Evening star., 1941-12-23
Red Army Advances
50 Miles West Of
.Tikhvin in Cold
Pushes On to VoIkhov
River, Southeast
Of Leninqfod
BY the Associated Press.


MOSCOW, Dec. 23-The Red
Army, pressing relentlessly its gen.
eral counteroffensive, was reported
today to have driven the Germans
back to the Volkhov River, southeast
of Leningrad, and in some places to
have thrown them across the river.
While blizzards ragged in temper
ature of % degrees below zero Fah-
renheit), Russian troops advanced
so miles west of Tikhvin, jumping
off place for the push in the north
west front and ITO miles east Of
Leningrsd.
Private letters arriving in Moscow
from Leningrad were cited as proof
that communications southeast Of
Leningrad had been reopened. Writ
ers said the food situation in the
Baltic city had improved and they
expressed the belief that supplies
had arrived there from the United
States and England.
Continue to Bend Back.
Military dispatches said the Ger
man lines at the heart Of the Moscow
front also continued to bend back
after having been broken at the
flanks in the Kalinin and Tula Sec
| tors.
Pravda, the Communist Party
newspaper, reported Soviet troops
bursting from Leningrad had routed
the Germans on that front. In one
sector where the Germans sought
to impede the Russian pursuit by
counteroffensive, Pravda said, 300
Germans were slain by the Russians
and the remaining forces were scat
tered floundering through forests
where Soviet ski troops were hunting
them down.
The government newspaper lives
tia said Russian units were roofing
out Germans by flank attacks fol-
lowing the recapture of Tikhvin, ITO
miles east of Leningrad, and forcing
them to withdraw in some places
even beyond the Volkhov River,
which links Lake linen and Lake
Ladoga.
Nazis Resist Stubbornly.
Pravda's correspondent on the
Tula front, south of Moscow, said
Gen. Boldin's troops had recaptured
25 populated places in a day and a
night of fighting. He added, how
ever, that the Germans were re-
sisting stubbornly and counterat-
tacking.
From the southwestern front,
where the Red Army has been driv-
ing the Germans back from the Cau-
casus gateway and out of the Donets
iron and coal basin, came q Tass
agency report telling of the capture
Of 46 villages and new positions.
Heavy fighting was going on
around Maloyaroslavets. 65 miles
southwest Of Moscow. A Tass dis
patch indicated the Russians were
trying desperately to root the Nazis
out of strong positions established
by the Germans two months ago.
The Germans were said to have
built numerous blockhouses and
sunk medium tanks into the earth
for use as firing pits, all behind
forest barricades of barged wire.
Despite these defenses the Rus
slams took three villages, Tass said.
Most tenacious German force was
that besieging the Crimean naval
base of Sevastopol Russian dis
patches said the city's situation re-
mained serious as the Germans
launched attack after attack at the
Red Army lines.
Hit-Run Tactics Abandoned.
"In fighting on the western
Kalinin, southwestern and Lenin-
grad fronts" an army morning COM
munique said, I'VE engaged the
enemy in fierce fighting and ad-
vanced, occupying a number Of
populated points"
An official announcement implied
that many Russian irregulars oper.
ating behind the invasion front hac
abandoned hit-and-run tactics tt
stand firmly in paths of the German
retreat.
Machine guns and mortars Of 6
guerrilla detachment emplaced or
the line OF a German Withdrawal
from Kalinin, 95 miles northwest o.
Moscow, were said to have killed %:
men.
The remaining Germans scat.
tered in panic" the announcement
said.
OF the 750,000-man army which