HUGE ENEMY LOSSES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXII, Issue 257, 29 September 1942, Page 5

HUGE ENEMY LOSSES

RUSSIAN DEFENCE HOLDS. GERMAN DRIVE CONTINUES. (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright.) LONDON, Sept. 28. Despite huge losses the German drive against Stalingrad is not losing its strength and the position remains tense, according to the Pravda. Bitter actions are progressing on tho outskirts of the city. The enemy has flung in crack divisions in these sectors and airliners are rushing up more reinforcements. Tho Germans are trying at all costs to cut Stalingrad in twain and disorganise the Russian defence. The German losses are immense. One infantry division in the last ten days lost 3300 men, 25 guns and 65 machine-guns. A panzer division which was in support lost 66 tanks and armoured cars. A Russian Guards unit holding a vital sector destroyed 28 tanks and is now stoutly holding the Germans. The Russians in another area took the offensive near a small height, improved their positions and killed 300. The Russians inside Stalingrad dislodged the Germans from two streets and consolidated their positions, hut the Germans in some other sectors also improved their positions. Stalingrad’s defenders last night with tanks and tommy-guns forced their way into the wedge the Germans drove into the city on Saturday evening, recaptured the streets, and eliminated the wedge, says tho Daily Express’s Stockholm correspondent. Von Bock has brought up reserves by land and air and restored tlie strength of liis army to a million men. Elite air squadrons havo also been brought in from other fronts and are making a thousand oAT'lifia nflllv The Russians north-westwards of Stalingrad seized a line of blockhouses. The Germans 17 times unsuccessfully counter-attacked in an effort to recapture them. One unit killed 2500 of the enemy and seized much material. In another sector on this front, German infantry and tanks eight times attacked and eight times were repulsed, and a number of tanks were destroyed. The Red Air Force has recently been strongly reinforced, says the Daily Telegraph’s Moscow correspondent, and tho air battles at Stalingrad are now as great as anything previously seen in Russia. I'rom 40 to 70 German bombers often attack a narrow sector, as many as 20 droppin" all their lwrnbs simultaneously on one point. Russian fighter planes are doing their utmost to paralyse the Germans in the field and the heavily-cannoned Stormovik is doing rrreafc work. The Red Aif Force in the last few days has been very active against German formations west of Stalingrad, also against crossings over the-Don. . . , Tho Germans in the past week lest 206 planes and the Russians 156, says a Russian supplementary communlNortli of Voronezh, the Russians entirely cleared a small forest where an engagement had been going on for several days. The enemy left 3b7d corpses and much material . Ihe Moscow radio declared that German counter-attacks had been repulsed west of the Don elbow at Voronezh. The radio also reported tho killing of 230 Germans and the destruction of 10 mortar batteries in fierce hand-to-hand fighting west of Moscow. HURRICANE OF DEATH. Tho Berlin radio said: “The German defences have gono underground in the Rzhev area. The earth is the only safe placein that hurricane of death. Tho Russians arc incessantly attacking, hut we retain our positions.”

The Stockholm correspondent _ of the Times reports that the Russians surged forward from the Lovat Rnei between the Kholm Marshes and Lake Ilmen and crossed the Polista River. The Germans now refer to battles south-west instead of southeast of Lake Ilmen. . German counter-attacks have dominated the Sinyavino (Leningrad) fighting in the past few days.. A Russian supplementary communique says the Russians mopped up enemy groups which had driven a wedge into their lines. _ . tic„„,i,,i. Battles are raging in the Mozdok (Caucasus) area with undiminislicd ferocity. Several fierce German attacks have been repulsed in the las 24 hours. The enemy suffered heavy losses but was unable to improve his Russian warships in the Black Sea sank a 2000-ton transport.