TO THE BALTIC

The victorious Russian armies, exploit- ing their triumph in the battle of Minsk, stride westward day by day with ever more majestic authority. They have conceded no chance of recovery from the great German collapse. Although it is probabie that the enemy has, called reinforcements from north and south to the 'support of his dissolving armies on the north-central front, nothing that he can do gives any suggestion that he can reorganize suffi- ziently to fight another pitched battle. ,ll pretence of maintaining a continuous front has been abandoned; and where ordered formations can still be held' together in the path of the irresistible advance, the best they can do is to shut themselves up infortresses, as they have n the notable strategic centre of Vilna. rhe Russians waste no time before these positions, but sweep on, well knowing that :hey need not be anxious about the result )f a siege where the enemy is in no condi- ion to attempt relief. They have pene- :rated well into Lithuania, and the frontier )f East Prussia lies only.some eighty miles shead. At the present astonishing rate of sdvance, which there is nothing to check !xcept the difficulties of a lengthening line 3f communications, they would. stand on aerman soil within a few days. This is a time for looking at large maps nd taking comprehensive views. Survey- ng the whole area of the three Baltic -epublics, there are two obvious routes by s'hich the Russians may march to the sea; hey lie on either side of the jutting mass f Courland. One, to which the capture 3r masking of Dvinsk would be the pre- iminary step, leads down the valley of the Dvina to the Latvian port of Riga. The )ther is still s!prter, and has been already 3artly opened up by the thrust of the irmoured columns past Vilna. It follows he valley of the Niemen through Kovno md Tilsit into the territory of Memel, nce a 'protectorate of the League of .ations, which was added to East Prussia ay one of the earliest acts of Nazi aggres- ;ion. This is not only the shortest way to :he sea but the direct route to East Prussia, nd wouid have the advantage of cu'tting Aff an even larger group of armies than the ine from Dvinsk to Riga. If the Russians .hoose to pursue 4t-and, for all the enemy :an do to interfere, their choice is prac- tically free-they will complete a revolu- ionary transformation of the whole -astern front of war. XFirst and foremost, they are now cer- tain of winning the race of the United Nations for entry into the German Reich, an honour that none of their allies will grudge to a people who have endured so much and made so outstanding a contribu- tion to the common cause. The moral -ffect of this first invasion of Germany, which it is certain the enemy cannot long postpone, may prove to have considerable weight even in a strategic calculation. East Prussia may appear only as a detached province on the modern map-that by the bvay is the original grievance by which the Nazis excused their aggression against Danzig and Poland-but its hold upon German sentiment is unique. It is. the original Prussia, as distinguished from Brandenburg; the symbol of the secular German ambition to export Teutonic cul- ture into the Slavonic lands; the breeding ground from which the mixed Slav-Teuton race brought into medieval Germany that creed of iron and blood which we call Prussianism; the kernel of military Ger- many from FREDERICK the GREAT to Bis- MARCK and HINDENBURG. The Nazis have fully identified themselves with the cult, and the approaching demonstration that they are powerless to defend the shrine may react disastrously on that prestige of the regime which is one of the imponder- ables in the conduct of German war. For the enemy's forces in the north the direct consequences of a penetration to the Baltic shore are in any event catastrophic. The whole of the armies occupying Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia and maintaining the bridgehead at Narva will be cut off from the main body and from home. There is no need for hesita- tion in reckoning these allied gains, for the essential line of communication of the northern armies, the railway from Warsaw through Vilna and Dvinsk, has been cut at several places, and their position is already beginning to crumble. There are minor lines' farther west by which sup- plies may be sent for a little longer, and these may be supplemented from the sea through the ports of Tallinn, Pernau, Riga, Libau, and Memel; but by the time the Russians reach the coast at any point and thereby intercept the remaining land routes these avenues, must prove in- adequate to maintain the front. The Ger- mans have earned a reputation for cling- ing to, lost positions unexpectedly long, often magnifying the consequences of their defeats by so doing; but it seems now'impossible that they can evade the necessity for evacuation by sea. The withdrawal of the northern armies must be acknowledged to be within the capacity of the enemy's sea-power in the 'Baltic. It will be a grievous confession of failure,. incapable of being interpreted, like the evacuation from Dunkirk, as reculer pour ml2ieux saurer; but the operation is not of comparable 'danger. The Russian air force, whiph with the decline of the Lufjwagie has played a more dominant part in this year's campaign than hitherto, with corresponding'effects u'pon the speed of the victorious armies, can and certainly will harass the reirgat by land and water. But on the surface there can be little impedimnent to the evacuation, for the Russians have no forces in the Baltic- or even in the Arctic, willh which canal communlication was opened by the suc- cesses in Finland-capable of keeping the sea against such formidable units of naval strength as the cruiser Hipper and the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer. . But even if the armies of the north escape from their precarious position to fight again elsewhere, the territory they will be forced to abandon is of high strategic importance. It includes the whole southern shore of the Gulf of Finland; and its occupation by the Russians must open up an easy way. of approach to 'Finnish territory, including the capital city of Helsinki, just across the Gulf. The Russians,.who since the open- ing of the battle of Minsk have been taking their campaign in Finland somewhat easily, are no doubt content to do so because they foresee that it will soond be in their power to overrun Estonia, cut the connexion between the Finns and their German patrons, and place: the Finnish Government in a situation in which it has no alternative to surrender. Meanwhile the breakdown of German strategy in the north must compel the Ger- man rulers to face the realities of their military position. This vast calamity, with the still vaster consequences that are inexorably flowing from it, derives from the situation in which their campaigns of aggression have placed them; they have grasped at a continental expanse of terri- tory which it is now far beyond their man- power to defend. The logic that seems to be dictating the next moves on the Baltic has its application in a wider field; and it may be that a shortening of the line every- where offers the enemy the best chance of delaying the end. If he-follows this line of thought he will perhaps hold on to Riga at all costs, while he abandons the Baltic territories farther north, Withdraws from the Balkans to the Danube, recalls KESSELRING for a stand along the Alps, and prepares to stand a siege within the shorter frontiers of the Reich and France. This is the logic of the situation. But the rider of so high a horse as HITLER'S can- not always afford to foliow logic when it enjoins him to dismount.

The Times | July 14, 1944
CHANGE OF TUNE IN BERLIN " TEMPORARY SHORTENING I OF THE FRONT"
General Eremenko's smashing blow at the Panther Line, which was designed to prevent inroads into the Baltic States, has caused quick reactions in the Berlin pro- paganda departments. Even before Dittmar's widely quoted utter- ance, somc German military commenmators, in- cluding writers in the Deuische Aligeneilie Zeitung, began cautiously talking about the expediency of a drastic straightening and shortening of the lines, hinting at an intention to withdraw w-holly or partly from the Baltic States if the Russians continied their rapid advance. Berlin propaganda spokesmen even yesterday were still insisting that the Germans wouild not budge from the Baltic States, and that a dramatic counter-blow was; being pre- pared against the most vulnerable Russian flank. To-day they have swvttng round, and now try to explain tihe advantages for the defence of Germany of withdrawing the northern German flank. Tlley claim that they will thus be able to obtain reinforcements for a temporarily shortened front, adding that this Is merely an incident of the war and that the Baltic States will soon be reoccupicd. The Germans apparently intend to make a deter- minied effort particularly to hold part of Estonia as a bridgehead protecting the gulf of Finland, even if it is cutt off by ihe Russi:an advance to the Bay of Riga. For the same reason the Germans will very possibly try to hang on to the imporiant islands. particularly Oesel and Dago. The Russians; they say, M-ill not easily dislodge them from the northern ccast of Estonia,whilich is protected from the ealst by the long l.,ake Peiputs and- thc im3pregnably"-, fortified. Narva Isthmus. Apcording to the latest trustworthy informa- tion from Germany every available man is being sent to France. Even men home on leave from th- Eastern front, according to this information. are not being sent back to their own units, but most of them are being sent to fill gaps in the formatior,s on the Western front.

The Times | July 14, 1944
ENEMY PROBLEM IN THE BALTIC COST OF A DELAYED WITHDRAWAL

FROM OUR MILITARY CORRESPONDENT While there has been a slight decrease in the pace of the Russian advance in the main Vilna sector, it is still rapid. For example, NVednesday's progress towards Grodno was about 20 miles. Meanwvhile the smashing attack of the 2nd Baltic front covered 21 nmiles in two days in'the general direction of Riga. The commander, General Eremenko, wvho has succeeded General Popov, will be remembered for his success in command of the Maritime Army in the Crimea. - This Baltic offensive is particularly interest- ing in view of the fact that statements made by Gerrnan spokesmen during the days preceding it showed signs that directions had been issued to them to prepare the mind of the public for a withdrawal from the Baltic States. The enemy may, not for the first time, have waited too long-not that the Russian offensive is likely to prevent him from evactiating Estonia and half of Latvia and Lithuauiia if that is in his mind, but because delay may make the task muclh more costly. RAILWAY NETWORK No sign of withdrawal has Yet beeti rc- ported either from Rtussia or from Sweden, which constitutes in this case a good bow window. The present situation may not make withdrawal a necessity, but it has only to develop in its present direction for a few days more to put any alternative out of the ques- tion. The Germans might still hold on to Riga and the middle reach of the Niemen between Kaunas and Grodno, btit would be more likely to have to go back to the frontier of East Prussia, wlhere the Masurian Lakes and a network of roads and railwavs many times as dense as those of Russia would favour defence. - Dietl's successor in command Of the German forces in Finland is Rendulic, like him an Austrian, buE by his name of Yugoslav blood. Hle served in the Austro-Hutngarian army in the last war. A year ago he was commanding an army corps in the Orel sector in Russia. He has also commanded the Second Panzer Army in the Balkans. He wag promoted to the rank of colonel-general thi. year. e German versions of the fighting in Russia, which admit withdrawals in many sectors, a

The Times | July 28, 1944
RED ARMY'S SWEEPING VICTORIES LIBERATION OF LVOV AND DVINSK NEW THRUST TOWARDS BALTIC OUTFLANKING NORTHERN OF ENEMY'S GROUPS
A succession of sweeping victories was announced by the Russians last night. In the north by the capture of Siauliai, the key junction controlling all the railways and main roads in Lithuania, they have cut the main link between the German armies in Latvia and Estonia and East Prussia. Dvinsk and Rezekne have also been captured. The capture of Bialystok and new gains north-west of Lublin have increased the threat to Warsaw. Street fighting has broken out in Siedlce. Lvov and Stanislavov have been occupied, and the bridgehead across the San has been widened. NEARER TO WARSAW STREET FIGHTING IN SIEDLCE The Russian High Command an- nounced last night:- Soutil-west of Pskov Our troops fought tlvir way forwird and occupied Pankinovo, a dis- trict centre of the Leningrad region, and also over 40 other inhabited places. Troops of the 2nd Baltic front, developing their offensive, carried by assault the towns of Dvinsk (Daugavpils) and Rezeknes (Rezhitsa), and fought their way into more than 400 other inhabited places, including six railway stations. Troops of the Ist Baltic front by a swift blow with tanks and infantry capttired the town or Siauliai (Shavli). and foughit their way into more than 150 inhabited places, among them seven railway stations. [Siauliai is the key junction cointrolling all Lithuania's railways and main roads. By its occupation the Russians have cut the main link between the German armies in Latvia and Estonia and East Prussia. Siauliai is 80 miles south of Riga and less than 90 miles from the Baltic.coast at Memel.] Troops of the 2nd White Russian front, as a result of two days' fighting, to-day carried by assault the town and large industral centre of Bialvstok, an important railway junction and a powerful stronghold in the enemy's defences covering the roads to Warsaw, and also fought their way into over 30 other inhabited places. In the Brcst Litovsk direction our troops con- tinued to wage offcnsive battles during which they occupied more than 50 inhabited places. Northi-west of Lublin our troops, developing their successful offensive. captured the towns of Nasutow. Zhelekov, and over 250 other inhabited localities, incliding Gornolin [37 nmiles south-east of Warsawl. Our troops were engaged in street fighting in the town of Siedlce [50 miles cast of Warsaw on the railway from Brest Litovsk]. West of Zamoscze our troops were engaged in offensive battles during whicih they occtipied three towns and fought their way into more than 200 inhalbited places. BRIDGEHEAD WIDENED West of the towin of Lyubatin otir troops car-. ried out successftil offensive operations for the videniing of their bridgehead on the western bank of the River San. They cap- tured the town of Rtidnik, on the western bank of the river, four other towns and over 300 other inhabited places. Troops of the 1st Ukminian front, developing their successful offensive, to-day occupied the large railway centre and strategically impor- tant strongliold. the regional capital of the Ukraine. the town of Lvov. in the foothills of the Carpathians, as well as the regional centre of the Ukraine, the town of Stani- slavov. They also fought theil way into 200 inhabited places. On Wednesdaiv otiI troops on all froniis dis- abled or destroyed 131 German tanks and( shot down 42 acr-oplancs. The following additional report was broadcast last night by Moscow radio:- Ouir air forces last nigilt carried out a mass raid on the railway junction of Tilsit, in Eastern PTrussia. Many fires were seen, railway wagons and military dumps were left blazing. Five German military trains were blown tip by direct hits. Big explosions were seen, whichi wvere particu- larly violent in the soutih-western and caster n sections of the junction. The fires were visible for a distance of 120 miles. FESTIVE PROGRAMMES For the whole of last cvening Moscow'radio ptit out an tinrehearsed, festive programme of victorious news mingled with triumphant folk tunes of the liberated areas. Wireless recep- tion in Britain was good, and Moscow's guns, booming out the tinprecedented number of 80 victory salvos, were clearly heard in London. In the short intervals between the rapid suc- cession of the orders of the (lay Polish, Ukrainian, and Lithuanian songs and marches Nvere played. Thc scleduled radio programme went by the board.-Reitier.

The Times | August 3, 1944
BALTIC ARMIES OUT OF THE FIGHT

FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MOSCOW, AuG. 2 The isolation of two German armies under General Lindemann's conmmand in Estonia and northern Latvia, which was announced last night, spells the beginning of the last phase of Hitler's Leningrad adventure. Whatever fate has in store for the divisions that six months ago were in sight of the dome of Saint Isaac's Cathedral, there is little possibility that they will take any further part in this war. Their liquidation may take time, though in Estonian circles here there is a high optimism that the liberation of Tallinn will not be long delayed; a substantial number of troops may escape by sea, but, shorn of equipmiient and shattered by their ignominious experience, it will be manv months before the remnants of the Nord group can play any significant part in the war. To-day's news fr6m the front is dominated by the successful conclusion of the battle of Kaunas, which was celebrated last night by a salute from 224 guns, followed by the play- ing of the Russian and Lithuanian national authemsn. The battle opened on the night of July 25, wlheni from a sccret assembly point in the forest on the bridgchead across the Sventoji near Ukmerge, 40 miles north-east of Kaunas, Russian tanks advanced 20 miles to Jonava fanning otit westward to reach the River Nevezh is. Last Saturday armour operating north of Kaunas broke through and reached the city outskirts. In the, south a Russian battalion crossed the Niemen after the fall of Rumsishkis and. occupyinig a horse-shoe shaped area caused by a loop in the river, protected the left flank of the main forces advancing along the Vilna road. Striking across the Nevezhis north-west of Kaunas other infantry tnits cut the Tlilsit road and reached the Niemen. Kautins was thus almost encircled. According to data, so far incomplete, the defence of Katnas cost the enemy nearly 10,000 men, of whom at least 8,000 were killed.

The Times | August 12, 1944
NEW DRIVE IN ESTONIA 43-MILE FRONT GAINS ON CENTRAL SECTOR

The Russian High Command announced last night: - West and south-west of Pskov our troops, having resumed the offensive, advanced up to 15 miles along a front of about 43 miles and captured the town of Pechory, a district town of the Estonian Republic, and more than 200 other inihabited places. [Pechory (or Petseri) is 27 miles west of Pskov on the railway rUnning west which later branches north to Tallinn and south to Riga.] West of Krustpils, on the western Dvina, our troops, developing their offensive, fottght their way into more than 50 inhabited places, including Rozhy, and two railway stations. North-west and west of Bialystok Our troops continued to wage offensive battles, in the Course of wvlhch tihey occupiea over Ulu in- habited places, including the railway station of Kryshy. North and north-west of Siedlce our troops fought their way forvard and occupied over 100 inhabited places, including the railway station of Kossovruski. West of Sandoniierz our troops were en- gaged in repelling enemy counter-attacks launched with infantry and tanks. They fought to extend their bridgehead on the western bank of the Vistula. On Thursday on all Fronts our troops dis- abled or destroyed 50 enemy tanks and shot do,n 29 enemy aeroplanes in air combat or by A.A. fire.


The Times | August 15, 1944
ADVANCE IN ESTONIA MOVE TO SPLIT ENEMY FORCES,
RONI OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MOSCOW, AUG. 14 Swift progress is being made in art attemnpt to split the Germiain Sixteenth and Eighteenith Armies by severing theralialion- Riga railwav.- The Russians this morning were repolrted to be less than 30 miles tIomil thc line. In addition to Cap1turing Voru. 50 Iiilcs west of P'skNov. unlits fi0om the Leningradl flonlt are advancing rapidhI along the mnain Pskoov-Riga highway, and have reached a point where it crosses the Latvian border. Meanwhile General Maslennikov's lorces are advancing across hilly country in central Latvia on the \ajdonta-Riga road, after inflicting heavy punishmilent on the enemv in the battle for Madona. On the neighbouring 3rd Baltic fronit General Bagran-tvan's men ar C gradually advancing their positions on the Mitau-Rig:a railwvav litiportanit devctlpilmcnts atc expected as a result of General Zukharov's advanice to the River Biebrza. The captuirc of' Mezenin veste-rday was a higly sgilificant gain. for it miieanit that General Zak harov htn t cracked the GeCman lilnC aIt olle of its touglhest places anw haid thiuist into highly sensitive areas within the enemy's defence zone. With Marshal Rokossovsky's forces across the Btug at Hur anid Kamienczyk it should now bhe possible lor the Russians to apply pressure on the wvhole of the regiotn between the Narev and the Bug. and to force the eneilty fromil his main centre of resistance. In the cast a solid front has becn cstablishcd from ilic Biebrza river throuigi NMezenin and \Vyokoye- Ntazoviecki to the Bug at a poinlt where it swvings westwvard From the south Nlarshal Rokossovsky lhas crossed the \%Varsaw-Bialystok railway. and is heading for new stretches of thc river which his men have already crossed at some places.

The Times | August 16, 1944
ARMY'S SUCCESS AT OSOWIEC RED ENEMY OUT-GENERALLED

FROM OUR SPECrAL CORRESPONDENT MOSCOW., AUG. 15 General Zakharov's thrust through the Biebrza-Bobr line towards the East Prus- sian frontier overshadows all other news from the front to-day, even that of the swift advance on Valka by the 3rd Baltic group. Osowiec fortress, which, according to documents found there, the enemy was determined to hold at any price, fell yesterday. Great credit is due to the Russian engineers, who excelled themselves in Toad-laying to enable the armour and artillery to cross the swampy approaches to Osowiec and Goniadz. Though the advancing troops outpaced them- the.guns were man-handled for 30 hours at one difficult point-their swift and skilful work enabled General Sokolsky's artillery to mass in great force for the reduction of the enemy's forts, and the repulse of six sharp counter-attacks in which German armour was involved. The enemy appears to have been soundly out-generalled in a region considered to be his home ground, for Goniadz fell to a shrewd stroke of deception that displaced the defences of Osowiec and enabled the Russians to apply the' squeeze.from both north and south after advancing over the water meadows east of the fortress. In turn the forts were silenced and captured. A last desperate attack before the walls was tirned back, and the Russians. then entered Osowiec. Sweeping on to Valka, the vital traffic hub on the Estonian-Latvian border, General Maslennikov is driving a breach between the Sixteenth and Eighteenth German Armies which will speed the liberation of Estonia and possibly effect it without - General Govorov's troops having to do much more than fill the gaps left by the retreat- ing enemy or gather his trapped forces up as prisoners. No doubt an effort will be made to hold Tallinn and thus to prevent the Red Fleet's minlesweepers from completing the job in the Gulf of Finland, but the speed- of the advance in southern Estonia suggests that the enemy has not the forces to hold the in- terior of the country. Farther south, however, in Latvia, the opposinig forces are well matched numericallv, and the battle for the ancient city of Madona, which was the culmination of a violently con- tested 10-day struggle for the Luban plains, was on a big scale. The Germans are reported to have used severail divisions, five artillery regiments, and several squadrons of self- propelled guns to reinforce the Madona garri- son, and to strike out in the open country of the Luban plain from the central Latvian plateau. Madona's fall is likely to have im- portant consequences in the battle for Gia. The Germans took a hard knock there, and their rough treatment at Birjai must have sapped their strength. GERMAN LOSSES IN UKRAINE The Soviet Information Bureau last night announced .that troops of the 1st Ukrainian front under the command of Marshal Konev inflicted the following losses on the enemy from July 13 to August 12: killed and prisoners 172,360, of whtom 140,000 were killed and 32,360 taken prisoner. Aircraft destroyed ar captured, 687; tanks and self-propelled guns, 1,941; guns of various calibre, 3,615; mortars, 3,868; machine-guns, 5,735, lorries, 11,727.,Retrer.

The Times | August 18, 1944
IN LIBERATED RUSSIA II-POLITICAL ISSUES RAISED BY RED ARMY'S ADVANCE RELATIONS WITH THE BORDER STATES

From Our Moscow Correspondent As it strides towards Germany the Rcd Army is now, fighting in regions the inhabitants of which are mostlv non-Russian. Its lines now cross territory inhabited by Karelo-Finns, Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Poles, Huzuis, Moldavians, nd Rumanians. Wherethere are Byelo-Russians and Ukrainians their national identity is to some extent affected by Polish influences. The baroque churches of Poland, the severe Lutheran architecture of the Baltic lands, the tiny flamboyant wooden Uniate churches on the Carpathian slopes-these are a re- minder to the Red Army man that he has entered lands where the faith of his parents is unknown. The advance into regions so varied by nationality, creed, and local tradition- lands whose experience of Soviet Socialism was brief before the wvar, others where allied Poles are recognized to enjoy full sovereignty, and. some where alieni Rumanians live-creates a complex of political tasks not all of which can be postponed. In general, the Russians have been behaving with scrupulous correctness in the lands of allies and enemies, while within the constitutional borders of their State no haste is being made to effect radical changes. The policy of non-inter- vention adopted in the case of Poland, Rumania, and Czechoslovakia has to some extent been applied also to lands in- corporated into the Soviet Union beforc the war and now largely recovered from the Germans. Till the end of the wvar these areas will be largely contfolled bv the Red Army working through the civil authorities. THE CURZON LINE The most recent official maps do not indicate any frontier between the Soviet Unionl and.Poland other than the Curzon Line, and in view of. the Soviet offer to delimit the frontiers on the basis of this line it is unlikely that Soviet institutions will be definitely re-established in its vicinity until the position has been clarified by a Soviet-Polish understanding. There is a difference between a Soviet Union anxious to consolidate its strategic fron- tiers in face of a Germany preparing to pounce on it and one which is organizing those frontiers on the assumption that Germany will be broken and pinned down and that Poland and Czechoslovakia will be governed by the principles of regional collective security. Pending final decisions, the Poles con- nected with the Comniittee of National Liberation express the view that the firmer is Russian confidence that the future Poland will associate itself unreservedly in the organization of security in Eastern Europe, the deeper will be Afoscow's sym- pathy for Polish aspirations. Meanwhile, in the liberated part of Poland, the inhabi- tants are apparently still in that condition when little matters but their regained freedom and the opportunity to get their own back on the Germans; and although civil administration has already been transferred to Polish authorities in most of Lublin province, elections to village and town councils have been held, State and German property taken over bv the Committee, and trade unions organized, the energies of the new administration seem almost entirely absorbed in the task of putting the region on a war footing. So far as can be ascertained here, the pace is not being forced except for the purpose of sustaining the war effort. There is much to indicatc that in the Baltic lands the Soviet authorities have not yet resumed the policy of socialization beg.-n in 1940 and that particular care is being taken to ensure that xvhatevcr stcps arc taken they will be under the direction of their own elected representatives. It is not, perhaps, sufficiently known tuat in 1940 Moscow on several occasions opposed the more extreme demands of the revolutionaries in thesc lands, so that in Latvia and Estonia prominent Socialists and Liberals were prepared to join the Governments while keeping aloof from tlho Communist Party. POPULAR SUPPORT The number of persons adversely affected by land reform in Latvia amounted to about 2 per cent. of the total population and less than a fifth of the total landowners; in Estonia the figttres were about 2.5 per cent. and a fifth respec- tively. In each country the landowners whose individual holdings were increased by land reform far outnumbered those wvhosc estates wvere reduced. In Lithuania only about 5,000 landowners had reason to complain, while the great majority of peasants had their holdings increased. Unless there is a wholly unexpected de- velopment it is unlikely that the Soviet authorities will change their policy of seeking to enlist popular support on the broadest possible scale. The intelligenisia and technicians may look forward to a life with the vwhole of the Soviet tOnion as a field for their talents and a market for their products. Here, as elsewhere, contemporary life in the Soviet Union, with its well-defined scale of rewards anid honours for merit in all fields of service, availability of work in the governmental niachine, opportuni- ties for swift advancement in the Red Army and RedFleet (including the mer- chant service) and in industrial manage- ment, is likely to make no inconsiderable appeal to members of the middle class, the foundations of vwhose security have been swept away by the Nvar. Two features of the process of rehabili- tation common to all areas liberated by the Red Arniy are the importance attached to the restoration of cultural facilities and the mildness of treatment of persons who have strayed from a fully loyal attitude under enemy pressure. Over half the budget for the restoration of liberated areas is devoted to the provision of cul- tural facilities, including capital expendi- ture on schools of all kinds, theatres, libraries, cinemas, and clubs. CRITERION OF GUILT Leniency towards those whose powers of resistance have not becn strong enough to wvithstand economic and other forms of pressure during the occupation has not caused the authorities to relax their stern- ness towards those wlho chose ta serve the enemy of their own free will, but a foreign investigator wvho was recently granted exceptional facilities to study the question found that of the school teachers who for a period of years taught under the Ger- mans without giving the invaders reason to complain only about 5 per cent. wvere. considered punishable, the rest being trans- ferred to other posts without loss of repu- tation. Generally the criterion of guilt is supplied by local public opinion, for, as it w'as neatly put, only strikers really under- stand the attitude of a " blackleg." Conditions remain very hard in the liberated regions. The arduous and deli- cate process of evolution from slavery to freedom is being directed wvith prudence, understanding, sympatby, and often for- giveness. Concluided


The Times | August 22, 1944
PROGRESS IN ESTONIA DRIVE SOUTH OF TARTU FIGHT IN NARVA BAY

The Russian High Command announced last night:- South-east and south of Dorpat [Tartu, in Estonia] our troops fought their wav into more than 30 inhabited localities. East of Riga our troops overcame enemy resistance and occupied a town and several inhabited localities. North-west and west of Mitatu otir troops repelled attacks by major forces of enemy infantry and tanks. On the orders of the commander the town of Tukium [the Latvian railway junction 35 miles west of Ri-a3 was evacuated. and our- troops withdrew to more favourable positions. Nortil and south-west of Shavii [Siauliail our troops repelled attacks by enemy tanks and infantry. North-east of Praga Ittie suburb of Warsaw on the opposite bank of the Vistula] our troops. after successfully repelling attacks by enemy infantry and tanks, passed to the counter-attack and fought their way into more than 50 in- habited places includfilg four railway stations. North of Sandomierz ouir troops fought battles to enlarge their bridgehead on the left bank of the Vistutla and improved their posi- tions. In ile liquidation of the encircled German groups we destroyed thc following: - Eighty-eight tanks and self-liropcllcd gunsr 18 armouredl carriers, 142 guns of various calibre. more than 10( mortars. 35 tractors, and more than 100 lorrics. The enemv lel't up to 12,000 dead on thc hattletield. Ottr troops capttired 20 tanks antd self- propelled gulns. 72 gLtns of various calibre. S3 mortars, 120 machine-gttns. atnd more than 5.000 tommy-gun1s and rifles. We took 1 55') prisoners. On other sectors of the fronit tliere was recoiinnaissance activity and on some sectors local lighting. On Sundaiy our troops on all fronts destroyed or disabled 206 German tanks and( shot down 88 German aircraft. An official report on naval activities issued in Mioscowy last night said: ' The Red Baitier Baltic Fleet sank four German destroyers of 1,200 tons each tl Narva Bay. The crewvs were taken prisoncr or drowned. One hundred and seven Geiman officers and tmen were picked ttp by Soviet slhips. Tile destroyers sLink in Narva Bay were modern ships of tile type built in 1942 and 1943. Their speed was 34 knots. Thcv each1 cttrried fottr 1O55mt. gtns. twso autttonlattc 371nm. guns, threc 20mtn. gLmns. and six tor- pedo ttthes. Each had a crewv of 191.

The Times | August 31, 1944
HARD FIGHTING IN ESTONIA- GERMANS' POSITION DETERIORATES

FROM-OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MOSCOW, AUG. 30 The collapse of German resistance on the river lines of Ramnicul-Sarat and Buzau tore apart the last natural de- fences of Ploesti. The River Cricov, about three-quarters of the way from Buzau to the great oil city, was unimportant as a barrier. The Germans say they had in- adequate forces to offer more than spora- die rcsistance on the Ramnicul-Sarat, and though . at some places stiff fighting occurred, the river's bridges were taken intact, and infantry and fresh tank units are to-day moving southwards across the Walachian plain to Bucharest. The successes in Rumania have tended to over-shadow the battles elsewhere, but in at least two regions these are exceptionally violent, and though their fury has slackened a little the German counter-attacks are not less frequent. A Russian officer who returned from the Warsaiv front on Monday informed me in Lublin that every village east and south of the city was. being contested grimly. On the approaches to Velga, the important communications centre on the Estonian- Latvian borders, the Germans are stubborniv rcsisting, although their general position has deteriorated since the Russians overran all the ground between Tartu and Lake Pyha and thus forced back the enemy's northern wing. For the past week sharp fighting by relatively small groups has been going on in the broken country northi-east of Vaka. Now the Russians are increasing their pressure from the sotith- east by advancing along the Latvian borders from Hargla. -Their progress is gradual but steady. RUMANIAN DELEGATION IN MOSCOW Moscow radio reported last night that a Ramanian delegation has arrived in Moscow to discuss artmistice terms. The delegation consists of Prince Stirbey, M. Visoianu. M. Patrascanu, Minister of Justice, M. Damacianu, Deputy Minister for- the Interior, M. Cristupop, and Lieutenant- Colonel Focsaneanu.-Reuter.