NEW RUSSIAN FORCES

Southland Times, Issue 24756, 29 May 1942, Page 5

NEW RUSSIAN FORCES

FIGHTING SOUTH OF KHARKOV (Rec. 8.30 p.m.) LONDON, May 27. Marshal Simeon Timoshenko is again advancing with a fresh army against the weakest point of the German thrust southeastward of Kharkov. Reporting this, the Berlin correspondent of the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet adds that the latest reports state that Marshal Timoshenko has also sent in very strong forces reinforced by tanks, north-eastwards of Kharkov.

The Moscow correspondent of The Times says the Russians in the Isyum-Barvenkova sector have widened their bridgehead in the west of the bank of the Donetz river through the seizure of the heights northwards dominating the whole region. The Russians are now established on both sides of the Donetz curve. The Russian forces in the immediate vicinity of Kharkov, where the fighting has continued for three weeks, have consolidated their positions. In the Isyum-Barvenkova area, 70 miles south of Kharkov, where the battle is now in

its ninth day, the Germans have been checked with heavy The Moscow communique states: Our troops consolidated their positions in e Kharkov area during the night and also fought stubborn engagements on the Isyum-Barvenkova front. FEROCIOUS BATTLE About Isyum the battle has attained a greater ferocity than has been reached before even in Russia. Every type ot armament is being used by both Russians and Germans. Timoshenko is receiving much assistance from guerrillas and is using large numbers of cavalry effectively to guard his left flank m this area while the Soviet Air Force is in constant action against the divebombers and fighters which FieldMarshal von Bock is using. A Russian , cavalry unit in a 40-mile sweep on the I southern front wiped out 2000 Germans., Vichy radio reports that Russian resistance to the south of Kharkov is be- | coming more stubborn. The Russians, ; it says, have counter-attacked in the Isyum-Barvenkova sector .and have succeeded in piercing the German lines. The Soviet Army newspaper Red Star says that the Red Army has checked the frenzied German attempt to smash its left flank in the Ukraine. It says that Field-Marshal von Bock’s offensive in the Isyum-Barvenkova sector has been halted at an important river crossing where the Russians are holding a strong line and are counter-attacking and advancing. A Stockholm report received from Moscow states that the Russians have penetrated the flank of the German wedge on the Isyum-Barvenkova front and have cut off the spearhead of the main German thrusts.

“Von Bock’s desperate gamble is not succeeding,” says The Daily Express military writer who adds: “Unless the Russian defence line breaks almost immediately von Bock’s mighty armoured thrust must be written down as a failure.”

The Times Stockholm correspondent says that von Bock’s frantic and titanic efforts to break through the Red Army’s left flank are dictated directly by the High Command. Von Bock has been told that his armies must win or die where they stand. The correspondent of The Times at Stockholm says the great Ukrainian battle is not slackening in intensity, but there are no indications that either side has gained territory since the weekend. Nevertheless, the tone of Moscow announcements remains confident and reflects belief in the Russians’ ability to withstand Field-Marshal Fedor von Bock’s drive into their flank until its intensity subsides, enabling Marshal Timoshenko to continue his offensive. Berlin is still emphasizing the Russians’ tough and organized resistance, in which connection the Swiss newspaper National Zeitung’s correspondent in Berlin says German military circles admit that the Russian manoeuvres are well led and technically well planned and Russian troops are first-class and as tough as those in action last year.

GERMAN SHIPPING SUNK IN NORTHERN SEAS

(8.0.W.) RUGBY, May 27. The Soviet Northern Fleet has sunk 500,000 tons of German shipping since the outbreak of the war, says the naval reviewer of The Moscow News. In the last few days Russian submarines have sunk five large transports and two destroyers. . Another correspondent says that in retaliation for the heavy blows struck by the Soviet Northern Fleet the Germans have intensified their attempts to raid Murmansk by air. In this sector heavy naval guns have dispersed several concentrations of enemy troops and have done other damage.