FIRMLY OPPOSED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 August 1942, Page 3

FIRMLY OPPOSED

GERMAN ATTACKS WEST OF STALINGRAD CONTINUED FOR DAYS IN SPITE OF HEAVY LOSSES. RUSSIAN POSITION GRAVE SOUTH OF KRASNODAR. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Day, 1.0 p.m.) LONDON, August 21. Endless columns of fresh German reinforcements are moving up to the Don bend, says a National Broadcasting Corporation Moscow correspondent. Hitler is making an all-out effort to smash his way to Stalingrad. The Luftwaffe is pounding both banks of the Don. The Russians, nevertheless, have not budged an inch during the past 24 hours on any vital sector. The “Pravda” says thousands of Germans, Italians and Rumanians have been killed in attacks which have not ceased for two days. Another Moscow message reports that fighting is still going on on the left bank of the Don. Before Stalingrad Marshal Timoshenko has thrown in strong reinforcements,, which are furiously counter-attacking German shock troops, who attempted, immediately they had landed, to dig in and construct pill boxes. Russian reports describe the continuance of a fierce major battle northeast of Kotelnikovo, the latest phase of which began last Monday. The Germans yesterday hurled into a narrow sector four infantry regiments and eighty tanks, in addition to trench mortar and artillery regiments. Three regiments, supported by seventy tanks, made a thrust in another sector, but the Russians frustrated all the attacks. The Vichy radio declared that the Russians’ resistance before Stalingrad is generally more powerful and is bolding firm on the east bank of the Don German reports from Stockholm say operations in the Orel region mark a new German offensive. The Vichy radio said the new German attack north of Orel is designed to relieve Russian pressure in the Viazrna area. Moscow says the situation south of Krasnodar is increasingly grave, in the face of a further retreat by the Red Army, but south-west of Krasnodar incessant Cossack counter-,attacks have checked the German advance towards the Black Sea ports. Kuban Cossacks cut down several hundred paratroops in a two-hour battle west of Krasnodar.