Evening star., 1941-07-27
Russians Strike
Where Germans
Relax Pressure
BY the Associs ted Press.

MOSCOW, Sunday, July 27.-
Red Army counter-attacks in
several sectors where German
pressure has relaxed were re-
ported today in dispatches from
the front. while an official an
nouncement here told of the
crushing of two Nazi infantry
divisions in the SmolenSk zone
nearest Moscow.
In the Smolensk area, scene Of II
DAYS of bloody but inconclusive
fighting, and in the Porkhov, Newell
and Zhitomir sectors the official an
nouncement said major fighting still
was in progress with no important
changes in positions.
CThe Eighth German Armored
Division, presumably unit addi-
tional to the two infantry di-
visions, was declared by the
Moscow radio to have been
smashed after a fierce 72-hour
battle at town identified only
as c.
Luftwaffe Attacks Again.
Attacking in waves, the LuftWaffe
struck at Moscow last night for the
sixth successive time, but only few
of the raiders broke through de-
fense Gordon of anti-aircraft fire
and fighter patrols.
Nacoor, lap1aroI
at least 100 planes participated in
the raid, but said only five to seven
broke through past the fighters, the
anti-aircraft barrage, the search
light patterns and the balloon bar
rierS.
At least six German planes were
said to have been doWned.
The planes which reached the
capital dumped explosives, causing
some damage in residential sections
and some casualties. the communi-
que said 1t declared. however. no
military objectives were damaged.
Neither was there any shower of
incendiaries such as marked some
earlier raids.
BY daybreak central Moscow ap-
peared unaffected by the attack.
Without giving specific locations,
dispatches from the front said
Soviet forces. heretofore mostly on
the defense against the mass Nazi
offensive, had turned to counter
attacks at numerous points.
Russians Counterattack.
A village Identified only by the
| initial M was cited as one example
| of the Red Army thrusts. There the
Germans were said to have tried
vainly for two days to smash the
Red Army defenses. then rested.
The following day, said an &C
count to the government newspaper
Izvestia, the Red Army counter
attacked, surprising the Nazis who
had been accustomed only to Rus
sian defensive tactics.
An entire Slovak infantry regi-
ment which had been placed be-
tween German units was reported to
have surrendered at another place
Prisoners were quoted as saying
a Slovak army corps was brought
to the front by the Germans but
that the men were reluctant to
fight
Another Russian counterattack
was reported on the village of %.
where the Red Army closed in or
three sides and captured 300 pris-
oners, including eight officers of the
staff of the 18th German Tank Di-
vision, the front line accounts said
COunterattacks Local.
The Soviet counterattacks ap-
peared limited so far to local op-
erations without the Importance Of
a strategic counter-offe
They indicated nevertheless grow.
ing stability of the front and ap.
parent weakening of the German
push.
The two infantry divisions were
declared to have been trapped il
the Smolensk region, to which 6
Nazi spearhead drove II days age
to menace Moscow 230 miles to the
east. (The German high command
claimed capture of Smolensk, a raj
and highway center, at that time >,
Indicating that the Nazi blitz.
krieg theory was getting a supreme
test, the Soviet communiques since
July Is have listed battle sector!
as in the same general regions
even while names of the cities in.
volved have changed at. times.
Defense Zones Unchanged.
The same zones of defense re.
main-before Leningrad, Moscow
and Kiev. During those II days 6
50-mile German thrust east in tn,
Ukraine was indicated last week by
the fact Zhitomir has supplantee
(See MOSCOW, Page A-5D