Evening star., 1941-11-23
Reds Battle 10 Save
Moscow From Fresh
German Offensive
Nozis Indicate Forces
Are Smashing Eastward
From Captured Rostov
3, the Associated Press

The Russians battled today to save
Moscow from a German offensive OF
unprecedented proportions while in
the south the NaZis indicated their
advance forces were smashing east
ward toward Astrakhan after cap
turing the strategic Don River port
of Rostov
The Germans renewed their often
sive against the Soviet capital in the
central Mozhaisk sector, ST miles
west of Moscow. thus making their
current all-out assault on the me-
tropolis a general maneuver.
This also brought the current
powerful onslaught the nearest TO
Moscow since it started early last
week on the capitals defense tanks
at Kalinin. 95 miles to the north
west, and at Tula, 100 miles below
the capital.
The Soviet Information Bureau
communique yesterday said fighting
was particularly fierce in Kalinin,
Volokolamsk. Tula and Rostov sec
tors.
Drive Eastward Continues.
Capture of Rostov. Caucasus gate
way city, was announced in special
bulletin Of the German high COM
mand yesterday and last night Ger
man military spokesmen in Berlin
hinted that the drive eastward was
continuing.
The Rome radio yesterday quoted
a report from Ankara that a Ger
man armored unit had moved on
past Rostov and occupied Novocher-
kassk. 25 miles northeast.
German commentators. suggest
ing the Nazis had cut of highly i'm
portant oil supplies frem the Rus
slams, said that in capturing Rostov
they had won the spigot of the
Russian oil barrel
A German drive westward over
the $50 miles separating Rostov
from Astrakhan. on the Caspian Sea
at the estuary of the Volga. would
cut off Russian forces now in the
Caucasus. backed up by British
IOICcS III iran ana lrdQ.
Nazis Surging Forward.
The impression was given in Ber-
lin that generally along the battle
front German forces were surging
forward under the momentum of
their new offensive.
AT various places the front lines
have reached a meridian 40 de-
grees east of Greenwich an author
lied Berlin source asserted.
In the south that would be Is
miles farther east than Rostov. On
the central front it would be al
most 100 miles east of line through
Moscow.
Although this source made it clear
he did not refer to the Moscow re-
gion. he declined to indicate more
specifically where these advance
forces were.
2-Day Battle Before Rostov.
The Russians acknowledged that
the Germans had reached the vicin-
ity of Rostov on the southern front
in a renewed offensive spearheaded
by tanks. The NaZis were reported
to have thrown four motorized and
mechanical divisions and several
infantry divisions into a supreme
effort to seize the gateway to the
| Cascasus.
After failing to take Rostov from
the west. Soviet dispatches said. the
| Germ Sfrl1ck tho 0ife frn
another undesignated sector where
Red Army defenders lacked natura
defense positions to oppose the mo.
bile Nazi forces. In two-day bat.
| tie before Rostov the Russians sait
the Germans lost so tanks. con-
siderable motorized infantry ane
many field guns.
The Moscow newspaper Pravds
| said the Germans were attackinf
the Moscow defenses with probably
the largest concentration OF force.
ever seen in modern warfare Tn,
German Army was said to have beer
ordered to drive to the capital at al
costs.
As the German armies smashed a
| the Moscow defenses in force, witt
superior numbers Of tanks ant
planes said to be pounding agains
tenacious Russian infantry forces
the citizenry $Sthe capital by thu
tens Of thou Is sped the ,AHfsi1ini
touches on capitals ersshes'
tions. ~
Men and Ien workere s pfofes.
sional people hid housewitts, man,
| of whom never had held. q shove
before. were busy erecting anti-tanl
ditchs&, .escArpments, barbed wir,