TRAPPED NAZI UNITS
STRENGTH FADING AWAY
IRec. Tnoon.) RUGBY, January 3. <The plight of the Germans trapped in the Stalingrad area is further described by a correspond- / ent-of the "Red Star." "We have already eaten our cavalry," a Germ*rf lprisoner told him. The total number of Germans in the area is mot* mentioned, but the correspond- . ent states that full companies have beefa reduced to under 40. One division has been divided up ini'P'fig* ithe others to restore part of their "■'Strength. The general com-naniidi-ig the Stadow Division flew, out sf'|hi^ area, but 23 of his staff officers w&i e -killed. Frostbite is taking in2r€asiiig toll, and many have died )f^fmnger. The Germans have main;aine'cl Meriough equipment and men to >f£6Jr strong resistance on a circular front- heavily fortified with blockloifse'sy "tank traps, minefields, ■ and aarbed wire, but the Russians are jlow-fv_- tightening their stranglehold. XQgifeS'-. SINCE , ENCIRCLEMENT.: The 22 marooned divisions have suffered "most of their casualties since seing -encircled. . ■ Th(_C:"rail service between Velikie Luki'and Moscow has been restarted, iccardirig to a Moscow message. The Jirect fine passes* through Rzhev ivhich is still in enemy hands, but mother line, which is the one presumiblVj referred to in the.Moscow mesjage, 'I runsr north-east from > Velikie L.ukl -to -join: the main Moscow-Lenin-jrai jine. ' Besides being a railway junction, STelikie Lukiv also is the intersection >£ teir roads. The German jarrison Wiped, out there is reported » Iraye been several thousand strong. The»<Eighth Panzer Division, with tesh""infantry and* an additional delachirijght'of: 70 tanks; tried vainly; to jreafc through to relieve the doomed nehV'V \..: *\ ': ' .-'.' Meanwhile an official Soviet report jays that a strongly fortified centre )f resistance north of Velikie Luki has aowr ■ tjeen captured by the Russians, [n " th^ Caucasus, several hundred aailgsC "further south, heavy N rains ire ;being, encountered, but the Russians ""are maintaining their slow progress, ',::-.,. .::■■,:• : ■ • . ■• , « v"m_cje";.A day: advance. ' The! Russian advance alone Validi-kavka~s-Prokhladn ay a railway lias been it tlje,;rate of only a mile daily. On the of Stalingrad the ensircled, Germans are being driven from more and more buildings and strong-points. ■ .' There is little news of the fighting on the/ middle Don, though a number of Jocalities are officially reported to have been captured.—B.O.W.
in the area of the middle Don, south- ' east of Stalingrad, on the central front and in the northern Caucasus continued to. conduct offensive opera- ( tions in the same directions as before." A sketch of the position on- the various fronts is given in the morning supplementary Russian communique which shows that the Germans are ! retreating and leaving behind great .quantities of material—weapons, ammunition, and war equipment. - The supplement states: "In \he. factory area of Stalingrad, »ur troops occupied several houses and" captured 39 . enemy pill-boxes and dug-outs. "North-west of Stalingrad, after a fierce engagement, / our troops occupied several trenches and dug-outs. The enemy launched counter-attacks, but all were repelled. South-east of Stalingrad, our troops continued their offensive and occupied several localities. "In the middle Don area our troops continued on the offensive. A Red \Army unit broke enemy resistance and occupied favourable positions." ; . \
TRAPPED NAZI UNITS
Evening Post, Volume CXXXV, Issue 2, 4 January 1943, Page 5
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