SUFFERED BY THE GERMANS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 November 1941, Page 5

SUFFERED BY THE GERMANS

! On Approaches to Rostov PERSISTENT • RUSSIAN COUNTER-ATTACKS ON MOSCOW FRONT SOME PARTICULARS OF ENEMY LOSSES LONDON, November 13. The German drive on Rostov, at the mouth of the Don, has been frustrated by Marshal Timoshenko’s forces, and the enemy has been forced to change his plans. The Germans broke through the first line of the Russian defences, but were checked at the second. The Russians then attacked the enemy in the rear, causing huge losses to the German infantry following up the tanks.. Meanwhile, the Russian artillery found the tanks an easy target. The Germans are now trying to work round to the east of Rostov. The Germans are still at a standstill in their attacks on i Moscow and the Russians are launching counter-attacks all • along the line. Now that the Germans have been driven from the outskirts of Tula, the centre of that city is no longer under artillery and machine-gun fire. The enemy is massing reinforcements and maintaining heavy pressure north and south of Tula. Sixteen German armoured divisions have suffered appreciably in the fighting on the Moscow front. One of these divisions was out of the line from early in September until the last few days. Heavy losses have been inflicted on 70 German infantry divisions, their losses being as high as 50 per cent. Numbers of German infantry regiments have been reduced to a third of their original strength. These figures make no allowance for sickness, the ratio of which is likely to be high on account of the winter frosts and mud.