PROCEEDING WELL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 November 1942, Page 3

PROCEEDING WELL

THE SOVIET OFFENSIVE RAILWAYS VITAL TO AXIS CUT. FEEBLE ENEMY EFFORTS IN STALINGRAD. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 9.40 a.m.) RUGBY, November 23. The Russian pincer movement, seriously menacing the German forces in and around Stalingrad, proceeds well, according to the latest Soviet communique, which states: “During the night our troops in the Stalingrad area continued to conduct offensive battles in the same directions as before.”

The latest news from north-west of the city is that the Russians have encountered Rumanian troops on the Serafimovitch-Kletskaya front, but continued to advance in a south-westerly direction. However, it is the development of the attack from south of Stalingrad which seems to have achieved the most remarkable results. This advance apparently has not only cut the Stalingrad-Krasnodar railway linking up with Rostov, but also the Germans’ main line of supply—the railway from Kharkov to Stalingrad. .Kalach, which the Russians have captured, is on a branch line from the Stalingrad-Khar-kov Railway, and lies about due west of Stalingrad. The fact that the Russians have developed such a telling offensive from south of Stalingrad suggests that they have an effective control of Volga communications, despite the arrival of ice. It is also noticed that the Stalingrad offensive has been well timed in support of the recent victory in the central Caucasus.

London observers point out that during the last month, in addition to the rout of the two armoured divisions of the Afrika Korps in Egypt, two armoured German divisions have been badly mauled in the Caucasus, and three more in the Stalingrad area. A supplementary Russian communique says two German shock battalions were wiped out and much booty captured during the enemy’s desperate attempt to hold up the Soviet advance from north-west of Stalingrad. In Stalingrad itself the enemy launched an ineffective attack in the factory area, and in another sector had two costly failures in counter-attacks.

A Moscow message says the Russian break through north-west of Stalingrad began with a short but intense artillery preparation. The Soviet gunners had such exact data about most of the enemy batteries that the first defence lines were silenced within an hour. This success was followed up by tanks and infantry and the attack culminated in bitter hand to hand fighting. The'Germans were scattered. The Russians then thrust through the defences in depth. They steadily maintained their progress against a dense system of minefields and emplacements and fierce anti-tank fire covering a wide area.