Evening star., 1941-11-09
Nazis Forced 10 Take
Defensive in MANY
Areas, Reds Claim
Teams Of Russiun Tanks
Halt Moscow Drive,
Soviet Reports
By tie Associated Press.

I LONDON. Nov. 8-Ferocious
! Soviet counterattacks led by strong
tank teams have definitely halted
the Nazi drive toward Moscow and
have thrown the invaders onto the
defensive in many sectors, the Rus
slams told the world today.
This news was flashed over the
Moscow radio by Gen. Rokossovsky,
one of the commanders of Moscow's
| bitter defense for more than five
weeks past, and was bolstered by
accounts from other sources.
! Informed quarters in London said
it was reassuring, but expressed
continuing concern over the Russian
position in the south.
One of the greatest objectives OF
Hitler's campaign in Russia is oil,
they said. and whatever happens on
the wintry northern and central
| fronts. he will be bound to press
on as rapidly as he is able in the
south, toward the Caucasus.
Nazis Forced to Hole Up.
Even there, however. latest Rus
sian dispatches said floods, s,eet and
bone-chilling gales had forced the
Germans to hole up in the Rostov
area. A new attack was admittedly
probable soon because of the unde-
STABILITY of the Nazi positions as
permanent resting places.
On the Crimean Peninsula, the
Russians were making stands be-
fore Sevastopol and Kerch.
The night Russian communlque
singled out the Crimea as the scene
of particular fierce fighting, and the
British radio said heavy rains were
falling there, while snowstorms were
raging along the other fronts.
While acknowledging strong Soviet
resistance before Moscow and the
hazards of the nasty weather, the
Germans contended they had won
considerable ground in that sector
Yesterday, but offered no substantl-
ating details.
New Attacks Near Kalinin.
Russian accounts were more spe-
ciic. Tass, the official Soviet news
agency, said the Russians had
| launched new attacks along the
Kalinin front, about 95 miles north
west of Moscow, and that street
fighting was continuing in the
northeast part of Kalinin itself.
Other Russian counterattacks were
reported about Mozhaisk, 81 miles
west of Moscow, and the Russian
radio said Soviet dive-bombers
blasted a German airdrome near
Maloyaroslavets IS miles southwest
of the capital. The Germans were
declared to be using flame-throwers
in attempts to stop the Russian
tanks.
In an unspecified area on the left
flank, presumably southwest OF Mos
COW, the Moscow radio said "the
enemy has been pressed back for
four days running"
London sources took the more
cautious view that the battle lines
probably were changing hourly
with the Germans too exhausted to
keep up the attack and the Rus
slams too battered to turn their
counter-offensive into a full-scale
sustained offensive along the whole
front.
New Nazi Assault Predicted.
The British radio predicted that
the Germans would undertake ir
the near future new assault or
Moscow in a new sector" The an.
nouncer did not say where thi!
might be, but did quote reports thai
German troops were being moved
southwark from Kalinin.
Other persistent reports, how
ever, said the Germans were digging
in to hold what they already hac
overrun, regardless of the outcome
of any new offensive.