STALINGRAD STANDS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 228, 28 September 1942, Page 5

STALINGRAD STANDS

RELIEVING ARMY APPROACHES GERMANS NOW “WEARING OUT” (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) (Recd. 11.40 p.m.) London, Sept. 27. Marshal Timoshenko’s forces at Stalingrad are fighting against time, because while the defenders are holding out the relieving Russian army from the north is driving toward the city. The German High Command admitted that the relieving force had pierced the German main positions on the hills northward of Stalingrad. Red Star declares: “The German forces at Stalingrad are wearing out. It is possible for us to hold them. “There are signs that the Germans are getting near the point of exhaustion,” says Reuter’s correspondent at .Moscow.

Tlic German screen between. Russian defenders and the relieving army has become thinner. The next few days, even the next 24 hours, may turn the balance either way.

The fighting is so entangled in some Stalingrad districts that the Germans were forced to give up bombing for fear of slaughtering their own troops. The Germans’ tanks at first took advantage of Stalingrad’s broad boulevards for massed onslaughts, but the Russians destroved 20 or 30 tanks daily, forcing the enemy to modify his methods. The Volga “little navy” of gunboats nightly escorts supplies across the river, while the Volga flotilla, called “floating tanks,” which has been reinforced with larger guns, maintains a ceaseless supporting barrage against the German lines. Moscow radio says the Russians at Mosdok are taking advantage of dense fogs for regrouping and surprise attacks. A Russian submarine attacked a Rumanian convoy in the Black Sea and sank the destroyer Marasesti. (Recd. 9.5 p.m.) Rugby, Sept. 26. The Russian morning communique refers briefly to fighting last night in the areas of Stalingrad, Mozdok and Sunyavino, and records no important changes in these areas or on other sectors. In Stalingrad itself street fightipg continues, states the supplement, while .north-west of the city, where the Russians have for some days been striking at the German left flank, several enemy counter-attacks were repelled with heavy loss and the capture of booty. New armoured forces have joined in the battle, according to a Moscow press message. High-speed motorboats are coursing along the Volga, engaging German tanks and artillery at short range. These river tanks are also employed to protect crossings against the Luftwaffe and against trench mortars trying to cripple Soviet transport, supplies and reinforcements and the evacuation of wounded. The Volga is bristling with guns pointing to the skies and to the land, with heavy guns on monitors reinforcing the Russian long-range artillery. In the Mozdok area an enemy attack was repelled, while south-east of Novorossisk a Soviet marine unit wiped out a Rumanian infantry battalion. Moscow radio records asuccess on the front north of Voronej, where on one sector the Russians pushed forward and penetrated a forest. At many points on the Voronej front, including the western bank of the Don south of the city, the Germans are constantly unsuccessfully counterattacking.

The Russian night communique re- ■ cords no fresh developments of importance. Fierce fighting continued | in the Stalingrad, Mozdok and Sinyavino areas, with heavy Russian attacks in the Stalingrad region.— 8.0.W. “VICTORY OR DEATH” I (Recd. 7.5 p.m.) Rugby, Sept. 26.1 i Mr. Wendell Willkie told pressmen < at Moscow that in Russia you realise the real meaning of the phrase “people’s war.” The Russian people are resolved to destroy Hitler. Five million Russians have been killed, wounded or missing, while at least 60,000,000, or nearly one-third of the population, are slaves in territory controlled by Hitler. “There is no talk of quitting. For Russia it is victory or death” he concluded. —8.0.W. RUSSIAN ADVANCE STALINGRAD MAY YET BE SAVED (Recd. 5.5 p.m.) London. Sept. 25. With Marshal Timoshenko’s offensive operations north-west of Stalingrad growing both in scope and strength, the Germans are bringing up their heaviest artillery in order to support the seriously diminishing infantry forces, which according to a Moscow report have lost 3000 in killed in two days. The Russians are encountering strongly-prepared positions, and in one narrow sector alone they were obliged to overcome 40 blockhouses and silence more than 40 guns before they were able to advance. Meanwhile, the battles within Stalingrad maintain their pitch. Small groups of German tasks are roaming the city, attempting to confuse the defenders, but the Russians are accustomed to these sorties and are skilfully trapping and destroying many of these tanks. The greatest danger is still coming from groups of shock troops who are leaking through the Russian fines. The new trend of German comment on the Stalingrad battle gives ground for hope that the city may be saved. Swedish correspondents in Berlin agree that the German propaganda service is making concerted efforts to shift the centre of interest from Stalingrad to other fronts, particularly the Caucasus. Swedish correspondents report the steadily growing feeling that the Germans are attempting to prepare the public for their failure to capture the city. The Moscow correspondent of the Daily Express says that the pro> longed and magnificent defence of Stalingrad is changing the whole story of the war. It would be fool ish to state that Stalingrad can hold on indefinitely. Growing problems of supply and transport are too great to be sure of that but the possibility of a German failure remains. According to the Moscow radio, the Germans in the Sinyavino area in the past few days lost 100 tanks and 8000 men. The Germans are hurling in large reserves in an effort to check the Russian offensive in this area. The Germans violently attacked near Sinyavino. but the Russians report that the lines they gained earlier in the month are intact. s There are indications that the