RISSIAN guns and troops hammered the Mannerheim line on the twenty-first day of battle yesterday along the 60-mile Karelian Isthmus front, The Finns still held the rocky, forested ramparts in 10 degrees below zero weather. The thunder of the guns could be heard as far back from the front as twenty miles.
The air constantly quivered from the concussions.
Obviously the Red Army chiefs are bent upon making Viipuri another martyred city, ike Rheims duri the Great Wa For the third day Soviet planes bombed the city and for the fourth night Russian big Berthas, long-range guns from 20 miles away, hurled eight-inch shells into and around the town. Viipuri is normally 'a busy, industrial city of 80,000 people.
Yesterday's clear weather was unusual for his season, and the Soviet planes took advantage of it, A oral of about 40 Soviet planes carried out five separate raids over Viipuri, "Two Mights were evidently Feconnsisance expeditions and three groups showered bombs on the empty ily. Dwenty-dive bombs fell in one neighbourhood alone and smashed a lumber of residences and restaurants. Late last night only two civilians bad been reported killed, Viipuri was virtually deserted yesterday as Finnish authorities ordered 'a precautionary evacuation of the city following two days of almost inces-artillery and aeroplane bombard ment, Everyone who could be spared was sent from the city last night. A. special train carried 4,000 evacuees from Viipuri, The city had previously been evacuated down to 7,000 persons,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.