SLOWING DOWN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20863, 15 August 1942, Page 3

SLOWING DOWN

CAUCASUS DRIVE RUSSIAN” STAND axis heldln north REDS MORE ACTIVE (By Telegraph—Pi’ess Assn. —Copyright.) (11 a.m.) LONDON, Aug. 14. The German advance eastward across the north Caucasus region towards the Caspian Sea continues more slowly. Mineralnya Vody, where fighting is now reported by the Soviet, is close to Pyatigorsk, which the Germans claimed to have reached some time ago. Further north, on the wide Kalmuck steppe, the Germans now claim to have reached Elista, 160 miles west of the Volga delta and half way between Stalingrad and Georgievsk, in the north Caucasus. Further west, the Russians report that they are still stubbornly defending the Kuban River line at Krasnodar, where, however, they retreated at one place, and in the foothills about Maikop. No further advance up the railway to Kukhum from Cherkesk is reported. . ..The Daily Telegraph’s Stockholm correspondent says that two facts emerge from the confused north Caucasian position—General von Bock has begun an assault on the Caucasus and the Russians are slowly but surely being driven back to the mountains. “We will now see whether the Russians have the strength left to turn at bay and beat their tormentors, or whether the suggestion is true that Marshal Timoshenko, faced with the choice of two evils, concentrated everything to save Stalingrad and left the Caucasus and the holding of .the oilfields to a handful of Russian divisions backed by the British forces in Iran. The Russian Black Sea Fleet has arrived at Batum, which is the base for further operations.” Axis Reverses at Voronej The Russians at Maikop and Krasnodar are taking full advantage oi the terrain more favourable for defence. The strongest stand is being made a.t Krasnodar, where General Timoshenko is preventing the Germans from crossing the Kuban in strength for an all-out attack against Novorossisk. There is no confirmation of a Vichy report that the Germans captured Krymskaya, although it is possible that weak German advance guards have penetrated into the vicinity. The fighting at Krasnodar is going on in tropical heat and heavy battles are raging at Cherkesk. The news from Voronej continues to be satisfactory, with the Russians steadily pressing back the enemy southwards of the town, where a German unit is threatened with encirclement. The Russians, using flamethrowers and tommy-guns, drove the Germans and Hungarians from one locality street ,by street and ruthlessly exterminated nests of resistance established in houses. The times correspondent in Moscow says that an important Russian offensive, probably with limited objectives, appears to be developing satisfactorily in the Voronej area. Three Hungarian brigades were severely mauled. The correspondent adds that if the advance can be maintained the Russians will enter country only recently conquered and not yet fully organised for defence. Brighter Picture On other parts of the vast front there are signs of increased Russian activity. The Russians on the Leningrad front recaptured a strongly fortified railway and road junction after the German positions were softened by heavy shells from the Kronstadt long-range batteries. The Moscow press generally presents a rather brighter picture of the 'situation, although i.t still emphasises the need for a supreme effort. The Russians still give less information than the Germans concerning the Rjev operations, says the Times correspondent in Stockholm. The Russians have gained an appreciable success in the Lake Ilmen region since July. The Germans in the middle of July consistently reported a battle zone south-east of Lake Ilmen. At the end of August they altered the description to southwards of Lake Ilmen. The Germans at present are reporting hard fighting south-west of Lake Ilmen.