GERMAN DRIVE

Grey River Argus, 30 June 1942, Page 5

GERMAN DRIVE

/ EAST OF KUPYANSK Held at Week-end ; [Aust. & N.Z ■rpbu \ssn? ' ? ; LONDON, June 28.' A Moscow message said: The Germans are engaged on a drive east of Kupyansk, (which is south-east of Kharkov). Marshal Tim° s benko’s forees are holding the enemy. Rus-; siaris have couriter-attacked in some sectors. ? • - V The Moscow “Red Star" said that; the Germans on the Kharkov front three tirnes attempted to cross an i unnamed river and capture a railway [station, but were driven back. They Iqst heavily and are now on the defensive? The Germans in another sector lost 30 tanks in an attack, also about 850 men. Attacks in other sectors were also. checked. Another Russian report says that a Russian ;unjt; in Kharkov direction repulsed infantry supported by tanks, killed more than 300 Germans,;; and disabled seven tanks.- ' . A i fulLiscale German attempt to outflank the Soviet southern flank in the'Kupyansk sector failed, after two days of violent fighting.; Both the Russians and Germans threw in masses iof 1 tanks arid; infantry covered by pl,anes.. The air battles'raged al- , most incessantly. The infiantryrhen frequently fought hand to hand. 1 ; The Germans first attacked on the? 'njorning.of June 26, but were rolled jback tot-the; briginal positions ; during the (evening. The Germans again at- [ ticked at dawn bn June 27, under an 'intense artillery barrage. They hurled in fresh reserves and captured several villages. The Russians count-!er-attacked and recaptured the lost positions. The battle continues. I Moscow Press messages report that the Russians counter-attacked at several places on the Kharkov front and [regained ground. In other places; they repulsed violent German tank attacks. ■lt is said that the Germans have been-halted along the entire front. In an interview, Marshal Timo-, shenko said that artillery was destined to play a decisive role in the - crushing of the panzers. The defence of Sebastopol, he said, wks the most vivid example of how the? Russians were robbing enemy tanks of their terrific offensive power, elm launching the current offensive, the Gerinans tried to crush the defences by a simultaneous drive by masses of tanks from several directions, but Soviet artillery alone destroyed 140 tanks. Soviet guns repelled the first attempts & storm the height,, Using roads inJne valleys they found-, themselves everywhere under fire from three sides. / Moscow “Red Star” described how all calibres of artillery are fighting tanks, at usually from five 'to six hundred yards range. ” It said: “The enemy tanks were forced to accept the challenge of the batteries, and break up their formations to hunt for them. This is what the Russians wanted. During the past few days, enemy , tank tactics have been changed, and they tried to jump through the wall of fire, and thus force the I batteries >to drop back, but Soviet I guns from depth defences went into I action. Some enemy tanks broke through, but were dealt with by the infantry wifij anti-tank rifles and hand grena®. The result is that the enemy wnks, even when attacking in groups are now keeping six ! to seven hundred yards from the batteries, and serving mainly as mobile artillery, Toehind charging infantry, which are suffering the heaviest losses. / , _ ANOTHER GERMAN OFFENSIVE.

ACTION NORTH OF KHARKOV.

| RUGBY, June 28. A Soviet communique states: Our troops on'-the Kursk front were engaged fighting the enemy who launched !an offensive. (Rec. 11.&5.) LONDON. June 29. The Soviet Information Bureau states: Qn Sunday night our troops engaged the enemy on the Kurst front, north of Kharkov. There were no (changes in other sectors. Northern Fighting 32,000 PRISONERS. CLAIMED BY GERMANS. LONDON, June 28. A German communique states: An encircled Russian Army in the .Volkov sector is about to be annihilated. i i*l A Soviet communique states: Our fighters shot down 15 to 58 enemy planes participating in an attack on an objective on the Volkov front. ('Rec. 8.55.) LONDON, June 29. The German High Command, in a special communique, claims: “After months of heavy fighting In the Volkhov area, north of Lake Ilmen? German troops, aided, by Spanish, Dutch and Flemish volunteers, have cut off and' annihilated the Russian armies which, last February, crossed the frozen Volkhov River, and deeply penetrated German defences. The Russians taken prisoner number more than thirty-two thousand, while the killed have been many times greater.” The communique adds: Thus the Soviet offensive for the purpose of relieving Leningrad has failed because of the great defeat." FIGHTING IN FLOODED AREA. (Rec. 8.55.) LONDON-, JUne 29. The Moscow correspondent of “The Times” says: Apart from the Ukraine and the Crimea, the most active Russian front appears to be the Volkhov sector. The ground is there flooded.

Murmansk Front

FIGHTING FLARES UP. LONDON, June 28. The Vichy radio stated that the GernAan Commander-In-Chief in Finland, General Dietl has launched an offensive against Murmansk. It is officially announced at Berlin that Marshal Mannerheim paid a return visit to Hitler at the war headquarters. Goering also received Mannerheim. 'Swedish , newspapers report Russian paratroops landed in- several densely-populated districts in Finland with the object of interrupting military traffic. (Rec. 8.55.) LONDON, June 29. A message from Stockholm says: A Russian invasion brigade of marines landed near-the mouth of the Liza River, on the Murmansk front, in the face of fierce fire from German ’ coastal batteries, after making a diversionary attack across a tundra, south-east. of the river mouth. The German Commander-in-Chi?f General. Dietl’s Alpine troons were in a precarious position before the Germans threw in formations of dive-bombers. i Finnish, sources claim that the 'Russians have been hurled back, ■after two .weeks of fighting) leaving two thousand dead. k ■ An earlier Viphy report Ad Dietl had launched an ( offensiJF" gainst Murmansk. ... ' 1 ' ’ ' ' , >. .