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SOVIET PUSH.
WESTWARD ADVANCE.
A NEW CLAIM.
WHITE RUSSIA ENTERED.
LONDON, Feb. 13.-Today's mid
day communique from Moscow re
ported that the Red Army had re
entered White Russia and was con
tinuing to advance westward. No
mention was made of the Leningrad
sector, where the Russians are re
ported to be developing heavy pres
sure in an attempt to break the
German siege of the town.
Last night's Moscow communique
said:--"Our forces on Wednesday
continued to press forward. They
engaged in fierce fighting and occu
pied several localities. The enemy
suffered heavy losses in men and
materiaL On Wednesday we de
strbyed 17 German planes for the
loss of eight of our own. The same
day we destroyed or damaged six
tanks, 13 guns, 260 lorries and 225
munition trucks. A railway train
was set on fire and 13 railway trucks
and two fuel trucks destroyed. We
dispersed and partly annihilated
three infantry battalions."
Leningrad Pmssare.
Both German and Russian reports
dwell on the fighting in the Lenin
grad region. The Russians. accord
ing to the German radio, are bring
ing up strong forces and launched
14 attacks on Tuesday and
Wednesday along the line from
Kolpino to Rasny. The Ger
mans claimed to have repulsed all
the attacks killing 8,000 and wound
ing 3,000 Russians, but, stated that
the Russians, despite the reverses,
were preparing new attacks. The
Leningrad radio has also referred to
heavy fighting in this region, stating
that the Russians in local actions
during the two days. killed 900 Ger
mans, and in one day's fighting de
stroyed 19 fortifications and over 30
pill-boxes, fieldgun emplacements
and heavy machine gun nests, and
killed 500 Germans.
The Russians so far have not offi
cially claimed that the German ring
around Leningrad has been defi
nitely broken, but the Germans ad
mit that the Russians have driven
several wedges into the besieging
lines. The relief of Leningrad. in
deed. Is becoming a major prestige
issue for both sides. A German
spokesmen today claimed that
Stukas were active yesterday against
Russian columns advancing to re
inforce Leningrad's relievers. Re
added that the Russians apparently
were bent on making a supreme
effort to drive the Germans from
Leningrad, but the beleaguering
chain would be held at all costs.
The Berlin radio today said that
the enemy had attempted to break
through the Leningrad encircle
ment both on Monday and Tuesday,
but had been repulsed with severe
losses. German artillery shelled a
Russian transport moving through
the ice towards Kronstadt. The Mos
cow radio, quoting the "Izvestia,"
stated that the Germans had been
dislodged from nine more populated
localities, and that an entire enemy
garrison had been annihilated. Three
German transports had been sunk by
a Russian submarine, which evaded
depth charges and returned to its
base safely.
Spanish Detachment's Ordeal.
The Germans, according to the
Stockholm correspondent of "The
Times," obviously realise the stimu
lating effect the raising of the siege
of Leningrad would have on the Rus
sians and how it would depress the
Axis, especially the Finns. German
Press reports state that Russian
pressure is heavy right down to Lake
lmen.
The correspondent described how
a Spanish detachment of 200 strong
came to the relief of Isolated Ger
mans 20 miles across Lake Ilmen's
ice. The detachment succeeded in
its mission, but only 34 of its mem
bers returned. The correspondent
said:--"It was carried out in bitter
snow and cold raning from 40 de
grees of frost. The soldiers' faces
indescribably became twisted and
tormented when they were obliged
to lie still for hours. Their gyes had
a pleading lookp as If begging for
mercy-just a little warmth. They
managed to handle grenades with
their arms, because their fingers
had lost the power of movement.
Sane of them wept and sobbed un
ceasingly, -as if to subdue the cold
with tears.
The Stockholm correspondent of
"The Times" gives the latest mews
concerning the Central and the
Ukrainian fronts, where guerillas are
operating in conjunction with large
raiding parties of cavalry which
have filtered through the German
lines. They have captured some im
portant places behind the German
main positions, particularly in the
Smolensk province. One place named
is Demensk. It is yet doubtful
whether the raiders will be able to
hold this important place and others,
but such large-scale activities have
the greatest nuisance value, and the
Russian reports sugiest that they
are even more important, because
they facilitate the Russian general
advance by harassing German com
munications and preventing the
timely arrival of reinforcements.
Reports from other fronts are
most vague, but it appears that the
Russians below Khsrkov continue to
none Help
advance in the directin- of Dnepro
petrovsk and Lichacbevo, 55 miles
south and south-west of Khsrkov, on
the railway to Losovaga which is
now held by the Russians.
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