Evening star., 1942-07-09
Battle Of Don River
Is Declared Killers
Cost|iest Experience
Stowe Reports Heavy
Toll Paid for Lone
FoothoId on East Bonk
By LELAND STOWE,
War Correspondent of The Star and
CHICAGO Daily News.

Chicago Daily News
MOSCOW, July 9-The titanic
struggle in the neighborhood o1
Voronezh-what history will prob
ably call the battle of the Don
continues with unbridled flerceness
Beyond question, this is Hitler's first
great summer offensive, but in Il
days, despite the hundreds of tanks
and planes thrown in by the Nazi
command, the Germans still have
not scored break-through. The
desperate nature of their pressure
may be measured by the fact that
they are now losing between $50 and
200 tanks a day.
The battle of the Don is proving
to be Hitler's most costly experience
in Russia.
Reports from this southwestern
front indicate that the Nazis have
only managed to get a foothold on
the eastern bank of the river in one
place where they have ferried light
tanks across. Here the fighting is
unprecedentedly intense.
All of the Red Army's skill and
power has been co-ordinated to pre-
vent further German landings and
Russian stormoviks (dive bombers)
and bombers supported by artillery
and infantry continually strike
smashing blows at the ferries and
RATS on which the enemy tries to
embark heavier tanks and motorized
troops.
Rivals Sevastopal Defense.
The Soviets' defense Of the Don's
western bank appears to rival the
defense OF Sevastopol. Here, too
the Russians are fighting against
infantry forces which are numeri-
cally much greater and here again
the Germans are aided by definite
superiority in tank units. Gen
Field Marshal Fedor Won Book, the
Germans infantry chief, and Col
Gen. Paul Ludwig Won Kleist, their
outstanding tank commander, are
expending their forces on a stag
gering scale in an effort to seize
Voronezh and cut the Rostov-Mos-
COW railroad. Their claims to have
done so find no support in detailed
Soviet dispatches from the front.
The authoritative army daily
Red Star, describes one phase OF
the battle as follows:
SnY1n nf n,,r ~,o,iAL ~
tanks and enemy infantry which
were trying to break through to a
town. For three days and three
nights the unequal fight went on
The enemy is suffering enormous
losses. Artillery guns and rifles
grenades and incendiary bottles
everything-were used against the
German tanks. One hundred and
sixty-two of them were destroyed
Our planes are fighting eight at
tacks a day. but they keep defend
ing the town."
Already in II days the Nazis have
lost hundreds of tanks, scores of
planes and many thousands of dead
but they still muster reserves from
other sectors and throw them into
the meat grinder. Several times
they have crossed the river but
have been thrown back.
In this offensive Hitler is SPAR
ing neither metal nor men, and
on such . needless scale that a re-
porter at the front for the govern
ment organ Izvestia states, There
can be no doubt whatever that the
Germans consider this operation
one Of the decisive ones in this
phase Of the war"
Outnumbered but Effective.
Outnumbered, the Soviet tank
men have curbed and stopped the
Nazi advance time and again. The
Red air force also Is playing a big
role in the defense, cutting up en-
emy infantry and attacking tank
i units with the recklessness of Cos
/ sack abandon.
Soviet reports say that the Ger
mans have only reached the river
on one very narrow sector of th(
front where their wedge has beer
driven. But on both sides Of thi!
edge, along the rivers eastern bank
the Russians hold on tenaciously
This compels the enemy to re
group its forces and bring VI
more reserves and also to use artil
lery in an attempt to widen thei
wedge before launching anothe
drive ahead.
It is clear that the German STRAIT
egy is concentrated on cutting tn
Rostov- Moscow railroad at what
ever cost, although even that woul'
In no way choke of communica
tionS from the Caucasus with Cen