Evening star., 1942-12-10
Reds Stab Foes Line
For Seven-Mi|e Gain
Near ve|ikie Luki
Ski Troops Lead Way;
Nuzis Still Fail in
StoIingrod Attacks
BY EDDY GILMORE,
Associated Press War Correspondent

MOSCOW, Dec. 10.-The Red
Army has stabbed 7 miles deeper
into enemy lines on the central
front near Velikie Luki, recap
turing 13 settlements, while the
Germans still have failed in
their Six-day effort to regain the
initiative on the Stalingrad
front, Soviet dispatches reported
today.
Attacking with ski troopers sup
ported by tanks painted white to
blend with the snow, the Russians
apparently are lashing at Nazi COM
munications on the central front
which extends northwest of Moscow
roughly from Rzhev to Velikie Luki.
On the Stalingrad front, although
slowed down by violent German
counterattacks during the last sew
eral days, the Russians were re-
ported still pushing gradually for
ward as their offensive there en-
tered its fourth week.
Gunfire Like Hose Spray.
Russian reports said the Nazis
apparently were trying not only to
smash the Soviet offensive but also
to launch one of their own, pre-
sumably in the belief that the Red
Army is exhausted after an advance
said now to have retaken 63 towns.
Some of the Germans counter
blows have been in parts of Stain
grad itself, Red Star said, but they
have been content with purely de-
fenSive fire in the factory district.
There, the army newspaper added,
the Russians Systematically are de-
stroying pill boxes and other forti-
fications in the still difficult task
of clearing the enemy from the
besieged city.
1t said the Germans had exposed
themselves in trying to wrest the
initiative from the Russians and
had suffered heavily from trench
mortar fire turned on them vir-
tually like a spray from hose.
AXIS Forces Split.
Although Axis forces have been
separated on the western banks of
the Volga and Don and driven from
both rivers in some sectors. they
were said to be showing no signs of
faltering in defensible positions, de-
spite a grave strain on their COM
munications.
In the Velikie Luki area the Ger
mans we're reported to have thrown
regiment of infantry. with the sup
port of several dozen tanks, against
Soviet forces which had cut high
way.
Artillery and trench mortars were
used to pound the enemy into retreat
/ and then the Germans were driven
| from nearby settlement
Red Star. the Soviet Army news
paper, reported that in a battle
west of Rzhev the Germans fed ir
disorder for the protection of q
forest when Russian troops preached
their defenses Soviet ski troopers
pursued the enemy, moving many
down before they reached cover
| Red Star said.
| 1t asserted that the Russians die
not lose single soldier in this en-
! gagement, but that the Germans
lost lit dead in addition to prisoners
and trophies taken by the Soviet
| troops.
Reinforcements brought in by the
Germans on the central front were
declared by Red Star to be generally
middle-aged men, some of whom
had been trained for only 10 to &c
days before they reached the front
However, Red Star was quick tc
point out, many units which have
been brought in to the Rzhev-
Vyazma-Velikie Luki region are
made up of well-trained fighting
men taken from other fronts.
The Soviet noon communique re-
ferred to more trench fighting in the
southern outskirts of Stalingrad. and
said the Germans lost about 200
killed when Russian soldiers wedged
into the German defenses to take
the trenches.
About 400 more Germans were re-
ported slain northwest of Stalingrad
In another sector of that area the
communique said that "the Germans
left several hundred dead and eight
disabled tanks on the battlefield"
when they tried to regain positions
(See RUSSIA, Page Aid