The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-09-25
Germans Are Brought Almost To Standstill
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phasizing "successes' in the Cauca- sus and trying to obscurate the fail ure to talk Stalingrad.)
 Eight German tanks, IS trucks and 200 tommy -gunners were wiped out southeast of NovoroSsiSk. The Germans have held Novorossisk, the Black Sea naval base for al- most two weeks, but evidenutly have not been able to get beyond it.
 In the Leningrad area, 26 German pillboxes and 200 Germans were de- stroyed in two days, the noon com- munique said.
 The Germans were using big and little tanks-probably 200 altogether in an effort to ram through Stal- ingrad's streets to the Volga.
 The defenders, directed by the general staff of the city council, had deep shelters, beneath the streets. New trenches were dug behind grass covered defenses built by Joseph Stalin in 1918, during the civil war.
 Colonel Surgeyev in putting Ger man dead at Stalingrad at 25,000 last week, said the battle eclipsed the battle of Verdun, which lasted from February to June, 1916. Ger man casualties in that battle were 334, ,O0O, of which 57,OO0 were killed.
 The scope of Russian operations northwest of ruined Stalingrad, about which one of history's greatest battled ragged on into its 32nd day, was not revealed.
 May Break Nazi Ring
 But it was clear that the Soviet high command was endeavoring to break the German ring about Stalin- grad, bend back the left flank and make the Nazis relax their grip.
 It also was evident that Red Army forces engaged were considerable. In three consecutive communiques, the Russians reported that they advanced somewhat" northwest of Stalingrad.
 Front-line dispatches revealed that they had broken the first Ger man defense line, and last mid- nights Soviet communique said that seven great German counter attacks had been smashed and 45 German tanks destroyed, besides 800 men. Repeated German attacks to retake 8 strategic hill were beat en off.
 Stalingrad's heroic defenders stood firm behind sandbags and sagging walls, repulsing the most savage attacks of which the Germans were capable. Warships of the Volga river Flotilla stood off Stalingrad, hurling big shells into enemy positions.
 Last midnight's communique de- scribed the defense of Stalingrad and the counter offensive to the north west as follows:
 Tn the Stalingrad area, our troops repulsed enemy attacks. Sending up barrage of fire against the enemy troops mortar guards men wiped out two German battal- ions Q,000 men)
 ''The men of unit x annihilated 250 Germans in a hard fought en- gagement, set three German tanks on fire, destroyed five guns, four mortars and seven machine guns and blew up one ammunition dump.
 Northwest of Stalingrad, our troops were engaged in active oper- ations, and on some sectors advanced somewhat.
 'The enemy made repeated at- tempts to regain a height captured by Soviet troops. During the day, the enemy launched seven counter attacks, which were beaten off, the enemy suffering severe losses. Dur ing the battle, 45 German tanks were destroyed and one infantry battalion (500 men) wiped out.
 Ships of the Volga river Flotilla destroyed eight German guns and a large group of enemy troops with several salvoes from their guns"
 German prisoners were quoted that that Map. Gen. Keissner com manding the German 295th infantry division, was killed recently.
 (The Germans now emphasized fighting in the Caucasus in their reports, seeking to divert attention from the fighting at Stalingrad.
 GA trans-ocean agency dispatch, broadcast by Radio Berlin, giving the newest NaM alibi for ont talk ing the city, quoted German mili- tary quarters that the attackers were being cautious to avoid undue casualties and "the fall of the city thus may be delayed for some time.)
 The midnight communique re- ported that Russian forces had had to withdraw from one sector in the Mozdok area, where the Germans have been trying for weeks to reach the nearby Grozny oil fields. But the communique reported that the Germans were suffering heavy losses:
 Tn the Mozdok area, our troops inflicted heavy losses on enemy tanks and infantry by artillery and trench mortar fire.
 "One of our gun crews let the en- emy approach at close range and destroyed l2 German tanks. Gunner Sulamein disabled five tanks.
 Trench mortar men In one of our units diped out about two battalions li.000 men) of enemy infantry. On another sector after fierce fighting our units withdrew from one popu- lated point"
 The enemy was trying to wedge Into Soviet positions on the Slnys avlno sector of the Volkh0v front, south os Leningrad, where the Rus. slams were trying to widen a land passage to that heaieged city, the midnight cemlnunlque said.
 German efforts to that end ayAiled them nothing, They cost them nlne llght tanks, four anti-tank guns,