NOT CONFIRMED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20864, 17 August 1942, Page 4

NOT CONFIRMED

BIG NAZI CLAIMS DON BEND" SUCCESS POSITION IN CAUCASUS (By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright.) (2 p.m.) LONDON, Ails'. H>. While the Germans have undoubtedly made some progress in the Don bend, there is no confirmation in London that there is a great turn l'or the worse and it is not believed that the Germans have rounded up many Russians in the river area. As to the German claim to have reached the river itself, it is thought that some patrols may have penetrated thus far, but shoulder to shoulder fighting is not implied. In the Caucasus, it now appears to be improbable that the Germans are trying to cross the mountains between Cherkersk and Sukhum, the Diack Sea port 120 miles to the south. Here the track leads to a very difficult pass and there is a gradient Of one in six for about 10 miles leading to the 9500 ft. mountains. There seems to be. little doubt, however. that the enemy is attempting to cross the hills to tli'e port of Tuapse and. meanwhile, the thrust to Noyorossisk, further north, does not seem to be equally strong. If the Germans can reach Tuapse, they will be to some extent in the rear of Novorossisk, from which the only available exit will be by sea. Novorossisk is well protected by hills which, it is imagined, are fortified. Regarding the German claims to Elista, about 180 miles west of Astrakhan and nearly the same distance due south of Stalingrad, i.t is not now thought that they are trying to drive due east tp the big Caspian port, but rather that the advance is turning south or south-west and their forces here may be looked upon as a flank guard to the main forces in the Caucasus. . Rumanian Army Losses The Red Star, meanwhile, declares that the entire Rumanian army, 1,000,000 strong, have been hurled against Russia and i.t is estimated that about half of this force are already casualties. The first, tenth and eighteenth infantry divisions, it says, and the first and fourth alpine brigades, have been completely routed. The fighting capacity pf the Rumanians is low and many resort to mutilation and desertion. The Germans have not fulfilled their promise to arm the Rumanians with modern weapons, but they frequently break up Rumanian units and incorporate them in German divisions end send them to the most dangerous places. The Germans used 100 tanks in four successive attacks south-east of Kletskaya yesterday, but again failed to break through to the banks of the Don. A Russian rifle division in the morning lost several important positions, but a Russian artillery regiment rushed into battle straight from a long march and saved the situation. Point-blank fire broke up three separate tank attacks and by evening the Gprmans were back .to their original positions. The Germans are punching hard on narrow sectors of the front north-east pf Kotelnikqyo. Very fierce fighting is raging along the raihyay. The Vichy radio declared that the Germans south-west Vf Sthlingfad were now less than 40 miles from the city. A German communique states that the Germans and their allies in the Caucasus broke the resistance of strong Russian rearguard's and ar«i continuing to’ advance. ;’A Moscow message reports that Russian bombers and dive-bombers destroyed or damaged over CGO German tanks in the past fortnight. They alsp’ destroyed 3450 trpop and ammunition’ and 14 petrol dumps, and silenced 170 field and anti-aircraft batteries. ■