COUNTER-DRIVES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 203, 27 August 1943, Page 3

COUNTER-DRIVES

NEW GERMAN GROUPS

Enemy's Initial Success Peters Out British Official Wireless Rec. 1.30 p.m. RUGBY, Aug. 26. German counter-attacks are characteristic of the fighting throughout the area of the Russian offensive, With the enemy constantly bringing Up fresh men and tanks. The Germans have created special counterattacking group, which are hastily thrown in whenever conditions favour a counter-drive. There was a particularly determined enemy attempt yesterday south-west of Voroshilovgrad, where several dozen tanks, with air supPort and large infantry forces, attacked the drawn-out right flank of the Red Army and simultaneously harassed the left flank. The initial success of the enemy drive, however, petered out, and the Russians resumed their attack, capturing an important settlement and forcing a fiver position, thereby creating a grave threat to a large enemy force consisting mainly of the remnants of units already routed in the Soviet attack.

According to to-day's army newsPaper, Red Star, the Germans are attempting to bomb the Russians in the Kharkov area by using lar S® groups of bombers, escorted £>y fighters, but the Soviet forces are successfully dealing with them. Yesterday nine Soviet fighters met 40 German bombers, escorted by about the same number of fighters. Despite numerical inferiority the Russians shot down 22.

Nazis Forced to Sign Paper

, The Soviet newspaper Izvestia rePorts that the Germans are forcing their soldiers in the Donetz Basm to sign a paper promising that they will fight to the last. In addition, their machine-gunners have been ordered to shoot any soldier fleeing from the field. "This step is futile, says .the newspaper, "as the Rea Army is pressing forward ana Possessing the initiative and superiority." "Though the Russians have gained more ground west of Kharkov, they are meeting with resistance from well-prepared defences in the Donetz Basin," Moscow radio said to-day. The Red Army advanced to the top of a dominating height south-west ot Voroshilovgrad. To do this they had to smash through some of the most powerful defences on whicn the Germans had been working for nearly two years. Now Soviet guns

are pounding the German positions, while infantry penetrates deeper into the defences. The enemy is resisting desperately and it is a case of prising him out of his trenches, dug-outs and pill-boxes. "The Red Army made good progress again yesterday in the great Ukrainian offensive. Soviet troops beat off widespread counter-attacks and fought their way through minefields and hurled the enemy out of his strongpoints in many sectors of the line. West and north-west of Kharkov the Russian offensive developed in the plains between Poltava and Sumy. It was in this area that some day ago the Germans put in their most determined counterattacks. Counter-Attack Held "In the Don Basin the Russian forces that had driven across the River Mius met and successfully dealt with the expected powerful German counter-attack- German tanks made some progress, but the infantry failed to follow up and the Russian advance continues. On the Bryansk front there is more air and Pa A later Report says the Red Army made advances of two or three mil§s west of Kharkov and south-west of Voroshilovgrad. Moscow radio announced last night that Soviet aircraft attacked enemy trains and dumps at the railway junctions of Unecha and Novozybkov on the Bryansk-Gomel line, and railway stations at Barvenkova, Khartiqisk and Ilvoajskoye, in the Donetz Basin. Many fires broke out. Ten enemy trains were set on fire and many powerful explosions took place On the same night Soviet aircraft attacked enemy aerodromes wh ere the Germans have concentrated many Dlanes. In addition Soviet aircraft Continued to deal blows against enemy concentrations south and south-west of Kharkov. One Soviet plane failed to return.