Some German Divisions Have Lost One Half Of Effectives

Northern Advocate, 14 November 1941, Page 5

Some German Divisions Have Lost One Half Of Effectives

[British Official Wireless] (Received 11 a.m.) RUGBY. -November Id. JJORE DETAILED EVIDENCE HAS REACHED INFORMED QUARTERS OF THE TERRIFIC GERMAN LOSSES IN MEN AND MATERIAL IN RUSSIA. The total German casualties were recently estimated by Stalin at 4,500.000, and there is reason to believe that 16 out of a probable 19 German armoured divisions operating on the Russian front suffered serious losses, and in nine divisions the losses are considered to very considerable. <The Bth Armoured Division, after two periods of exceptionally heavy lighting, had to be withdrawn from the front early in September and only reappeared in action during the past few days. There is very good evidence that appreciable casualties have been inflicted on over 70 of the German infantry divisions.

Reduced to Third <1 In several cases casualties suffered are believed to have been as high as 50 per cent, and there are a number of confirmed instances of infantry regiments being reduced to one-third of their proper strength. Instances of this type are continuing to be reported. Bitter fighting is continuing in conditions in which frost, snow, mud and additional causes result in heavy casualties, and there is no immediate prospect of lessening the casualties. No allowance is made in these estimates for the sick, the numbers of which are already high and likely to increase as the winter becomes more severe. The Soviet midday communique merely states that there was fighting along the whole front on the night of November 12. A supplementary communique states that on November 11 the Russian air force destroyed and put out of action 50 German tanks, 230 lorries with infantry and “ army loads, five heavy guns, more than 10 anti-aircraft points and 20 motor-cycles, and also routed and annihilated more than one regiment of enemy infantry. Break Through in Crimea What amounts to confirmation of the German claims to have penetrated the Russian defences in the Kerch Isthmus is contained in a Samara message, which says the situation in the area of the key town of Kerch is reported to have become graver. Concentrating five infantry and one motorised division and two cavalry brigades, the Germans overwhelmed numerically inferior Soviet forces and hammered a way through the defences of the Kerch Isthmus. They failed, however, to follow up this success and the Russians are reported to be stemming further advances. Fierce fighting is continuing by day and night. The Black Sea fleet is actively helping the defenders of the Crimea along the entire front, and the Russians have not lost hope of thwarting the enemy attempts to advance. Fresh Attack on Moscow There are signs of a fresh assault on Moscow from the north-west. During the past 24 hours the Germans have brought up another fresh storm troop division. Heavy fighting is also reported on the left flank of the front, presumably at Tula, 100 miles to the south of the capital. Elsewhere the Germans are trying to,dig themselves in and the Russians are launching counterattacks. The Russian spokesman (M. Lovosky) said yesterday that the Germans’ losses in assaults on Moscow had been so great that they might not be ready to risk another big onslaught. Russians in Ascendent The situation on the northern half of the Moscow sector is at present definitely favourable to the Russians, says the Stockholm correspondent of ! ‘The Times.” Fighting in the northern tip of the sector near Kalinin has to a marked degree abated, but nearer the centre the Russian initiative is causing the Germans serious difficulty. Indeed, it is reliably indicated that the Russians have managed to turn the tables against their adversaries by applying the favourite German annihiliation process to several isolated German groups or wedge-tips. One particularly large German unit, enveloped between Mojaisk and Kalinin, has not yet managed to fight its way out of the pocket, and the German command is apparently unable to rescue the surrounded forces from the outside, because it is bending all its efforts, with the available reserves, against the Tula wing. Tula Must Be Thken The Russians claim to have driven the enemy from the southern outskirts of Tula. The Moscow radio says that the Germans have ordered that the town must be taken at any price. The radio also stated that by coun-ter-attacking on the northern sector oi the Moscow front, the Red army had recaptured two villages. Heavy losses on the Kalinin sector had compelled the Germans to bring up reserves. The enemy in the last few days had occupied several populated centres in this sector, but some of these had been recaptured. The Russians were also counter-attacking on the southern front. Severe frost in the Leningrai sector has hardened the roads and Berlin speaks of heavy fighting in this area. On Leningrad Front The latest hews from the Leningrad front, where recently there has been certain renewed activity, is contained | in a Soviet supplementary communique, which states that Russian stormoviks (dive-bombers), operating from the Leningrad front, destroyed in one day five enemy tanks, 37 lorries of infanti'y and supplies, 35 oil tanks, and killed about 150 infantry and one cavalry troop. Troops in the Leningrad district destroyed in the first four days of November five enemy planes, 11 tanks, six armoured cars, 153 lorries, 19 oil tanks, 16 motor cars and two am-j munition stores. They have blown up 43 bridges, among them seven railway bridges, and killed 28 German officers and 1563 soldiers. German Communique The German communique states that German troops in the Crimea are attacking the fortifications of Kerch and have taken several coastal fortifications southwards of the town. Local operations cn the rest of the eastern front have brought further successes. Heavy army batteries have

shelled important war objectives at Leningrad and port installations and dockyards at Kronstadt. The air force has effectively raided Leningrad and Moscow, it is claimed. All Arms Co-operative The Moscow newspaper "Pravda” states that particularly intense fighting developed in the Kerch area on the Crimea, where Soviet troops, the air force and the navy by joint action, repelled heavy attacks. The Germans were also unsuccessful near Sebastopol, where they failed to break through to the city, despite a bombardment and tank attacks. The Germans in the past two days have flung troops into the battle on the left flank of the Moscow front, says the Moscow radio, which adds that there have been heavy engagements. The enemy in other sectors is digging in, except at Volokalamsk, where they have brought up. a storm troop division in the past 24 hours, apparently in preparation for an attack. “When Winter Comes” While the German military spokesman is stressing the bad weather, the correspondent of the Turin newspaper “Gazetta Del Popolo” goes further and says “Maybe winter will cause a slowing down of operations or even a complete standstill.” The German High Command has already experienced difficulties which have caused much delay* in operations. On the other hand, it is probable that the offensive in the southern districts will be intensified, as the Axis Powers must continue the most necessary battle for oil. The Germans have intensified their scouting operations on the Mpscow front and are possibly preparing for a further attempt to break the deadlock on the approaches to the capital, says a correspondent of the Associated Press. Defence Line Stands German units have tested the Red army lines with local attacks along the whole of the central front, concentrating especially against the flanks. On the northern tip of the , Moscow front the Germans are attempting to push north-eastwards of the Kalinin sector, but German infantry has met with stubborn resistance and counterattacks. In the north-eastern quarter of the Kalinin sector the Russians have pushed the Germans back towards the Volga despite a hurricane of mortar, machine-gun and rifle fire. Southeastwards of Kalinin a Russian unit crossed the Volga and successfully raided the German rear. The Russians repulsed a German attack on the village of Proning, in the Serpukhov sector. The Red Army recaptured two villages in the same sector. The Russian and German positions near Naryfominsk are reported to be only 40 to 50 yards apart at some places. Armies, Not Weather, Win War The Soviet spokesman (M. Lozovsky), at a Press conference, said it was difficult to say whether the Germans had made their last offensive on the Moscow front this year, but their losses had been so great that they were unable to risk losing more. A discussion cn whether the Germans had been halted by the weather or the generals was fruitless. No war could be won by the weather alone: it must be won by the army, by the tanks, aircraft and will-power which the Soviet army possessed. * The “Red Star,” Soviet military journal, says Soviet tanks are beginning to receive new anti-tank rifles in increasing quantity, and narrates how. on the Mojaisk front, a Red Army soldier 430 yards from the road fired against one of several advancing tanks. The bullets pierced the turret and apparently hit a shell, for the turret was blown clean off. The remainder of the tanks turned back. Tula Sector A Russian communique says the Germans have been ordered to capture Tula at any price. Their losses among some regiments in the Orel and Tula area have reached 40 per cent. The war correspondent of the newspaper “Pravda” says fighting in now proceeding outside Tula. The Germans have been dislodged from a village adjoining the southern extremity of the city. The enemy has now retreated to new lines and is bringing up fresh reserves. Influenza is prevalent among German troops and some cases of para typhoid have appeared.