DON AND CAUCASUS FRONTS BATTERED

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 199, 24 August 1942, Page 3

DON AND CAUCASUS FRONTS BATTERED

nm HARD PRESSED

Cossacks' Tactics In Hill

Fighting ' _____ U.P.A. and British Wireless Rec. 1 p.m. LONDON, Aug. 23. /In the critical battle for StalinSad the Russians are smashing all irman attempts to establish bridgeHeads over the river at the Don elbow. A review of the whole situation from the north to the south shows that on the Leningrad front the Russians are reported to have captured German defence positions which threatened the safety of Leningrad.

West of Moscow local fighting has been taking place. South-west of Moscow the Germans claim to have launched an offensive between Kaluga and Viazma, but there is no confirmation of this claim. Kaluga, which is 100 mil£s south of Moscow, was recaptured by the Russians from the Germans at the end of last December.

At Voronezh street battles are being fought in the town and west of the Upper Don. At Kletskaya, on the north of the Don elbow, the Russians are holding the positions regained from the enemy in the recent counter-attack. The Russians are still holding out in the area of the west bank of the river opposite Stalingrad, but in many places the Germans are maintaining their positions, and, with air support, are throwing bridges across the river. A very heavy toll is being taken of enemy infantry by the Russians. South and south-west of Stalingrad the Russians are attacking on two sides of the wedge which the Germans have succeedec in thrusting between the minefield?

Cossacks' Strong Dffcnce There is no news of the fighting n the 200 miles of difficult steppe country between Kotelnikovo ancl the Caucasus foothills south-west of Pyatigorsk. The Cossacks in this area stand aside as the Germans push on into the highlands, and then close in on them. In one case, how* ever, the Germans succeeded in forcing the Russians to abandon a valley. The Moscow radio says that although !he enemy is throwing reserves into the battle he is unable to gain success in the Kletskaya area. Russian troops are firmly holding their positions. The Russians in several places have attacked and occupied a number of resistance points dominating the heights and nave captured much booty and taken many prisoners.

"We fought the enemy all day in the areas south-eastward of Kletskaya, north-eastward of Kotelnikovo, south-eastward of Pyatigorsk (in the central Caucasus), and southward of Krasnodar (in the western Caucasus)," says the Moscow communique. "Our units at Kletskaya counter-attacked and dislodged the enemy from several inhabited localities. Pierce fighting continued southeastward of Kletskaya, with the enemy attempting to cross to the east bank of the Don. Groups which crossed the river suffered heavy casualties. The Germans north-east-ward of Kotelnikovo succeeded in driving a wedge into the Russian positions, and heavy fighting is going on. We repulsed an attack in this area and inflicted heavy losses. Southward of Krasnodar we fought defensive engagements, repelled two attacks and inflicted heavy losses. Our troops in one sector, after heavy fighting, retired to new positions."

A Moscow communique says: "Our warships in the Barents Sea sank one minelayer and two coastguard vessels. Our warships in the Baltic Sea sank a 15,000-ton tanker."