ROSTOV FIGHT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20619, 21 November 1941, Page 5

ROSTOV FIGHT

GRIM DEFENCE NEW NAZI ATTACK KERCH EVACUATION BIG PRICE EXACTED (Elec. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Reed. Nov. 21, noon.) LONDON, Nov. 20. The battle for Rostov is in full swing. The Germans have brought up new forces which are attacking on a wide arc running from Novochankhtinsk in the north to the Sea of Azov. The spearhead of the attack is a mixed force under General Guderian, comprising a tank division, two infantry divisions and also a cavalry unit. The Germans are losing heavily in men and equipment, but are pressing the offensive with great determination. In one sub-sector Soviet artillery, aided by special anti-tank units, defeated an entire battalion of infantry and large numbers of tanks. Russians elsewhere under Commander Kruezer successfully counter-attacked and cut off and practically wiped out an infantry regiment and also severely mauled other German forces attempting to relieve this regiment. The Germans immediately start tc fortify every village captured, evidently aiming at making them tenable for the winter, but despite these precautions the Russians recaptured two fortified villages. A Moscow communique states: “The Red Army evacuated Kerch in an orderly manner to enable the troops, all arms and every scrap of war material, in addition to valuable property, to be removed before the evacuation.

German Casualties

“The German casualties in the battle of Kerch were 20,000 killed, with the loss of 130 tanks, considerable war material, many vehicles ana 40 planes.”

It is reported that the Russians evacuated Kerch for strategical reasons.

The Germans are preparing for a fresh offensive on the Moscow front. Reports from the Leningrad front state that the Russians defeated a German offensive along the Volkhc River which aimed at joining up with the Finns eastward of Leningrad, but reconnaissances show that a new offensive is under preparation. The Germans are massing troops, including the “Death’s Head” division. The Russians meanwhile recapturea a number of villages lost in the recem German drive to Tikhvin, which appears to have completely peterec out.

The Soviet paper Izvestia reports that the German offensive against Tula began on Tuesday and continued on Wednesday, but was repulsed. Violent fighting is going on and the situation remains grave in some areas.

Some of the heaviest fighting on the central front is now centred on Volokalamsk, where the Germans are flinging in large numbers of tanks. They have made some headway, bu_i General Rokossovsky’s men prevented a spectacular advance. The Russians also successfullyparried a new German blow at Kalinin. The Germans were equally unsuccessful in the Mojaisk sector, despite the use of “three-ply” tanks to give the appearance of great numbers. The Germans thereabouts sent a column of “alcoholised” infantry into action. The Red Star says that a German infantry division and between 70 to 80 tanks struck a new blow against Tula from the south-east after a heavy artillery and air bombardment. In one area only 25 men of two German companies reached the Russian positions, where they were killed by bayonets. After a preliminary artillery barrage and bombing by 20 planes, German tanks, supported by motorised forces, simultaneously attacked from three points. Bloody fighting continued throughout the day. The Red Star states that hordes of drunken soldiers attacked Major Tereshkov’s units, but were mown down by machine-gun fire and rifle fire.

A Spanish “Blue Division” operating near Novgorod is reported to be bogged in snow and the swamps of the Lake Ilmen region. The Red Star reports that the Germans incessantly attacked the approaches to Sebastopol, but were beaten off. A further Russian communique, after stating that during the last night Russian troops engaged in lighting the enemy on all fronts, adds: “The German High Command has again issued a lie in stating that Soviet troops have been evacuated from Kerch under the pressure of the German advance and that the Germans inflicted heavy losses on the Soviet troops and on the Soviet Navy. This is a lie. The facts are that Soviet troops evacuated Kerch according to order by the Soviet High Command in order to give our troops better defence positions against the invader. Evacuation was carried out in absolute order.”

The Tass agency states that Soviet troops are gradually retreating in the Kerch area.