Evening star., 1941-10-09
Russian Resistance
Broken, Reich Says,
But Reds Battle On
Blow for Blow Struck,
Every Effort Strained,
Moscow Declares

BY the Associated Press.
MOSCOW, Oct. 9.-Germany is
hurting division after division
into the critical struggle west of
Moscow, the greatest battle of
mechanical armies of all time,
but the Red Army is fiercely re-
sisting the onslaught and "in-
dicting considerable losses on the
enemy" the Soviet government
announced today.
Particularly fierce battling ragged
through the night on the central
front sectors of wanna and Bryansk
and at Melitopol in Southern Russia,
the communique said.
Soviet papers appealed to the
Russians to realize the gravity Of
the situation, the greatness of the
danger and abandon all compla-
cency, strain every effort to repulse
the new attacks of the impudent
enemy"
Every Red Army man must real
ize the gravity Of the present mo-
ment," Red Star exhorted the So
viet's fighters.
Battle to Offset Loss of Orel.
Russian forces battled to offset the
fall of Orel, rail and water transport
center 22o miles south of Moscow,
and the Red Army reported it was
striking blow for blow to stop the
German push northward toward the
capital.
Front line dispatches to Red Star.
the army newspaper, said a new
battle was developing around So
Wet positions under assault by Ar
mored Nazi vanguards.
The nearest German advance
toward Moscow, however, still was
in the Vyazma area-about l25 miles
to the southwest.
Red Star indicated that the Ger
mans still had not reached Vyazma.
1t said they had suffered heavy
losses in a drive toward that mid
way point on the Smolensk-M Moscow
highway. Russians planes and ar
tillery, it said, blasted to bits pom
toon bridges over which the Ger
mans tried to cross the river IN"
and a whole squad of 200 para
chutists was wiped out behind the
Russian lines.
But both there and at Bryansk, as
well as north of Orel, it said the
struggle was raging at full fury.
Red Star conceded that the de-
fense forces had been outfanked at
Bryansk, about 130 miles south of
VyaZma, and that the Germans had
pushed forward in some zones with
unceasing pressure. (The thrust
from Bryansk may have been the
one that reached OreD
The battle for Orel lasted three
days, during which the Russians
abandoned the city, then recaptured
it and finally withdrew under
pressure of numerically stronger at
tackers, Red Star related in its first
account of the city's fall, which had
been announced previously by the
Information Bureau.
The Germans entered the western
side of the city but could not ad-
vance eastward because of tenacious
defense through every street and
house in the first assault, Red Star
said. The Russians finally were
driven out when the Germans
brought up heavy artillery and tank
reinforcements but even these could
not hold the prize, Red Star said.
Soviet aviation and artillery were
rushed to the aid of the infantry,
Furnishing the enemy with intense
fire. it said.
German tanks ran from the city
to begin preparations for new on
slaught, but our air forces and artil-
lery ceaselessly pounded the enemy
tanks and our units recaptured Orel.
only after the fiercest Of bat
ties and pressed by numerically SUI
perior forces, they abandoned the
city, blocking the path to the north -
Civilians Answer Appeal.
Civilians. answering an appeal
from the Communist party, were
(See MOSCOW, Page A-l3J