The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-12-01
Drive German Forces Westward Near Tula
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37 field guns, 30 machine guns and many men ln An attack, and the Russian artillery in a dawn bonn bardment had destroyed 100 Ger. man infantry and supply trucks and 60 motorcycles. the Russians said,
 In the Volokolamsk sector of this s.'ont the Germans were attacking fiercely, and the Russians were re- ported to be holding stoutly despite the German numerical superiority,
 One Russian unit, in . counter attack, was reported to have driven the Germans from three villages and crossed Q railroad bridge which the Germans had held.
 Farther to the south on the Mos- COW front the Russians were rec ported to have repulsed an attack by Q tank division, Q motorized divi- sion and an infantry regiment.
 Moscow's noon cofnmunique rec ported especially fierce fighting in the south, where one Russian unit was credited with destroying i6 German tanks, 10 armoled cars, IS machine guns, II mine throwers and more than i,b00 German troops. Russian a!rplanes destroyed 90 tanks and i5 field guns, the com. munique said.
 All reports indicated that the German retreat from Rostov con. tinued ct e precipitate pace.
 Naxls Close In On Moscow
 Berlin, Dec. ls-(UP)-Russia is hurling vast numbers of troops, tanks and planes Into an offensive on the Donets Basin front near Rostov and Germans are being forced to withdraw from some posi- tions, military spokesmen said today
 On the Moscow front, the spokes- man said, another great battle is raging with the Nazis slowly nar- rowing an iron semi-circle around the Russian capital. The Russians are being slowly driven back there as the Germans achieve "very con- siderable advances" the spokesmen added.
 The Germans evidently had not expected the southern Russia army to be able to concentrate forces on such Q large scale for a counter. blow, some informed quarters said
 Russian tanks alone in the area of Rostov--which the Germans abandoned Saturday-were said to number many hundreds and Ger man reports. admitted that strong Red air fleet bomber formations during the past few days have car. ried out heavy bombing raids on German lines.
 On the basis of German an- nouncements thus far, more than l6,000 Soviet planSe have been de- stroyed in the first few months of the campaign. German military cir- cles TOW believe Russia must have entered the conflict with a total of at least 2e,00O to 2s,O0O planes.
 Admit Soviet Offensive
 German afternoon newspapers admitted the weight of the Soviet offensive which they claimed was costing Russia immense casualties. Headlines in one paper, Nacht Aus Gabe proclaimed: "Senseless bol- shevist blood sacrifices"
 In announcing the abandonment of Rostov Saturday, the high corn- mand said the withdrawal was made voluntarily, with the inten- ton of exactsng reprisals against the c'v'ran Dopf'lation on the ground that "in violation of inter. national law" 1t had operated against the German rear.
 Today the spokesman, first admit ting that Russian superiority in numbers had forced the withdraw al, said that activity of Russian par- tisans (guerrillas) in the city had been a contributing factor in forc- ing the Germans to retire "to better positions in order to avoid unnec- essary losses"
 The spokesman denied as 'sheer nonsense" Russian claims that the Germans had been driven back be- yond Taganrcg, 40 miles west of Rostov.
 Today's high command commit nique admitted that the Russians continued their counter attacks in the RoStov area but said Russian losses were most severe.
 It was asserted that the Russian attacks were made with no consid- eration Of Oosses of1 men and ma- terials.
 War On Finland
 London, December 1--(UPl-The usually well-infcrmed British press association quoted well informed Quarters today that Great Britain