Evening star., 1942-05-31
Nozis' Rostov Drive Thworted
In Khorkov Battle, Reds Claim;
German Toll Placed at 10000
Enemy's Claims Of
Victory Branded
As 'Funtustic'
By the Associated Press.

MOSCOW, Sunday, May 81
Marshal Semeon TimoShenko'S
Soviet armies in the Ukraine
have scored a brilliant success
in thWarting a Nazi-planned
drive on Rostov, gateway to the
Caucasus, the Russians an
nounced in a special communi-
nQue today declaring the battle of
Kharkov is drawing to a close
after 19 days of violent fighting
in which the Germans have lost
more than 10000 killed or
captured.
Indicating the enormity of the
clash of men and machines, the
official announcement listed Rus
sias own casualties about Kharkov
at $4,000, including 5000 killed and
10000 missing.
German losses in fighting equip
ment were listed at $40 tanks, not
less than ISL guns and upward of
200 planes, against Soviet losses of
300 tanks, 832 guns and 124 planes.
Branding 1 German victory claims
as fantastic" the Russians de-
clared sarcastically that "a few
more of these German victories and
the German Fascist Army will be
completely bled white"
(The Germans, claiming
great victory for themselves on
the Kharkov front, announced
Saturday that Russian dead there
were "enormous" and claimed
capture of 2400O0 prisoners, cap
ture or destruction of l,249 tanks,
2,O26 guns, 538 planes and vast
quantities of other Soviet arms
and equipmentD
The Russians emphasized that
Marshal TimoShenko's attack in the
Kharkov sector on May II was not
to capture the great industrial city
itself but to forestall an imminent
German offensive against Rostov,
which the Nazis captured last Fall
but could not hold
Sometime ago the Soviet high
command learned about German
plans for operations of German
Fascist troops in the sector Of
the Rostov 'front.'" the special an
nouncement said.
"On this sector of the front the
German command recently con-
centrated not less than 80 in
fantry divisions, six tank divisions
Cmore than a half million mem and
a large quantity of artillery and
planes.
In order to forestall the blow of
the German Fascists, troops of the
Soviet command started offensive
operations in the Kharkov direc-
ton without including Kharkov in
their plans.
In the course of two weeks on
this sector of the front fierce fight
ing has been going on. Now that
the battles are nearing their end,
it can be said the main task put
forward by the Soviet command
to forestall THE blow of the German
Fascist troops-has been COM
pleted. :"
The regular midnight communi-
que reported Soviet forces were con-
tinuing to repulse German tank and
infantry attacks in the Izyum- Bar
venkova sector, southeast of Khar-
kov.
U-Boat Reported Sunk.
A Soviet ship in the Barents Sea
was credited with sinking German
submarine.
Four enemy transports and two
launches were destroyed by the
Soviet Air Force Friday, the COM
munique said. 1t did not give the
date of the sinking of the Nazi
U-boat.
The Germans hurled 56 planes
against Soviet defenders on the
Leningrad front but were turned
back by Soviet airmen who shot
down l3 raiders without loss to
themselves.
In the Smolensk area west of Mos
cow the Soviet communique reported
that Russian guerrillas smashed a
large German punitive expedition
sent against them after they had
routed the invaders from several
populated places.
With the Kharkov front quieting
down, the struggle in the Ukraine
today was concentrated primarily
on ~ square mile bridgehead held
by the Red Army on the German
side of a river in the Izyum-Bar-
,orEouo cootnr