RED AIR FORCE REINFORCED

Southland Times, Issue 24861, 29 September 1942, Page 5

RED AIR FORCE REINFORCED

GREAT BATTLES OVER STALINGRAD (Rec. 7.5 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 27. The Red Air Force has recently been strongly reinforced, says The Daily Telegraph’s Moscow correspondent, and the air battles at Stalingrad are now as great as anything previously seen in Russia. Between 40 and 60 German bombers often attack a narrow sector, as many as 20 dropping all their bombs simultaneously on one point. Russian fighter planes are doing their utmost to paralyse the Germans in the field. Heavily cannoned Stormoviks are doing, great work. The Red Air Force in the last few days has been very active against German formations west of Stalingrad, also against the crossings over the Don. Moscow radio declared that German counter-attacks were repulsed west of the Don elbow. At Voronej 1800 Germans were wiped out.. The radio also

reported the killing of 260 Germans and the destruction of 10 mortar batteries in fierce hand-to-hand fighting west of Moscow. Berlin radio said: “The German defences have gone underground in the Rjev area. The earth is the only safe place in that hurricane of death. The Russians are incessantly attacking, but we retain our positions." SINYAVENO FIGHTING The Stockholm correspondent of The Times reports that the Russians surged forward from the Lovatt river between the Kohlm Marshes and Lake Ilmen and crossed the Polista river. Hie Germans now refer to battles south-west of instead of south-east of, Lake Ilmen. German counter-attacks have dominated the Sinyiaveno fighting in the past few days. Battles are raging in the Mozdok area with undiminished ferocity. . Several fierce German attacks have been repulr.ed in the last 24 hours. The enemy has suffered heavy losses, but is unable to improve his positions. Moscow claims that 5000 Germans have been killed in various Stalingrad sectors diming the week-end. It indicates that the battle for the city is raging in undiminished intensity. The Russians have mad’e slight further progress in their drive from the north and have also recaptured several strongly garrisoned houses in the north-western suburbs. The Germans have strengthened their grip on the southern part of the city. A German military spokesman said: “The greatest part of Southern Stalingrad is in our hands, although every ruin still offers desperate local resistance. The hardest fighting is going on in central Stalingrad where we have captured six big buildings on the Volga bank, thus breaking the backbone of Russian resistance in this area. The toughest Russian resistance centres on the three enormous groups of fac-. tories in northern Stalingrad which the Russians have transformed into incredibly strong fortresses; Factories on the height dominating the city are being defended with the heaviest gunfire.” NAZI DEFENCES PENETRATED The spokesman admitted that the Russians had penetrated the main German defence fine north of the city, but claimed that they were cut off and annihilated. The Times correspondent at Stockholm reports that the Germans launched five more counter-attacks in an attempt to dislodge the- Russians from ground they gained in their drive towards Stalingrad from the north. The counter-strokes have not achieved positive success. A virtual deadlock has thus been reached in which both sides are pounding each other with guns of all calibres. DANGERS OF CONVOYS Constant Attack Possible (8.0.W.) RUGBY, Sept. 27. Admiral Sir John Tovey, Cdm-mander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet, has discussed the dangers which face convoys such as that which fought its way through to Russia. “Winter or summer, our ships are never more than 300 miles from an enemy coastline studded with bomber bases,” he says. “At this time of the year there is little darkness to cover the operations of our ships and the enemy can and does attack for 24 hours a day. Moreover, it is always possible that he may use his large naval units to attack and we must make our own dispositions accordingly.”