FIGHTING IN DON BEND

Southland Times, Issue 24829, 22 August 1942, Page 5

FIGHTING IN DON BEND

CRITICAL STAGE OF BATTLE (Rec. 1.5 a.m.) LONDON, Aug. 21. Field-Marshal Fedor yon Bock’s forces are still pressing their drive towards Stalingrad, but there is no indication that they have been able to make a crossing of the Don in force. They suffered a repulse in the Kletskaya area and north-west of Kotelnikovo the Russians launched counter-attacks which were locally successful. It is thought in London that the battle for Stalingrad may be at its most critical stage. The threat to the Caucasian Black Sea ports is grave. The Germans are now 60 miles from Tuapse. In the Eastern Caucasus their advance on the oil centre of Grozny has slowed down. The Germans claim that they are across the Don and are pressing on across country leading to Stalingrad between the Don and the Volga. The Russians admit that the position is most critical, but reiterate ' that the enemy units which reached the river in the Don elbow area have been subjected to the fiercest counter-attacks and have practically been wiped out. GRAVE SITUATION The situation in the Don bend southeast of Kletskaya is graver than at any time in the four weeks of the battle, says a Moscow message. The Russians are driving off repeated tenacious attacks. They killed 2000 Germans in two days in the fighting for one populated place. A German communique states that the Caucasus offensive has gained further territory. The Germans have stormed find captured the strongly fortified enemy defence system between the Volga and the Don south of Stalingrad. Lieutenant-General Corotov, the Russians’ greatest artillery expert, has revealed the enormous strength of the German forces which tried to capture Leningrad last year. He says that 300,000 troops, consisting of 32 infantry, four tank, and four motorized divisions attacked .the city, from three sides with 6000 field guns, 4500 mortars, 1000 tanks and 1000 planes. , RUSSIAN PLANES RAID GERMANY

(Rec. 1.15 a.m. LONDON, August 21. The Germans state that Russian planes last night raided German and German-occupied territory. The targets were in East Prussia, Posen, Silesia and the so-called Government-General of Poland.