FAMINE AND FIRE

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 60, 4 December 1942, Page 5

FAMINE AND FIRE

Relentless Red Army Threat

(By Telegraph.—Press Assn* —Copyright.) » (Received December 3, 11.25 p.tn.) LONDON. December 2. The threat of starvation to the quarter of a m.lhon Germans who are enveloped in the Don-Volga area, andthegravity of position, of the 100,000 German veterans at Rzhev, are.stresse by C ggX«:t l :h. t the Germans north-west and souAwdst of Stalingrad have been unable to stand on the Mis commanders aimed to halt the Russian advance, but are bei » ouZ back. On the central front the Russian offensive west of Rzhev is gaining in impetus, and fresh breaches have been made £ the Tnemy lines, while south of Rzhev the Russ.ans have taken

another village on the railway to Elsewhere on this front the battles are increasing in violence as the Germans are throwing in reinforcements, but the Russians have seized highlyimportant German defences. The Russians expect the Germans to make a fierce defence of Rzhev, against which they are carrying out the longest-drawn-out operation of tiie war. The Moscow correspondent of “The Times, explaining the development of the Russian campaign, says that the Red Army during the summer accumulated huge forces of tanks and artillery in the surrounding forests and constructed a new network of communications in the poorly roaded districts. ; The Russians from time to time employed a portion of the forces to drive the enemy from defences, forcing him to restart the fortifications and regroup the garrison, thereby simultaneously securing springboards for the present offensive. - ■ The reports continually refer to the persistence of the German counter-at-tacks which the Russians, who are ■bringing in reserves, are repeatedly repelling.: Moscow radio says the Germans are making determined efforts to recapture the Rzhev-Vyazma railway but cannot find a weakness in the Soviet positions. The Germans in a neighbouring sector, after a three-day battle, were forced to retreat. Heavy Tank Charge. The German news agency admits that the Russians have gained successes in the northern and central sectors, but claims that their losses art so heavy that the Russians will be unable to take advantage of the grounc they have occupied. “The Times” Stockholm correspon dent says the hardest battle isj raginj south of the Rzhev-Velikiye Luki rail way. Hundreds of tanks have beer engaged, and 2000 Russian cavalrymer charged through a breach made bj the tanks.

The final destruction of General von Hoth’s army before Stalingrad will not be easy or rapid, but the tables have been turned on Stalingrad’s would-be conquerors so totally unexpectedly that their available food is inadequate for the winter time. This is indicated by the employment of a large number of Junkers transport planes, many of which have been destroyed. Twenty-four-hour deliveries by plane may prolong the situation, but they will not solve the feeding problem. Even if von Heth realizes that eventual starvation and reduction is inevitable, he is not likely to capitulate forthwith, because that would release the large Russian enveloping force for a disastrous surge west and south-west.

THOUSANDS OF TANKS

Red Army Offensive

LONDON. December 2.

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. Moscow radio declared that great battles were raging west of Rzhev and added: “Our forces are gradually wearing down and exterminating the Germans.”

In capturing one inhabited locality on the central front the Russians kill-

> Vyazma. ed 500 Germans of the crack Jaeger Rifle Battalion. Reuter’s Moscow correspondent reports that the German High Command, on the central front has thrown m a[l its reserves in the effort to .arrest the Russian advance. The Russians, in the past 24 hours, have ousted the Germans from a series of important positions. The Russians in one sector threatened to crush the flank of a number of German units. The enemy rushed up reserves and counter-attacked without avail, losing 1000 killed. Timoshenko's Gains. The Red Army north-west of Stalingrad resumed its advance after repelling seven fierce counter-attacks from a German division supported by dozens of planes and about 100 tanks. - The Germans suffered heavy losses. s South-west of Stalingrad the Rusi sians continue to win successes. The - “Red Star” says Stalingrad’s defend- - ers are striking against the weakening ) German lines. After a two-day battle they defeated an enemy division and i recaptured Yazhnaya Hill dominating - the south side of the city. The Rus--s sians then advanced 24 miles further - from Stalingrad. The British United ■ Press correspondent says the Russians 3 are now actually only eight miles f from Kotelnikovo. The Moscow midnight communique x says that at Stalingrad during the 7 day a company of German infantry was wiped, out. On the east bank of the Don the Russians won back a large number of fortified points, and ® several hundred of the enemy were C killed. South-west of Stalingrad the e Russians are consolidating the ground L . they have won. 1 On the central front more than 2000 Germans were killed east of Velikiye i- Luki. West of Rzhev the Germans g were driven from several more strongL- points.

n ; — y UNBROKEN WALL OF a FIRE

e Progress During Night e y LONDON, December 3. e The Red Army is pushing on,' but d now the Germans are fighting back r more fiercely, and both sides were lockif ed in bitter (battles all through the winr- try nights .on the two main fronts. i- The Russians successfully stormed a it height north-west of Stalingrad last if night, says the latest communique. • :- The central front, “Pravda” reports, e is one unbroken wall of fire, and a i, battle of extreme violence is raging, e The Germans have struck back vigors’- ously, but under the pressure of the Red Army have been forced to fall back, abandoning fortified strongpoints they had held for a year. The battle S line extends from Rzhev along 150 miles of fortifications to the railway junction town of Velikiye Luki. Some of the bitterest fighting seems to be for the Luki railway network, and here e the Russians took more villages during last night. In the Rzhev area the Rus‘s sians smashed an “important centre of s resistance.”

The Rzhev garrison is put at between 75,000 and 100,000 picked men, who ho doulbt are remembering Hitler’s warning that “the loss of Rzhev would be as serious as the loss of half Berlin.” The Russians have no illusions about their tasik against the triple line of Todt fortifications built during the last 12 months. '