STRUGGLE FOR STALINGRAD

Southland Times, Issue 24824, 17 August 1942, Page 5

STRUGGLE FOR STALINGRAD

German Offensive Arrested

(Rec. 8 p.m.) LONDON, August 15. According to a front line despatch to Red Star the German offensive against Stalingrad from Kotennikova has been arrested, but warns that this is only a lull before a fresh storm. German losses, especially of tanks, have forced the enemy on to the defensive in certain sectors, where he is digging in, erecting barbed wire entanglements and hurriedly moving up reserves. The Exchange Telegraphs Moscow correspondent says that after the latest German break through in the Krasnodar area the Russians attacked tne flanks of the advancing enemy inflicting losses and slowing up but, so far,.not stemming the advance. The Russians defending the western bank of the Don are in a critical position after the German break through south of Kletskaya. Reuter’s Moscow correspondent says the latest reports from the Don Elbow show that the Russians were pushed back in some sectors close to the> west bank of the river, where they fortified new lines and by counter-attacking improved their positions. Pravda reports that strong German attacks on the Leningrad front were beaten back with heavy enemy losses. Vichy radio claims that the Germans

have reached the immediate approaches to the Grozny oilfields. Quoting a Stockholm report the radio says that German forces sent reinforcements of planes, and possibly also of troops,, to meet Russian attacks on the Rjev, Viazma, Bryansk and Voronej sectors. Russian resistance is increasing around Stalingrad and the Western Caucasus. It is reported from Moscow that three Russian submarines returned to a Baltic port after sinking nine German transports and a U-boat. NAZI PLANES DESTROYED

The destruction of about 51 German bombers and fighters during one raid on an enemy aerodrome in the Kletskaya area is announced by Moscow radio, which says that during the last two days the enemy again attempted to drive wedges into the Russian defence positions and reach the Don. These enemy operations were supported by large Luftwaffe forces, which came from two large frontline aerodromes. Russian planes had the task of destroying these two aerodromes. At dawn a large group of Soviet Stormoviks attacked one enemy aerodrome on which there were about 120 German planes. The Germans were just preparing for a new action, but the Russian planes took them by surprise. During the first dive attack many bombs were dropped and Russian plapes ma-chine-gunned the enemy aerodrome. Many fires broke out. The Soviet planes repeated the attack, but this time enemy anti-aircraft batteries opened a terrific fire. Soviet fighter planes, escorting the Stormoviks, attacked the enemy batteries, silencing several units and killing the crews by machine-gun fire. The second attack was as successful as the first. According to preliminary figures about 40 German bombers and fighter planes were destroyed, or set on fire, and a further 11 were shot down in aerial combat.” .