HUGE CRISIS AT STALINGRAD

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 284, 29 August 1942, Page 7

HUGE CRISIS AT STALINGRAD

War’s Fiercest Battle (By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright) (Received August 28, 8.30 p.m.).

LONDON, August 27.

Though the Russian drive on j the central front continues to progress encouragingly there is still no evidence that it lias brought any marked relief for Marshal Timoshenko’s hard-pressed forces before Stalingrad and in the Caucasus. Stalingrad’s position remains very critical, even when discounting a report from Vichy that German advanced units have reached the Volga at Dnbovka, north of the city, and are advancing southward. The latest statement by the German High Command on the operations in this area claims that a German.tank division yesterday drove 25 miles into heavily-fortified positions south-west of Stalingrad, but there is no indication that this brings the invaders closer. to Stalingrad than was earlier reported. i The Germans in this sector are hurling more and more reinforcements into the battles, whose ferocity, correspondents report, is unparalleled' throughout the war in’ Russia. The Berlin reports, which a few days ago were confidently proclaiming that .the fall of Stalingrad was only a question of days, are now more cautious, and refer to the extremely difficult fighting before the city. Indeed, the Berlin military spokesman has warned journalists not to expect that Stalingrad will fall quickly, adding: The Russians have many times shown a surprising aptitude for bringing in large reinforcements at the last minute and succeeding in converting apparently already accomplished defeats into long, stagnant deadlocks— notably Leningrad and Moscow in 1941.” Enormous Tank Battle. The announcement of General Zhukov’s offensive on the central front was the signal for violent German efforts against Stalingrad and in the Caucasus. Front-line dispatches say that the tank battles have reached unbelievable ferocity, particularly northwest of Stalingrad, j The Germans in some sectors have a superiority of three to one, but the Russians have brought in hundreds of tanks and scores of planes and inflicted enormous losses on the enemy. The Germans are not relaxing pressure for a moment An early Moscow message stated that fl terrific tank battle has been raging for a second day and night north-west of Stalingrad, with hundreds of tanks and scores of planes massed on either side. The Germans who have suffered enormous losses, with many regiments bled white, are reported to be stemmed, but, as always, new reserves are brought up and flung into the battle. Large-scale dogfights in the air are a frequent feature of the present battles, and the “Izvestia” says the Germans have brought in their best Luftwaffe units. Soviet bombers and anti-tank Stormoviks have made successful raids on enemy aerodromes and wrecked scores of planes which were ready to take off. • The German news agency declared that the battle for Stalingrad has assumed a particularly bitter character, and added that the Ruslans are coun-ter-attacking before the city. The Stockholm newspaper “Tidningen" stated that the Russians are launching particularly violent attacks against the Italian hues north of Stalingrad. The Russians are exerting enormous pressure.

- Moscow radio said that Field-Mar-shal von Bock now has 1,000,000 nien concentrated for the Stalingrad offensive.