STILL BEING HELD

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 23, 22 October 1942, Page 5

STILL BEING HELD

Onslaught In Hell Of Stalingrad HEAT “FELT FOR MILES” LONDON, October 21. The onslaughts against north-western Stalingrad continue with undiminished ferocity, but today, as on the previous day, the Russian communique reports that all German attacks have been repulsed. The enemy made progress in one sector, but was thrown Rain has fallen steadily in the last few days, and the troops in parts of the suburbs are fighting knee-deep in mud. Though the air operations have been affected by the weather, the Luftwaffe’s bombardment is still very heavy. Artillery as well as planes are striking at the river' crossings, but the latest reports from the city indicate that supplies are still getting through. . _ Moscow reports that on the Caucasus front the enemy toward Grozny and Tuapse are being held, and the Russians have regained some ground in some areas.

Pictures from different sources vividly describe the hell that Stalingrad has become. Moscow radio says, “Stalingrad quakes under the incessant bombing from the air. Soviet lighter pilots continue to light against numerically superior forces and with the utmost gallantry to prevent the enemy from bombing the Soviet troops.”

Rome radio, quoting an Italian special correspondent, says, “The road leading to Stalingrad can be compared with a huge crater. The course of the battle is marked by an uninterrupted chain of cemeteries of machines and artillery. Flying over ' the area, one sees enormous masses of tanks destroyed in the battle and by bombers. Miles of columns of motor-vehicles nailed down to the grounds and parts of light, medium, and heavy artillery are all converted into a shapeless mass of iron. “Stalingrad has become a perman-" ept furnace. The sky over the city is dark, .because of the dark clouds of smoke which reach 6500 ft. The heat from the furnace is felt for several miles, and even the rains of the last few days have not lowered the temperature or decreased the extent of the fires, which the fighting continually lights anew.”

HANGS IN BALANCE

Battle In Its Third Month ALLIED BASTION

(By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.) LONDON, October 20.

The titanic (battle for Stalingrad is in its sixtieth day. The issue is still in the balance, but the Russians’ position is daily growing more tense. The Moscow correspondent of “The Times” says that the break in the weather has limited air activity, but is not hampering the enemy’s ground forces. Strong tank forces are battering the northern industrial region with undiminished violence. The defenders are clearly very hard pressed. Each fresh attack is preceded by two or three hours’ concentrated bombing, accompanied by a mortar and artillery 'b£HT<lg6. Nevertheless, each day in which the Russians stand firm seriously reduces the Wehrmacht’s chances of developing subsequent successes, and also has a significant effect on the entire strategical situation of the Allies. Stalingrad is as much a bastion of the Middle East as it is to central Russia. . Volga Crossings Battle.

In addition to the gigantic battle on the banks of the Volga, which spreads many miles to the westward and encircles Stalingrad in a large arc, a no less momentous battle is being fought out on the river itself, the correspondent continues. Stalingrad s fate depends on the supply lines, the defenders require hundreds of tons ot shells, bullets, and food daily. Every type of craft has been mobilized for the battle of the Vblga crossings The motley flotilla is manned by naval cadets, pensioners, gardeners, fishermen, and women. They stick to their jobs to feed the battle’s insatiable jaws with the greatest fortitude It is the spirit with which one day all Russia hopes the people of Britain will mobilize the strength and courage to feed the armies across the water. The issue of the whole Stalingrad battle hangs dangerously in the balance, says Reuter’s Moscow correspondent. If the Germans once instai themselves in the northern part of t e city the position in the centre will become most precarious. General Rodimtsev’s Guards have not yet said

the last word, but the situation still looks very critical. North and south of the city the opposing armies are floundering in- a mud swamp. This explains, says a correspondent, why Marshal Timoshenko’s offensive is hanging fire. . “Last” Fortress. Vichy radio declared that the battle for Stalingrad had reached the culminating point. The Germans had laid down on the Red October Works, the last bastion of Russian resistance, the heaviest bombardment Stalingrad had ever known. Berlin radio said that groups of Russian riflemen, entrenched in cellars buried under masses of fliasonry, were still holding out in the ruins of the Red Barricade Factory. They were being destroyed or forced to surrender. The position of the defenders in the Red October Works had become hopeless. German occupation of stretches of the bank of the Volga, it was claimed, had completely stopped the arrival of Russian reinforcements. Women and children who were forced to stay in the centre of the fighting area inside Stalingrad were still emerging from their hiding-places among the ruins. Tonight’s Moscow, communique reports stubborn defensive fighting in Stalingrad. “In the area of one factory, an enemy infantry regiment, supported by 40 tanks, launched an attack which was repelled,” it says. “The enemy suffered heavy lossses when he •brought up new forces and renewed these attacks. Fighting continued in the evening for these positions. “German prisoners- report that a German division fighting in the Stalingrad area has lost 70 per cent, of its manpower. North-west of Stalingrad, the Russians consolidated their positions.

“In the Mosdok area, the Russians dislodged the enemy from one locality and continued to push forward. Enemy attacks south-east of Novorossisk have been repulsed.”

CENTRAL FRONT

Guerrillas Act While Red

Army Masses

LONDON, October 20.

Russian forces are reported to be massing in the area which forms a rough triangle between Rzhev, Vitebsk, and Lake Ilmen, north-west of Moscow, states the Stockholm correspondent of "The Times.” Berlin interprets the Russian movements as indicating the resumption of the offensive which paused before Rzhev. The correspondent says that the ground generally is soft and it is questionable whether a large-scale offensive is possible before the frosts come, though the Russians have better railway approaches than in any other area. Russian troops in the Vitebsk region have been filtering through the German, lines ever since the spring to reinforce guerrillas in the forests and swamps. Russian planes drop ammunition and food and land in forest aerodromes to take off wounded. Guerrillas are now very busy wrecking trains, attacking communications, and ambushing German punitive expeditions. Berlin radio also stated that continuous rain on the central Russian front was flooding trenches and dugouts, and making roads impassable, but that the Russians continued to attack the German advanced positions. “Izvestia” said that the Russian blows in the Sinyavino sector are increasing in force from day to day. One German division after another is being crushed.