The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-06-17

repulsed several tanks and i19an- try attacks, destroying 20 tanks and killing 600 Germans, the cornfnuni- que reported.
 The opening guns of new battles rumbled on the northern front. A Red Star correspondent, somewhere between Kalinin and Leningrad, re- ported that there had been fierce of- fensive battles in which the Ger mans had lost several thousands dead in the last 10 days.
 Fighting still was of local signifi- canoe, because the marshy, wooded terrain, not yet dried by the spring sun, hampered large-scale mechan- ized warfare, he said.
 40 Tanks at Time
 But the Germans were using as many as 40 tanks at 8 time when- ever roads were passable. The Russians, taking. advantage of nat- ural and anti-tank barriers, were easily disposing of them.
 The Soviet coMmunique last mid- night, reporting the counter attack on the Kharkov front, said that in "short but stiff engagement" the Russians destroyed 8 German mo- torized column of 30 trucks, 12 guns and four tanks. The Germans lost more than 200 men and officers. Several" enemy attacks were re- pulsed.
 During yesterday, the communi- que said, the defenders of Sevas- topol beat off II German attacks and inflicted heavy losses. Gefman assaults, 1t indicated, were almost continuous.
 Red Star reported that the land approaches to Sevastopol were a bloody wilderness, in which shell and bomb craters were so thick that they encroached into each other Thousands of corpses filtered the battlefield, along with black wrecks of tanks and trucks.
 Front line defenders were in deep trenches. They refused to budge an inch, though they often had to beat oil 10 attacks day and were some- times buried alive by German shells.
 The most vicious German assaults now were coming from the northern and southern sectors of the Sevas. topol front, and the Russians esti- mated that more than seven divi- sions (l05,0 ,000 rnen), several dozen artillery mortar batteries, at least 150 tanks and many planes were constantly engaged against them. Some of the German guns were of 42 centimeter caliber.
 Heavy German reinforcements have been moved up in the last few days, and the Russians already have wiped out at least three regiments 5000 men), 40 tanks and artillery and trench mortar batteries. 1t was reported. Additionally, Soviet bonlb- CTS in the last several days have set fire to 10 German tanks and put i2 more out of action. After one bomb- CT attack on Nazl supply column, mans.
 the Russians counted 900 dead Ger
 U. S. Equipment Helps
 Particularly in the Khadkov area, the Russians were said to be making good use of British and American equipment.
 One Soviet tank was reported to have set fire to six German tanks, put four more out of commission and gone on fighting, despite IS hits. Later, it charged into a German in- fantzy nuti and crushed 70 soldiers.
 The Germans tried commando tactics" on the Kharkov front, but all were beaten off. Radio Lentngrad reported that Soviet dive bombers had attacked a German convoy in the Baltic, sunk at least one ship, returned to base, refueled and re- loaded their guns, and returned to machine gun troops on the ships.
 The Soviet air force on Monday destroyed or damaged 12 German tanks, 100 trucks loaded with troops and supplies and 10 anti-aircraft guns, blew up munitions dump and 8 petrol depot, wrecked a rail- way train, sank a transport of 5000 tons and two motorboats, damaged four transports and three patrol ships and dispersed and partly wiped out up to four companies of enemy infantry, the might commun- ique said.
 Radio Moscow reported that guer- rillas had freed an entire district, including S1 occupied places, in the Smolensk region since the begin ming of May. Several times the Ger mans sent units of their 30lst div. ision as c punitive expedition Tndi Moscow said, but the Germans 6. ways ended up with heavy Jesse