STALINGRAD IN SIGHT

Marlborough Express, Volume LXXVI, Issue 244, 16 October 1942, Page 5

STALINGRAD IN SIGHT

FURTHER ADVANCE NORTH NAZI BID FOR FACTGRY AREA.

P.A. Cable.

LONDON, Oct. 15.

After a further advance north - west of Stalingrad, the troops of Marshal Timoshenko's relief army are now within sight of the city. The Russians have also made new gains south of Stalingrad and recaptured five large buildings and a school within the city. Though the majority of the latest Russian reports indicate that fighting on the Russian front is on a reduced scale ccmpared with that in recent weeks, a Moscow message reports that considerable enemy tank and infantry forces were hurled into a narrow sectOr north-west of Stalingrad yesterday. They were repelled after heavy fighting. The enemy, in these unsuccessful attempts to capture the factories — which are reported to be still functioning for the repairing of tanks — lost 23 tanks and up to 200>0 men. Russian relnforcements reaching Stalingrad across the Volga include at least one Soviet Guards division. Fighting in the Mosdok area is concentrated in two localities. In one the Red Army improved its positions yesterday, forcing a second enemy retreat in two days. In the other looality the Germans, on the offensive, threw 60 tanks into fihe battle, and succeeded in driving a wedge in the Soviet lines. The Russians south-east of Novorossisk carried out an offensive action yesterday, encountering fierce enemy resistance. The Moscow correspondent of The Times says that Germany is still exerting pressure against the northwestern outskirts, where short, sharp battles with thrust and counterthrust are taking place along the battered streets, and fierce hand-to-hand struggles are occtirring in factories and other buildings. The Germans launched tank attacks supported by planes in open country fringing the city, but these attacks were repelled. Operations in the Caucasus are characterised by a marked increase in German activity, and the beating to a standstill of their ground forces. The Luftwaffe is attacking strongly in the Novorossisk and Mosdok areas. Large bomber formations are attacking inst-allations behind the Mosdok front, and 26 of 70 bombers in one formation are reported to have been destroyed. The Russians maintain silence regarding the Germans' claims of progress on the Taupse road. Paris radio stated that the Germans have reached the Black Sea coast and are now only 12 miles from Tuapse. Moscow radio deelares that the Russians north-west of Stalingrad have captured' several heights from which the Germans were shelling roads upon which the Russians were bringing up supplies. Russian infantry and tommy-gunners broke the German line after several hours' fighting, fanned out, and liquidated the German resistance point by point.