BELT ROUND BUDAPEST

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 5 January 1945, Page 5

BELT ROUND BUDAPEST

RUSSIANS' STRONG POSITION Germans Try to Relieve Trapped Garrison (Rec. 1 1.35 a.m.) London, Jan. 4. Although the Germans have thrown fresh tank units into the Komarno sector north-west of Budapest where the enemy is attempting to break through to Budapest and relieve his encircled forces, the British United Press Moscow correspondent says the belt of territory* 35 miles wide that the Russians now hold around the city is so broad that there is little hope of the Germans getting through. The correspondent adds that it is now believed that the Germans and Hungarians in Budapest increased the ferocity of their resistance in the past few days because they had advance information about the imminent thrust in the Komarno area which was designed to relieve them. # However, the gains made by German tank divisions in the Komarno area are comparatively slight when viewed against background of the battle as a whole. Thousands of dead Germans lie on the battlefields in the Komarno area as mute and terrible evidence of the desperation with which the German commanders threw their forces against massed Russian batteries which held the German attack.

Reuter’s Moscow correspondent says the German rescue bid from the Komarno area apparently came too late. It is nine days since the Russians made their initial penetration of Budapest. The German garrison in the city has since critically weakened. Red Army tanks and sappers inside Budapest are co-operating in clearing a path through the German barricades blocking the broad avenues leading to the city’s centre. The Russians are reported to have surrounded the ancient Buda Citadel on Blocksberg Hill on the west bank of the Danube. A powerful German group is clinging to this key position. An indication of the manner in which the full realisation of its plight is being kept from the Budapest garrison is the fact that Hungarians captured yesterday discovered the city was surrounded only when they lay down their arms. PITCHED BATTLES The Free Hungarian Radio declared that in addition to pitched battles around Parliament Buildings there were also struggles raging around the Stock Exchange and High Court of Justice, all of which are situated in the centre of Pest. The radio added that only a small part of Budapest remained in German hands. Moscow radio declared: “The final annihilation of German forces in the Budapest cauldron is a matter of days. Germans in battles for Budapest more than 10.000 killed, 30.000 wounded land: 1429 captured.” A Soviet communique says: “Russians in the Budapest area, continuing battles for the clearance of the city, captured 277 blocks of buildings. The Red Army, simultaneously, north-west of Budapest repelled large infantry and tank attacks from forces who, despite heavy losses, are continuing to attempt to aid the encircled garrison in Budapest. “The Russians in yesterday’s battle north-west of Budapest destroyed 78 German tanks and captured 1162 Germans and Hungarians. HUNGER GRIPS CAPITAL Hunger is gripping Budapest. Famished and exhausted men, women and children are crawling from hiding places as the Red Army drives deeper into the city. The Germans are said to have seized or destroyed food stocks. The “Red Star” reports that fighting west of Budapest is marked by extreme ferocity. A large group of German tanks has succeeded in wedging into the Russian defences. The Red Army has been ordered to retreat to new positions where the Germans have been halted. The enemy in another sector has also pressed back the Russians and succeeded in capturing a number of places.