BITTER FIGHTING NEAR STALINGRAD

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 295, 14 December 1942, Page 3

BITTER FIGHTING NEAR STALINGRAD

GERMANS STIFFENING

Desperate Effort To Break

Russian Ring

N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent Rec. noon. LONDON, Dec. 13. German opposition in Russia is increasing on all fronts, particularly southwest of' Stalingrad, against the Russian drive towards Kotelnikovo. The Russians north-west of Stalingrad have captured a further strongly-fortified German line and are steadily narrowing the already perilous enemy positions between the rivers Don and Volga.

Fighting in the past two days has reached the greatest intensity southwest of Stalingrad, where the Germans are stabbing with attack after attack, trying to puncture the southern of the two Russian tentacles encircling 200.000 Axis troops between the Don and the Volga.

The latest front line messages to-night say that battles raged all day on at least four separate sectors south-west of Stalingrad with the Germans frequently swinging in the direction of their counter-attacks in attempts to find weak spots. The enemy's thrusts have thus far been baulked, but after a 24-hour struggle the savage battle has not slackened. Russian artillery is playing the main part in halting the Axis rushes. Nazi Counter-attack? Increase Colonel Vassiliev, the Russian military commentator, said to-day: "The Germans south-west of Stalingrad are counter-attacking increasingly. The enemy has strengthened his defences considerably, digging in in some sectors, with a large number of tanks." The situation is also similar on the North-west Stalingrad front and on the Central Front. The Russians had to fight hard "to check six German counter-attacks north-west of Stalingrad.

The Germans are also counterattacking without pause on main points of the central front and where the Russians are advancing it is only by degrees. General Rodimstev's men inside Stalingrad City keep gnawing at the Axis strongholds. They captured 200 blockhouses last week and have smashed up 18 pillboxes in the last 24 hours. Southwards From Rjev General Zhukov has thrown in powerful forces for a new Russian push on the central front, southwards from Rjev. The Germans are repeatedly counter-attacking eastwards of Velikiye Luki. Reports from most sectors indicate that Russian progress is slowing up, although the Germans are not actually regaining ground. South of Rjev the Russians are still firmly astride the railway to Viazma, where positional warfare has developed. Fierce battles are raging deep within the Rjev-Viazma-Velikiye Luki triangle. The Germans are contesting every foot. German counter-attacks before Velikiye Luki have been unprofitable. The Russians are consolidating over a considerable area. The German news agency says that General Zhukov's forces have reached the Bieloi area. 8,000,000 Dead and Wounded The latest Moscow special communique brings the number of enemy killed and disabled in Russia to over 8.000,000. A special Soviet announcement states that since November 19, when the Russian offensive began in the Stalingrad area, 72,400 prisoners have been taken and 94.000 of the enemy killed. Four-fifths of the prisoners were Germans and the rest Rumanians. In the Stalingrad area up to December 11 the Russians captured 105 aircraft, 1510 tanks, 2134 guns, 1714 mortars, 4175 machine-guns, 20,000,000 rounds of ammunition and 7306 lorries. Moonlight Mountain Battle The initiative in the Caucasus has passed to the Russians in several If C in r nnn ? a . moonlight battle fought at 10,000 feet the Russians, who used howitzers, heavily defeated German alpinists, killing 500 and driving the remainder down the mountainside They were followed by an avalanche of rocks, which caused them completely to abandon their position.