NO CHANGE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 November 1942, Page 3

NO CHANGE

ON RUSSIAN FRONT COSTLY GERMAN ATTACKS FAIL. AT STALINGRAD AND IN THE CAUCASUS. LONDON, November 19. No change is reported on the Russian front. Correspondents say the Germans have failed completely in their latest costly attempts to find warmth and shelter in the ruins of the city. Rain and fog have., hampered recent operations but some positions in' I lie northern part of Stalingrad have been retaken by lhe Russians. In the Caucasus also the Germans have nothing to set against their recent losses. It is stated that in the Nalchik area it seems unlikely that they will be able to retrieve the severe defeat they suffered in the autumn. WINTER OFFENSIVE LIKELY TO BE LAUNCHED BY RUSSIANS. WHEN GROUND HARDENS LONDON, November 18. Observers in Stockholm say that the Russian winter offensive will begin when the ground is frozen hard enough to permit armoured operations. British and United Sta- • tes tanks are massed behind the front, waiting the signal to attack. The offensive will have two objectives, first to raise the siege of Leningrad, and secondly, to recapture ports on the Baltic coast, specially Riga. The occupation of Riga would have far-reaching consequences not only in the Leningrad section, but also in Finland. Some observers believe that in possesion of Baltic bases, the Red Fleet could cut communication between Finland and Germany. This would possibly cause a collapse of the whole Axis front between the Karelian Isthmas and Furmansk. The Stockholm correspondent of “The Times” says that it is now revealed that the Germans since late summer have been sending to Russia an unusually high proportion of most youthful troops. Examination of 500 death' notices published by relatives show that one-third of the Germans killed on the Russian front were aged 18 to 22.

The Germans are again raiding the northern industrial district but the situation at Stalingrad is little changed. The Russians are maintaining the ascendancy from Nalchik to Tuapse. On the Causasus front the most significant report from either Russian or German sources is a German reference to their diminishing air activity against the Russians. Berlin announced that the Germans south-east of Lake Ilmen are carrying out local attacks without support from the air, which is unusual. Both the Russians and the Germans report fierce local actions on the Volkhov front, each claiming successes. There is nothing beyond local activity between Rzhev, Viazma and Voronezh.