Russians Holding Furious Attacks

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 193, 17 August 1942, Page 3

Russians Holding Furious Attacks

IN BEND OF THE DON

Strbng Resistance To Enemy

In Caucasus Battles

(U.P.A. and British Official Wireless.—Rec. 1 p.m.)

LONDON, August 16. Fierce fighting is still taking place in the Don Valley, where enemy tanks and motorised infantry are making tremendous efforts to break through to Stalingrad. They are being held by the Russians and have not yet been able to cross the river.

The Germans used 100 tanks in four successive attacks southeast of Kletskaya yesterday on the north-west sector of the Stalinpv k Ut a gain failed to break through to the banks of the Don. A Russian rifle division in the morning lost several important positions, but a Russian artillery regiment was rushed into the battle straight from a long march and saved the situation. Point-blank fire broke up three separate tank attacks, and by the evening the Germans were back to their original positions. The Germans are punching hard on narrow sectors of the front north-east of Kotelnikovo, south-west of Stalingrad, where the fiercest fighting is raging along the railway. The Vichy radio declared that the Germans south-west of Stalingrad are now less than 40 miles from the city. Air T ? le p e ™ an communique states that the Germans and their Allies in the Caucasus broke the resistance of strong Russian rearguards and are continuing to advance.

A Moscow message reports that Russian bombers and dive bombers have destroyed or damaged over 660 German tanks in the past fortnight. They have also destroyed' 3450 troop and lo ™f 3 and 6 °° wagons, blown up 45 ammunition and 14 petrol dumps and silenced 170 field and anti-aircraft

The threat to Astrakhan, on the Volga Estuary, has not Medina,ft 2 \ , Enemy P r< >gress has also been A? Pw S ,^n° ne ,° f r he ba " le ZOnes of the Nor * h Caucasus. »J ? ,! h °™ tJ ? e Grozny oilfields, the Russians ?nJ ku dto ma Hf a further withdrawal. Here the fight-sev<:re-and heavy b «"

with ™ Cherkesk Knasnodar the German, have mat w,th no further successes in tha past 24 hours. At Cherkesk in have C ba a an TST V bridgehead" V, J. l l !mashed by Soviet forces, who are taking advan::K™ Sts