Evening star., 1942-10-12
StoIingrod Fighting
Confined to Mortar,
Artillery Firing
By the Associated Press.

MOSCOW, Oct. 12.-The Red
Army lashed out at the Germans
and gained ground northwest of
Stalingrad and in the Caucasus
today as, for the third day, the
bloody and destructive German
assault within the city was con-
fined to artillery and mortar at
tacks, the Soviet communique
said.
After throwing thousands of Nazi
troops to their death in a furious
seven-week effort to take the city,
the German high command has
abandoned, at least temporarily, the
costly plan Of storming the city in
favor of artillery and air assaults,
dispatches indicated.
With the pressure off in Stalin-
grad, Red Army detachments at
tackled in the battle area northwest
of the city between the Volga and
the Don and captured "advan-
tageous positions" the midday COM
munique said.
Attack Is Repulsed.
In the immediate Stalingrad area,
the communique said, artillery and
mortar duels continued" Russian
mortar crews were reported to have
disabled seven German tanks and
dispersed Nazi infantry concentra-
tions. 1t was acknowledged that
the Germans attacked on the out
skirts of a workers settlement in
this area, but the attack was re-
ported repulsed and two companies
OF Germans wiped out.
1t was the first time in weeks that
the name of Stalingrad did not ap-
pear in the first paragraph OF the
Soviet communique,
Some of the force of the German
attack was transferred to the Moz-
dok area of the Caucasus where the
invaders have been trying to drive
to the Grozny oil fields. But the
Russians struck back and recaptured
defense positions from which they
had withdrawn earlier, the midday
communique said. The fighting in
this area was described as stubborn.
Soviet troops were reported ad-
vancing, too, in the fighting zone
southeast of Novorossisk, the Black
Sea port now In German hands. The
Russians were fighting a street-to-
street battle in town in that area,
clearing 1t of Hitlerites house by
house." the communique said.
The German garrison in the town
was reported surrounded and suffer-
ing heavy losses. The c6mmunioue
quoted German prisoners as saying
the 228th and 229th German Infan-
try Regiments there had lost nearly
half OF their electives.
U. S. Made Jeeps Are Used.
American-made jeeps were being
used to take anti-aircraft guns to
the front in the Caucasus to bolster
the Red Army defenses, dispatches
reported.
.Pravda said an enemy offensive
in the Mozdok region had been dis
rupted when the Russians seized
the initiative and consolidated new
positions. German ground attacks
were reported being repulsed, but
air raids were on a huge scale.
German tanks and infantry
which during the last few days suf-
fered tremendous losses showed no
activity" in the Stalingrad area yes
terday, the Soviet midnight COM
munique said.
However, new German reserves
were reported moving up to the rim
OF the besieged city and the future
of the fighting was still uncertain.
For the moment, the tremendous
German pressure resisted so gal
lantly by the Russian defenders had
slackened, although scattered fights
were still in progress.
Northwest Of Stalingrad Russian
troops engaged the Germans lin
fighting of local significance, the
midnight communique said, adding
that German attacks in some sectors
were repelled. Here, too, the reports
indicated an increasing use OF artil-
lery. The previous communique re-
| ported Russian advance.