GROWING IN SCOPE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXII, Issue 255, 26 September 1942, Page 6

GROWING IN SCOPE

RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE. (N.Z. Press Association.—Copyright.) (Rec. 1.50 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 25. With Marshal Timoshenko’s offensive operations north-west of Stalingrad growing both in scope and strength, the Germans are bringing up their heaviest artillery in order to support the seriously diminishing infantry forces which, according to a Moscow report, have lost 3000 killed in

two days. The Russians are encountering strongly prepared positions, and on one narrow sector alone they were obliged to overcome 40 blockhouses and silence more than 40 guns before they were able to advance.

Meanwhile, the battles within Stalingrad maintain their ferocious pitch. Small groups of German tanks are roaming the city attempting to confuse the defenders, but the Russians are accustomed to these sorties and are skilfully trapping and destroying many of these tanks. The greatest danger is still coming from groups of shock troops, who are leaking through the Russian lines. The new trend of German comment on the Stalingrad battle gives ground for the hope that the city may be saved. Swedish correspondents in Berlin agree that the German propaganda service is making concerted efforts to shift the centre of interest from Stalingrad to the other fronts, particularly the Caucasus. The correspondents report that there is a steadily growing feeling that the Germans arc attempting to prepare the public for their failure to capture the city