Mammoth Battles Of Attrition Raging

Manawatu Times, Volume 67, Issue 208, 1 September 1942, Page 5

Mammoth Battles Of Attrition Raging

(By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright.) Received Monday, 7.50 p.m. LONDON, Aug. 30.

There has been no spectacular territorial changes in Russia in the past 72 hours but mammoth battles of attrition rage with unabated fury in the Stalingrad- Kletskaya-Koteinikovo triangle, also at RJev, dwarfing the bitter conflicts at many other points on the 1200-mile .ront between Leningrad and the Caucasus.

There have been no significant changes on t.ie Stalingrad front in the past itve days. The rot has apparently stopped in the Caucasus where the Russians with tneir backs to the mountain wall are holding off the Germans from the Grosny oilfields and from the naval bases of ,4ovorossisk and Tuapse.

However, Russian reports state that the Germans are bringing up cons.derable reinforcements for the HJev, Stalingrad and Caucasus fronts indicat.ng that Hitler still commands a great reserve pool of men and machines. The Times' Moscow correspondent says Russian resistance has stiffened from VoroneJ to the Caucasus. The Red Army appears to hoid the initiative northwards of VoroneJ and continues to develop successes west and north-west of Moscow, also at Leningrad. Further, it is consolidating its slight gains on the Bryansk and the north-western fronts.

The Russian front falls into two halves and the w.iole outcome of the campaign depends on the Russians’ ability to make these halves interdependent. The German commanders at i-tjev, Gjatsk and Viazma are exhorting their men to fight so resolutely that the Wehrmacht has no need to transrer troops from the south. On the contrary, the Russians in tnose sectors are told that they are fighting foi\ Stalingrad and the Caucasus. The Russian counter-offensive aims at doing what it had been hoped the Allies would be doing by now—drawing off German pressure from the south.

The Red Army counter-offensive is progressing siowiy because the terrain—unlike the southern tank country—requires the capture of eacn town to control the hignways radiating from them. Otherwise tne attacKers would be handi-

capped by swamps and forests. The Russians enabled Marshal Zhukov to swing his troops in three directions against Giatsk and Viazma, also due west athwart the RJev-Viazma communications.

The Times’ Stockholm correspondent says further Axis reserves are arriving beTore Stalingrad where a supreme Axis attempt is impending. German spokes men betray markedly diminished confidence, one stating: “Only heavy artillery and mortars are able to s.uft t.ie Russians from tneir formidaoie strongnolds, also the underground bastioi.e wnich engirdle Stalingrad like a smane. •Jagiuot Line. It is imposs.ole to thin., in nines, but only yaicrs eacn of whic.. cosls material and nves, Russian a>. resistance has strikingly hardened.” Persistent local activity continuearound Lake limun a.bug to VoikhvV. Russian operations from Leningrad con tinue. The Red Army brotce into an un named town and so tar nave uea.cn on nine counter-attacks. The nnns r-port tnat heavy Russian attacks have ueei. beaten off between Lakes Ladoga tAiega.

Reuter’s correspondent “somewnere ©«■ t.ie Voiga” d-senuos a second Jattie o. tne Voiga going on only a Tew mues irom tne rronvs—a batue to Keep open thu Vo.ga suppiy une in Übfiauco ot tne Luit watte, Great tanker-uai g-s loaued to tm. gunwales are fighting tneir way upstream • eimorced by cveryming tnat win noa s including very smaii passenger stcame.o, .ernes tow.ng I.g.iters, aiso rarts some ot which are 2GJ veet long composed o. wiant logs lasuea, spiked and c.lamed to yetner and steered by giant sweeps. many women are manning tn c vessel, and rafts with whicn the Russians are

.nuving the greatest possible amount oon ana grain irom tne threatened regions.

i he oil workers at uaku are straining every nerve to increase tne wutput, wm.. intense activity is going on in tne Stepp-, east ot tne Voiga ana norm of the uas-.-ian known as the second oaKu. Mai., • iew wells have aiso begun to flow in ti.. past few month at bugurusian wmch i~ -asc of Kuibysuev, aiso at Bashkir norti. or Kazaknstan, The On Cummisar t..,. oedin) says tne war needs can be me. • rom the eastern regions provided triv. second Baku maintains its output.