FIGHTING NEAR MOSCOW

Southland Times, Issue 24600, 24 November 1941, Page 5

FIGHTING NEAR MOSCOW

BIG BATTLES IN ALL SECTORS

LONDON, November 21.

Heavy fighting continues on all sectors of the Moscow front. The Russians are counter-attacking in many sectors. At Tula the enemy drove wedges into the Russian positions but the invaders have now been forced back and in several places have been dislodged. According to M. Lozovsky, the Soviet Spokesman, the Germans are trying to force a decisive action here but are failing.

In the Volokolamsk and Kalinin areas there is heavy fighting. In the north the island of Hanko, the Gibraltar of the Baltic, is holding out and from Leningrad the Soviet forces continue to counter-attack strongly. In the south at Rostov on the Don fighting is heavy. Bitter winds are blowing across the plains. HEAVY TOLL TAKEN Supplementary Russian communiques give some conception of the toll being taken of the invading German forces. A supplement to Wednesday night’s Russian communique states: “On Wednesday Soviet Air Force formations in operations on the central and southern fronts destroyed 30 German tanks, 110 lorries with infantry and equipment, and 150 carts with army supplies, and routed two regiments of cavalry and one battalion of infantry. In fierce fighting on Wednesday and in the night of November 19-20 our units operating in one sector of the central front destroyed 55 German tanks, more than j2O guns, 40 machine-guns, several mortars, and other weapons. More than 3000 enemy officers and men were killed.” Another communique states: “Russian ships in the Barenz Sea sank three enemy transports of a total tonnage of 1900, as well as a 5000-ton tanker. Soviet ships in the Black Sea sank a 9000-ton tanker. On November 19 the Red Air Force on the central and southern fronts destroyed 30 tanks, over 1100 lorries laden with infantry and ! ammunition, as well as 140 wagons with I military equipment. They also annihilated two cavalry squadrons and one infantry battalion.” MEETING ON EQUAL TERMS The latest fighting on the Moscow front indicates that General Zhukov has now taken the measure of the Gerimans and the Germans and Russians are meeting on approximately equal terms on the Kalinin-Tula arc. This is the view of the Stockholm correspondent of The Times who says the German efforts on both wings were ferocious throughout the day on Wednesday, but that the Russian position on Thursday had been largely restored though the Germans apparently still hold a few extra square miles southeast of Tula, which were gained in Wednesday’s tank onslaught. The main fighting zone in the northern half of the Moscow front remains where it was a fortnight ago. There are signs that because of their hurried and inadequate preparations the Germans are unable to maintain the pace set in the beginning of the week, for which reason the present operations must be considered local. The fact that General Zhukov is able to nip these attempts in the bud indicates that the Germans’ long communications and other preoccupations have allowed the Russians to catch up with their reinforcements and concentrate on strengthening and deepening their defences against atacks on the flanks around Kalinin and Tula.