DESPERATE STRUGGLE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 62, Issue 227, 8 July 1942, Page 4

DESPERATE STRUGGLE

FOR MASTERY OF WATERLINE. GERMAN RESERVES IN RUSSIA. (Rec. 1.45 p.m.) LONDON, July 7. A desperate struggle for the mastery of the waterline is going on in the Veronej area, says Reuter’s correspondent at Moscow. The Geimans are throwing in fresh reserves and launching successive attacks. Another Moscow message reports huge concentrations of German tanks and troops in the ravines on the river bank, waiting to cross the Don river. The Germans in one attempt to cross in flat-bottomed boats and rafts lost 40 tanks and 10 lorryloads of infantry. The Vichy radio declared that fighting is going on at Voronej but the Paris radio stated that the Germans are advancing from Voronej to Prvorino, which is an important junction on the Moscow - Stalingrad - KharkovKuibyshev railway. The Moscow radio reports that the Germans are again attacking on the Kalinin-Lake Ilmen area. Infantry, covered by artillery, mortars and planes, moved up against the Russians and captured a! populated point of no importance. Long columns of German tank and infantry reserves are observed moving up to the Kalinin front, The Vichy News Agency says a violent Russian counter-offensive in the Iszam Kupyansk direction pushed the Germans back across the Krasnaya river. The Russians are advancing rapidly. The Agency also says that Russian attacks north of Otrel were held after fierce fighting. SEBASTOPOL AND CRIMEA. ; GERMAN REPORT OF CASUALTIES (Rec. 1.00 p.m.) LONDON, July 7. A special German communique says: “During the fighting at- Sebastopol from Juno 7 to July 4 (last Saturday) we took 07.000 prisoners, including General Novikov, Russian DeputyArmy Commander. The enemy casualties are estimated at 30,000 to 40,000 and the German losses were 872 officers and 23,230 men. In all, 141. Russian planes were destroyed, and 31 of our aircraft are missing. We sank four destroyers, one submarine, three speedboats, six coastal craft and four merchantmen. “During the period of the operations in the Crimea since September 21, 1941,. ending with the storming of Sebastopol we took prisoner 430,000 soldiers and captured 1198 tanks and 2102 guns.”