GATE TO CAUCASUS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24132, 26 November 1941, Page 7

GATE TO CAUCASUS

GERMANS NOT SECURE AGGRESSIVE RED FORCES LARGE AREA RECOVERED LONDON. Nov. 24 The Stockholm correspondent of tie Times says that, apart from Aether the Germans succeed in arcing the Don near Rostov, their osition in the Donetz Basin is not ecure, but is disrupted by strong, ggressive Russian forces operating a the Voroshilovgrad region, and ,lso from the hills eastward of )rjonikidze and elsewhere. The Russians in this region during he week-end recovered about 1000 quare miles of territory and inflicted leavy losses on the Italians and Gernans, and possibly also on the Hungarians. Describing the fighting at Rostov, the Red Star says: "After crashing ihrough the outer defences, enemy ;anks and mechanised forces were met )y anti-tank. fire and turned into side itreets, where their progress was chalenged at every point .by the defenders." An expert in London said that Rostov vas almost entirely on the north-west ide of the Don. There were only two >ermanent bridges, both carrying single •ailway lines. For road transport there rere four temporary bridges which were •emoved when the river froze, usually ibout Christmas. There were no other sermanent bridges until 200 miles : urther north. The crossings could easily .be lestroyed, and the river is 500 yards vide. It will have to be crossed by the Germans before their claim to have jccupied Rostov can be exploited successfully. After a comparative lull fierce fighting is occurring again in the Crimea, [t is particularly severe on the right flank, where the enemy has concentrated large forces. One Soviet unit has ;ut a strategically important road, and with resolute counter-attacks is keeping the enemy at bay. MOTOR ROUTE IN IRAN SUPPLIES FOR RUSSIANS LORRIES TO CARRY TANKS (Reed. 6.15 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 24 A motor route has been opened between Bushire, Shiraz, Isfahan and Teheran, a distance of 550 miles, says a correspondent in Teheran. The first lorries, loaded with rubber, are using the route and are expected to reach the Russians early next week. A fleet of 52 lorries is available for the journey, which takes five days. , - American 15-ton vehicles are expected soon, and they will be capable of carrying tanks, in spite of the fact that the passes between Bushire and Shiraz rise to 12,000 ft. The United Kingdom Commercial Corporation has 1000 lorries operating in Iran, and workships have been established at key points. ARMOUR FOR TROOPS BRITISH' EXPERIMENTS LONDON, Nov. 24 The British War Office is experimenting with a new tvpe of body armour for troops. Weighing 21b.. the armour is proof against sub-machine-guns, - and gives protection against bomb splinters and glancing bullets from machine-guns and rifles. Tests are being made to determine whether the armour _ slows down soldiers or reduces their resistance. The value of suitable body armour was emphasised yesterday by an Auckland doctor, who saw service in the last war. While he knew nothing of the new tvpe of armour, he recalled the value of the Dayfield body shield used in the last war." He said its use was compulsory by stretcher-bearers. The equipment consisted of a kind of corset, with armour front and back. It was easy to carry, and certainly gave a substantial measure of protection. When hit, it did not fracture or disperse, with the result that scraps of it were not forced into the wearer's body, and no doubt