FIERCE BATTLE ON GROZNY RAILWAY

Evening Star, Issue 24285, 28 August 1942, Page 3

FIERCE BATTLE ON GROZNY RAILWAY

ENDLESS GERMAN RESERVES NAZIS TAKING THRASHING IN HOBTH (Rec. 12.30 p.m.), ' ' ' ■ LONDON, August 27. The announcement of General Zhukov’s offensive on the central front has been the signal for violent German efforts against Stalingrad in the Caucasus. Front-line despatches say tank battles have reached unbelievable ferocity, particularly north-west of Stalingrad. The Germans in some sectors have a superiority of three to one, but tho Russians brought in hundreds of tanks and scores of planes, and inflicted enormous losses on the enemy, but, as always, the .Germans are not relaxing the pressure for a moment. The same story is true of operations in the Caucasus, where the German reinforcements seem endless. The Russians are here ambushing the Germans with antitank guns and artillery, destroying men and material and repelling constant attacks ; but the position remains serious. Fierce fighting is raging along the railway to Grozny, whoso peril is increased by the German advance to Mosdok, from which roads lead to Grozny, and also to Vladikavkaz, and thence to Tiflis. These roads are mountainous, but a suitable type for operations now. Zhukov’s forces have made a new advance west and north-west of Moscow and have captured 20 more fortified villages, reaching the Rjev-Viazma railway. Fierce battles are raging between Rjev and Sychevku. The main attack against Rjev is from the north and north-ivest, and Russian long-range guns are shelling the town, where the Germans are fighting fiercely with artillery. German losses are very heavy. ‘ IRed Star ’ says Zhukov’s offensive continues, with his tanks and planes smashing through and his infantry grinding the German man power. SOVIET BREAK-THROUGH AT RJEV. The original break-through in the Russian offensive was in the Rjev direction, and was on a front of only six miles. The Russians massed troops in a wood. Behind them were large tank and cavalry forces. The Gorman positions were in a. wood across tho stream. The Russian offensive opened with a terrific artillery barrage and mass air attack. Infantry then moved forward, crept close to the exploding shells, and waited until the moment the Russian guns switched to the depth of the German defences. Then they rushed the German trenches.

The Russian barrage had destroyed all life in the German outer defences. The Russians fanned south-west, west, and north-west from the break-through. The Germans abandoned long-range artillery positions seven to eight miles from their forward lines when they learned of the break-through, and the Russians, by the suddenness of the attack and tho intensity of the bombardment, were able to take a fortified town with small losses. A MILLION MEN, The Germans, doing their utmost to prevent a widening of the breach, launched several counter-attacks with tanks, but within a few days the Russians covered 30 miles. Rain enforced a pause, but the Russians then went forward with renewed vigour and drove southward. They occupied Karmanovo, which is 18 miles north of G.jatsk, and advanced eastwards and occupied Substov, and pressed on to Rjev. The German News Agency says tho Russians in the Kaluga-Rjcv areas have succeeded in making certain local progress, the German forces carrying out systematic straightening of the front. _ The German military spokesman said the Russians in the past two days had been attacking on the Leningrad front. Heavy artillery fire preceded the _ attack, and the strong tank formations that were thrown against the German positions on the Neva River finally gained a foothold on .the .road alpng thg.

river; but the original defence line is now re-established. A German news agency declared that tho battle for Stalingrad has assumed a particularly bitter character. It added that the (Russians are counterattacking before the city. The Stockholm newspaper ‘ Tidningen ’ stated that tho Russians arc launching particularly violent attacks against the Italian lines north of Stalingrad. Tho Russians arc. exerting enormous pressure. The Moscow radio said that von Bock now has one million men concentrated for tho Stalingrad offensive. The Vichy radio declared that the Germans captured Mosdok. The Rome radio reported that fighting in the Western Caucasus was going on in snowstorms at a height of 9,000 feet.