STALINGRAD BATTLE

Grey River Argus, 31 October 1942, Page 5

STALINGRAD BATTLE

INTENSIFIED ASSAULT Fails to Secure Factory Area [Aust. & N.Z. Cable Assn.] ’ (Rec. 7.40.) LONDON, Oct. 29. There are fresh German forces being employed in. a third concentrated attack delivered since October 15 against- Stalingrad’s factory area. There is a terrific artillery and mortar barrage. This is churning- up the narrow area. According to “The Times's” Stockholm correspondent, the position has not appreciably changed.. He says: The Germans no longer believe that infantry and light "arms allone can take the Red October Factory.

FRESH ENEMY DRIVE.

AGAINST STALINGRAD

FACTORIES.

(Rec. 12.30) MOSCOW, Oct. 29. An infusion of six new German divisions into the third intensified assault in the Stalingrad factory area has not produced results, except ones measured by yards. The ferocity of the fighting has increased tenfold since the battle area has been narrowed. No quarter is asked or given. Machine-gunners in every street remain at their posts, with their fingers clamped on to the triggers. When their last breath is spent the anti-tank gunners maintain fire at advancing panzers until they are blown to shreds, or are horribly charred bv German flamethrowers “The Times” Stockholm correspondent quotes a report published in Berlin which says that the Germans now do not believe that the Red October Works and the strong railway district southwards thereof can be ‘taken by enemy infantry, because the infantry in the past few days got stuck and will only be able to achieve very slight progress. The Germans were obliged to split up their efforts in several directions, while Russian reserves in men and material appear to cross the Vol "a inexhaustibly. A Moscow report states that the Germans in the Stalingrad area since the beginning of August had lost 150,000 men and 2500 tanks. A RELIEF ARMY GAIN. (Rec. 8.40) ~LONDON, Oct. 29. The Moscow radio reports that Russian forces to the north-west of Stalingrad captured a large inhabited locality by storm, completely wiping out the defenders, who belonged to the Rumanian Thirteenth Division. LONDON, October 29.

Thursday’s Soviet mid-day communique. reports fighting at Stalingrad, stating the Germans made no further progress. They have kept up their attacks, but have been repelled. German trenches in the southern part of the city were raided by Russian units and block-houses were destroyed. The Soviet morning report on Thursday said: Our troops repulsed enemy attacks. Six hundred enemy dead were left on the battlefield. On the southern outskirts of the city, a Soviet unit penetrated enemy positions in the night, blew up seven pillboxes and ten dugouts, and killed seventy Hitlerites. In 24 hours, Soviet pilots shot down 15 German ’planes. North-west of Stalingrad 16 pillboxes and dugouts, wiped out two infantry companies, and destroyed a number of guns. In another sector on the same front, an enemy counterattack was destroyed, 220 . Hitlerites weref killed, and two tanks destroyed, i Foillowing recent successes to the north-west and south of Stalingrad. Soviet troops have pushed still further forward. Moscow reports that many German pill-boxes in the northwest have been crushed by Soviet tanks. The Axis forces are fighting fiercely to regain the ground lost in this area, and their losses, according to the “News-Chronicle” correspondent in Moscow,, are tremendous. He states that 7,000 enemy troops were destroyed in two days, together with ,100 guns, 57 tanks, and 26 aircraft. More than 1750 disabled tanks have also been captured. The Germans, after concentrating huge infantry, and tank forces, renewed the offensive against Stalingrad factory area They flung two panzer and four infantry divisions, totalling 50,000 men, intp the new assault on this district. The sky over Stalingrad was black with German ’planes showering bombs on the narrow Russian-held northern area. The Moscow radio savs there were always 50 to 60 enemv ’planes overhead. dropping hundreds of bombs in the effort to demorali.se the defenders, but the Russians, standing up to the Germans’ fierce onslaught, repelled all attacks. One company, of enemy motorised infantry which broke through to the south-western outskirts of a factory was wiped out .Red Army units are launching- coun-ter-attacks which frequently develop into hand-to-hand fighting. The Columbia Radio’s Moscow correspondent stated that the Germans yesterday made ten separate assaults against the factory area of St.ali’.grad ,but by evening- had advanced only. one hundred and fifty yards. The German News Agency reports that the Russians, counter-attacking south of Stalingrad, reached the outskirts of Kuporossnoye. which village is near the. Volga on the south outskirts of Stalingrad. An official Helsinki report says that Russian ’• bombers raided Helsinki, last evening, dropping land mines. Three were killed and nine injured.

The Caucasus

HEAVIER FIGHTING. LONDON, October 29 Wednesday’s Soviet night communique states: “The Russians today waged battles in the areas northeast of Tuapse, and in the region of Nalchik (55 miles south-west of Mozdok). Despite blizzards and heavy snowfalls, causing deep drifts and avalanches, front line dispatches to Moscow report a new flareup along the whole Caucasus front. The Germans are employing large contingents of alpine troops in a vigorous effort to smash the Russian defences • before the Winter deadlock sets’m. Thursday’s Soviet communique reported fighting in the East Caucasus. The Germans have made an advance in the Nalchik area, of the eastern Caucasus. Fighting in this area, which is 100 miies due west of Groznvi, and about 55 miles south-west of Mosdok, was first announced in yes-' terdav’s night communique. Reports of fighting here suggest that the Germans, after being checked in ths Mosdok area, are trying to thrust forward on their right flank. Reporting defensive battles round Nalchik, to-day’s Soviet communique savs German tommy-gunners_ made the first attack, but were repulsed. The .Germans then brought up reinforcements and*the Russian troops were forced to withdraw. The German High Command, in a Statement, said degp snow in the Central' Caucasus

was making operations there impossible.' The Germans at Nalchik are pressing the large-scale offensive, attacking heavily with troops, artillery and ’planes, in the effort to penetrate the deep Russian defences. The Germans are using ski and sleigh detachments in fighting for the snow-bound mountain slopes and passes. A German communique claims the capture of Nalchik and the wiping out of a Russian force in this area. Red Army men, north-east of Tuapse, also equipped with skis and sleighs, repelled fierce attacks, and captured n height. A vast battle continues east of Novorossiisk, where the Russians after routing the Third Roumanian Alpine Division, are fighting a fresh Roumanian alpine division, and also Austrian-Hungarian troops. A Soviet report said: North-east of Tuapse an enemy attempt to- advance along the main road was routed, and 200 were killed. In the area of Nalchik, our troops conducted defensive operations. The enemy succeeded at one place in driving a wedge in our defences. Our troops routed the enemy, but the Germans got reinforcements and our troops withdrew to new positions, after inflicting heavy losses,. RUSSIAN COUNTER ATTACKS. (Rec. 8.5) LONDON, Oct. 29. Russian forces in the West Caucasus have launched a new series of counterbattacks so as to prevent further enemy penetration towards the Black Sea’. Russian forces captured an important height. Moscow radio says: “A snowstorm has been raging for several days in the Caucasus. Hundreds of Germans have been frozen to death.”

MILITARY TRAINING. IN RUSSIAN SCHOOLS. (F-ec. 1.25.) MOSCOW. Oct. 29. All Russian boys and girls between the ages of eight and eighteen will be trained in war duties under a decree which has. been issued. Military training has been compulsor-ilv introduced >n the elementary schools from the fourth year upwards. Comprehensive military training from: the fifth year to the tenth year at schools will be under the command of army officers. The boys’ training will include grenade throwing, rifle, machine-gun. and anti-tank gun shooting, chemistrv and skiing. Girls will be trained as nurses and radio telephone operators.