Stronger Enemy Resistance

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23812, 4 December 1942, Page 5

Stronger Enemy Resistance

MORE VILLAGES

TAKEN

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

(Rec. 11 p.m.)

LONDON, Dec. 3

In face of stronger enemy resistance, the Russians have gained more ground before Stalingrad. They have retaken more fortified villages near Velikye Luki on the central fnmi!

I ia\da says that on the central front the line is an unbroken Avail of fire, and extremely violent battles are raging. The Germans have made furious counter-attacks, but have been forced back, abandoning 45 strong points.

v J n t hls area the ■ front extends east and west between Velikye Luki and Rzhev. Some of the bitterest fighting is for positions on the network of railways around Velikye Luki. In one counter-attack in this sector the Germans lost 600 dead.

Near Rzhev, the Moscow radio reports the smashing of an important centre of resistance. In stiff fighting hundreds of Germans were killed. The Rzhev garrison is stated to comprise between 75,000 and 100,000 picked troops. On the southern front both sides were locked in bitter battles all nighty and dawn found the Russians storming a height near Stalingrad. North-Avest of the city they occupied several fortified localities.

At Stalingrad the garrison broke out during the night and drove the enemy from a number of blockhouses. North-west of the city another height fell to the Russians, although only after a grim struggle. Thirty blockhouses were taken in this area.

North-west and south-west of the city there are signs that General von Moth’s forces are failing to stand firm on the lines of hills where defence positions were taken up. In some places the enemy is being pushed in towards the city, and in others away from.it.

The Stockholm correspondent of “The Times” says: “The hardest battle is raging south of the Rzhev and Velikye Luki railway. Hundreds of tanks are engaged. Two thousand Russian cavalrymen charged through a breach made by tanks.” Reports continually refer to the persistence of German counter-attacks, which the Russians, who are bringing in reserves, repeatedly repel. The Moscow radio says the Germans are making determined efforts to recapture the Rzhez-Vyazma railway, but cannot find any weakness in the Soviet positions. The Germans, in a neighbouring sector, after a three days’ battle, were forced to retreat. The German .News Agency admits that the Russians have gained successes in the northern and central sectors. but claims that their losses were so heavy that they were unable to take advantage of the ground occupied. i Many Russian Tanks Engaged V The Russians are reported to have thrown in 3000 tanks in an all-out attempt to destroy the German armies encircled at Rzhev. The Red Army is launching full-scale attacks against the city from west and south, the Russians have taken several more villages down the Rzhev-Vyazma railway. It is emphasised that the German defences in this area are too strong to give the Russians an easy capture of Rzhev, though units of the Red Army have for some time been in the city itself. Moscow radio declared that great battles are raging west of Rzhev, and added: ‘‘Our forces are gradually wearing down and exterminating the Germans.” Reuter’s correspondent in Moscow reports that the German Command on the central front has thrown In all its reserves, even railway guards, in an effort to arrest the Russian advance. The Russians in 24 hours ousted the Germans from a series of important positions. The Russians on one sector threatened to crush the flank of a number of German units. The enemy rushed up reserves and made a futile counter-attack, losing 1000 killed. In capturing one inhabited locality or. the central front, the Russians killed 500 Germans of the crack Jaeger Rifle Battalion. The Moscow correspondent of "The Times,” explaining the development of the Russian campaign, says; "The Red Army during the summer accumulated huge forces of tanks and artillery in the surrounding forests, constructing a new network of communications in poorly-roaded districts. The Russians from time to time employed a portion of their forces to drive the enemy from his defences, forcing him to build new fortifications and regroup his garrisons, thereby simultaneously securing springboards for the present offensive.” Fighting in Stalingrad Area Tne threat of starvation to the 250.000 Germans enveloped in the Don-Volga area and the gravity of the position Of the 100,000 German veterans i i

BEVERIDGE PLAN SUPPORTED

BRITISH NEWSPAPER

COMMENT

(8.0. W.) RUGBY, Dec. 2. In its general principles the Beveridge plan for a minimum standard of living receives warm support from the British press. Though considered judgment on all its aspects has not yet been possible, the press finds- little to criticise in the chief proposal of the plan. “The Times” says: "The report is a momentous document which should and must exercise a profound and immediate influence on the direction of social change in Britain. Some modifications in detail may prove necessary or unavoidable, but the central proposals of the report must surely be accepted as a basis for Government action.”'

//' The newspapers emphasise the pro/ftsal to co-ordinate and centralise ex- ' measures under a single Minisi?V of Social Security as one of the ■rf main achievements of the report. The “Daily Telegraph” says: “The reforms amount not so much to a revolution as to a consummation of the revolution begun by Mr Lloyd George in 1911. The British Broadcasting Corporation to-day began flooding Europe with summaries of the Beveridge report, showing how Britain, even in war time, has started to grapple with social problems, Sir William Beveridge was presented as “the social engineer,” and as the man who made London a big centre of international social studies. Mr E. L. Granville, M.P., said: “The Beveridge scheme is tantamount to a social revolution, and begins the battle for the new Britain. This must be our new charter for our fighting men and war workers if we wish to keep faith with them when they return to normal life.”

“RED TAPE” IN U.S. GOVERNMENT

Rzhev are emphasised by correspondents to-night. The Moscow correspondent of “The Times” says; “The final destruction of General von Hoth’s army will not be easy or rapid, but the turning of the tables on the would-be conquerors of Stalingrad was so totally unexpected that their available food is inadequate for winter fighting. This Is indicated by the employment of a large number of Junkers transport aeroplanes, 40 or 50 of which have several times been destroyed within 24 hours. Deliveries by aeroplane may prolong the situation. but will not solve the feeding problem. Even it General von Hoth realises that eventual starvation and reduction are inevitable he is not likely to capitulate forthwith, because surrender would release large Russian enveloping forces for a disastrous surge to the west and south-west.” The Soviet forces are continuing to mop up the Germans In Stalingrad, and they have captured a commanding height north-west of the city. The Red Army north-west of Stalingrad has resumed its advance after repelling seven fierce counter-attacks from a German division, supported by dozens of aeroplanes and about 100 tanks. The Germans suffered heavy losses. South-west of Stalingrad the Russians continue to win successes. They ere now only eight miles north of Kotelnikov. “Red Star” states that Stalingrad’s defenders are striking against weakening German lines after a two-day battle. They defeated an enemy division and recaptured Yuzhnaya Hill, dominating the south side of the city. The Russians then advanced two and a half miles farther from Stalingrad. Wednesday’s midnight Moscow communique announces that at Stalingrad a company of German infantry has been wiped out. Many enemy blockhouses have been smashed and enemy batteries silenced. The Russians stormed a strongly fortified point, accounted for several hundred of the enemy, and captured much booty. South-west of Stalingrad, states the communique, positions recently captured from the enemy have been consolidated,

On the central front, more than 2000 Germans were killed east of Velikye Luki, where the Red Army is forging ahead. West of Rzhev the Germans have been driven from several more strong points.

SOCIAL SECURITY PLAN

AUSTRALIAN PROPOSAL (Rcc. 1 a.in.) CANBERRA, Dec. 2. Australia has its equivalent of Britain’s Beveridge plan for social security. It is stated to envisage a scale of benefits more generous than the British scheme, and may cost the Government up to £60,000,000 a year. Some Ministers are reported to be opposed to waiting until after the war to put the plan into operation. “We should have a social charter as soon as possible that will give the people something to fight for,” a Minister to-day told a Sydney Sun political correspondent. . A Government spokesman said today that the aim of the Australian scheme was to provide economic security from the cradle to the grave. He claimed it was far ahead of the Beveridge plan. Its basis is reported to be the provision of maternity allowances, family allowances, health and unemployment assurance, free hospitals and medical attention irrespective of income, a living allowance on a family basis probably equal to the basic wage in times of unemployment, and retiring allowances.

INQUIRY RECOMMENDED (R«C. 7 p.m.) WASHINGTON. Dec. 2. A joint committee on the reduction of non-essential Federal expenditure has recommended a Congressional investigation into United States Government red tape. A flood of questionnaires is increasing costs and hampering war production. According to witnesses, one group of manufacturers spent 495,480 man-hours in three months filling out questionnaires. The manager of a drug firm said in evidence that questionnaires cost his company 100,000 dollars a year. A director of a contractors’ association engaged entirely on war work said that members spent 80 per cent, of their time filling out questionnaires. The committee reported that the growth of the number of questionnaires was menacing national morale and seriously threatening the war effort.