From the archive: Russian attacks: Berlin admits breaches made in defences west of Moscow - 5 june, 1943

BERLIN admitted last night that the Red Army had made a breach in the main German defence line at Velizh, 50 miles south-east of Velikie Luki.

By The Newsroom

Published 5th Jun 2013, 01:00 BST

According to earlier enemy reports, strong Soviet tank formations have been attacking repeatedly in this sector. Moscow has so far made no reference to this reported new thrust, whose general direction appears, from the information available, to be towards the Germans’ Leningrad-Kiev railway lateral, 40 miles west of Velizh.

At Velikie Luki the Russians are less than 20 miles from this great supply line behind the German front.

According to the German News Agency, three re-formed Soviet rifle divisions and a reinforced tank brigade have now been thrown into the battle.