PRISONERS NOW TOTAL 66,000

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23809, 1 December 1942, Page 5

PRISONERS NOW TOTAL 66,000

To-day's Soviet midday communique says that at Stalingrad German counter-attacks in the factory area were smashed. In the southern districts of the city the Germans were driven out of 12 block-houses and dugouts.

The Soviet Sunday night communique announces: “The Russians in the factory area of Stalingrad on Saturday repelled a number of enemy attacks and advanced 300 or 400 yards. Our troops north-west of Stalingrad, engaged in stubborn offensive battles, beat off several counter-attacks. Southwest of Stalingrad the Russians occupied several inhabited localities, and repelled counter-attacks in which the enemy suffered tremendous losses.

"The enemy is offering fierce resistance in the Smolensk area, but our forces continue to advance. Axis troops, supported by tanks, counter-attacked Jn the direction of Rzhev and Vyazma We threw them hack.”

An earlier Soviet High Command communique stated: “The offensive was continued on Friday in the area of Stalingrad and on the central front in the same direction as before. On the central front the Russians are beating off counter-attacks and widening the gaps. Artillery, advancing with infantry, is inflicting heavy losses. In the northern part of Stalingrad large enemy forces attacked, but they were driven back to their initial positions with the loss of 450. while 200 were killed in the workers’ settlement. The Russian advance continued north-west of the city, where the Germans los* IMO killed in one engagement and left 800 dead in a place captured by the Russians. , "The advance also continued south--west of Stalingrad. In 24 hours in the Stalingrad area 64 German aircraft were destroyed in the air or on the ground, including 46 transports. “The Russians also advanced southeast of Nalchik. Street fighting is going on at one place and 400 of the enemy were accounted for in another.” Progress, in North

North-west of Moscow General Zhukhov's offensive is making further progress. To-day’s Soviet communique says the Russian advance continues in the same directions as before. The Moscow radio says the Germans are trying at ail costs to halt the Russian advance north-west of Rzhev. The Russians have widened and deep-

cned the four gaps between Vehkye Luki and Rzhev. South of Rzhev the Russians arc holding on grimly after cutting the railway to Vyazma. The Red Army is punching more holes in the Todt line of massive fortifications on the central front, on which the Germans laboured for eight months. "Izvestia” states that the Russians have already gouged four holes varying from seven to 20 miles in depth. The Germans’ efforts to resist on the central and Don fronts is costing them 10.000 men a day. “Red Star" states that the key to success of the Russian offensive on the centra] front has been surprise. The Russians often penetrated the first line

CORVETTE ATTACKS U-BOAT VESSEL COMMANDED BY NEW ZEALANDER 'Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) LONDON, Nov. 29. In the dark hours of an autumn morning a corvette in the Atlantic spotted a U-boat’s wake. She immediately went into action under orders to steer to ram. After 20 minutes of furious action at close quarters those on the corvette believed they had added another U-boat to the Navy’s list. The corvette bore down on the U-boat at full speed, turned in. and rammed, with her pom poms blazing , , and her four-inch gun crews swear- . ing because they were too close to get carv heir guns to bear. Half of the officers of this cor- \ are New Zealanders. Her \Tr'n< youn £ skipper. Lieutenant John Holm. * ■ H N.Z N.V.R.. is known round the New Zealand coast as chief officer of the timber vessel Port Tauranga. He comes from Wellington, where his father is Mr Sydney Holm. The other New Zealanders are Sub-Lieutenant J. H. Cooper, who before the war was a farmer from Hastings, and Sub-Lieu-tenant C. T. S. Baylis, who before the War was a Government scientist in Auckland. Lieutenant Holm, who was recently on brief London leave, said: “I reckon ■we sank it.” This U-boat was being attack-id before it was aware of the danger. It tried to submerge, and also es'-ape on the surface by zig-zag-ging. bur the corvette hung on like a terrier. Machine-gun fire cleared the conning rower in a matter of seconds before the corvette first rammed the U-boat. No German after that was able to live in the conning tower under the corvette’s gunfire. The Übnai finally listed heavily, disappearing in swirls of water thrown up by the depth charges. The corvette had Used every gun.

• (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright.) (Roc. 11 !’•'"•) LONDON, November 30. A special Soviet High Command announcement states: • iioviet 1 roops to-day in the area of Stalingrad, overcoming entemy resistance, broke through a new enemy defence line on the eastern bank of the Don. Our troops occupied four fortified points. “South-west of Stalingrad the Russians in pursuit of the retreating enemy occupied Yermokhinsky (just east of Nezhny Chirskaya), Obilnaya (in Ergeni Hills 60 miles east of Kotelnikov). and the railway station of Nebikhovskv (20 miles northeast of Kotelnikov). “The number of prisoners was to-day increased by 3000. From November 19 to November 29 66,000 of the enemy were taken prisoner. In the same period our troops captured 2000 guns of all calibres, 3935 machine-guns, 1379 tanks intact or damaged, more than 6000 lorries, 4677 ammunition cars, 10,700 horses, and 122 stores of ammunition, food, and equipment. Seventy-two three-engined enemy aeroplanes were destroyed in the Stalingrad area. “On the central tront (he Russians to-day overcame enemy resistance, repulsed counter-attacks launched by fresh reserves, and continued their successful offensive. Considerable losses were inflicted on enemy counter-attacking units. Our troops captured 55 guns and much other material.”

of aeiences without opposition. The Germans in some sectors unsuccessfully tried to make a stand. They also failed to regain their positions on the railway lines between Neval and Velikye Luki and between Rzhev and Vyazma. Reuter’s Moscow correspondent reports that Red Army troops and tanks are pouring into the breaches made in the Rzhev sector.

Berlin sources say that a third big offensive is impending against the German line at Voronezh where the Russians are massing forces. Stiffening Resistance

On both the Stalingrad and the central fronts the German resistance is stiffening, but counter-attacks have been repulsed with extremely heavy losses.

In the Stalingrad area the Russians are now taking the necessary steps to prevent the Germans breaking out. The effect of Friday’s advances has been further consolidation of the southern and northern thrusts and the constriction from the north of the forces' surrounded between the Don and the Volga, Especially marked was the extension westward of the southern arm of the pincers to within 10 miles ,of the southeastern angle of the Don bend, where Yablochny, oniy 12 miles north of Kotelnikov, was captured. Along the railway the Russians took Chelikovo, a station about 23 miles north-east of Kotelnikov. This move down the south-western railway will evidently make it more difficult for the cnemv to develop a counter-attack from outside. The lack of news of a big German move from outside the ring is not unexpected, as it would have to be on such a largo scale as would take some time to prepare. Another important place taken was Nizhni Gnilovsky. a few miles south of Kachalinsk at the north-eastern angle of the Don bend, Samokhina, inside the pocket, about 30 miles west of Kalach, was also captured. The Germans at Stalingrad are rushing up lorry-loads of troops and equipment to try to close the gap in their winter lines.

“Pravda,” in describing the haste in which German troops have fallen back, says many of the men are barefooted. What was the German second line of defence in one area is now known as the “valley of the dead,” The road of the Russian advance is jammed with German prisoners moving to rear areas. A correspondent of “Pravda” describes meeting a column of 3000 German prisoners—a whole German regiment, complete with its commander. Moscow radio says the Gormans arc using transport aircraft to bring up reinforcements but many of these machines have been shot down by the Red Air Force. In the Caucasus the Russians arc still making headway and are battering the German defences.

TURIN HEAVILY BOMBED 8000LB BOMBS USED BY R.A.F. LONDON, Nov. 29. Royal Air Force bombers last night dropped some of Britain’s new 80001b bombs on Turin, Italy’s big industrial city where the Fiat and Caproni works are 'situated. The attack was a heavy and concentrated one, and pilots report good results. The weather over the target area was good Only one British bomber was lost. Besides the 80001b bombs, other high explosives were dropped, and 100,000 incendiaries. Many large fires were started and some of the pilots reported that thev could see the glare for miles. One Stirling came down to below 2000 feet, and" the pilot saw a stick of bombs fall right across the factory he was bombing. The explosion that followed was of such force that it rocked the aircraft. Other pilots coming over Turin said they saw the flares dropped by other aircraft hanging in mid-air as they came in to attack the Royal Arsenal. On the way back one Lancaster crew sighted as many as 23 fighters over northern France. The pilot outmanoeuvred them and destroyed one, Turin has been the target for the last three raids on Italy. BOMBERS AGAIN OVER NORTHERN ITALY (Rec. 11 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 30. Home-based Royal Air Force bombers were again over northern Italy last night. The raid was not comparable with the previous night's heavy attack on Turin. The weather was bad. and only a small force of bombers was sent.