The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-05-27
Soviets Are Claiming
 Victories Over Nazis
Continued from Page D

(Continued entering re-captured villages found them virtually depopulated as the Germans had destroyed everything and carried off the civilians" the newspaper said.
 A dispatch of the official Tass News Agency regarding the Khar- kov front said that the Germans had attempted vainly to counter-at- tack a town which the Russians had re-captured.
 "The Germans detailed several dozens of tanks to break through" !" the dispatch said. At first their tanks succeeded in making a wedge in our positions. Actually, however, 1 the whole tank group fell into a trap and was annihilated. Then Soviet artillery hammered at the German center. Two large enemy ammunition dumps were blown up and several blockhouses destroyed. The German garrison suffered tre- mendous losses"
 The raid into the axis lines was made by Cossack units.
 It was indicated that the raid, on the quiet but potentially vital front between Kharkov and the Sea of Azov, was made partly as a recon naissance operation intended to feel out German strength in prep aration for Red army attack or in anticipation of new German offensive.
 Reporting the situation on the Kharkov front, the noon com- munique said:
 During last night in the Kharkov direction our troops consolidated occupied positions. In the Izyum- Barvenkova direction our troops waged stubborn battles with enemy tanks and infantry. In other sec- tions there was nothing to report"
 Furious German Attacks
 Front dispatches reported that the Russians were holding their line in the Izyum- -BarvenkoVa zone south of Kharkov against increas- ingly furious German attacks, kill- ing thousands of German parachut- ists and destroying hundreds of German tanks.
 There were unconfirmed reports that in other sectors of the Kharkov front the Russians, after eonsoli- dating positions against German counter-attacks, had resumed offen- sive operations.
 One of the most ferocious battles of the war was still in progress in the 1zyum-BarkenvoVa sector along 8 25-mile stretch of corpse streWn front, 70 miles south of Kharkov.
 The German command threw in fresh tanks and men in an attempt to break the Red army line. Para chutists were dropped in waves from great German transport planes.
 Parachutists were dropping night and day at points where isolated German strong point garrisons were showing signs of weakening.
 Others dropped behind the Rus- sian lines in an attempt to disor- ganize the Red army'S communica- tions.
 Special dispatches asserted that the Russians had an unbroken record of success against the para chutists. It said one entire bip group was wiped out before it hit the earth and that automatic rifle men downed three Junker-52 trans port planes as they lowered above a front line position waiting to drop their men.
 Many Tanks Lost
 + was asserted that the Germans had lost up to one third of the tanks they had put into their at tacL in formations of up to 25O each and official dispatches said the crack 23rd German tank division which had been held in reserve for a German general offensive, had been routed in counter attack.
 More than 100 tanks were de- stroyed in the first phase of the German attack, it was said, and many more were destroyed later. before remnants of the shattered di- vision withdrew.
 In one sector, Russian tanks lured a heavy German formation into a thickly sown mine field where Rus sian engineers exploded the mines and destroyed most of the enemy machines.
 Russian informants did not at- tempt to minimize the seriousness of the general situation on the Kharkov front.
 It was admitted that both sides were suffering enormous losses and that the Germans were throwing more and more tanks, guns and men into the attack.
 Nevertheless, all dispatches re- fiected confidence that the Russians would break the German attack, sooner or later, and 1t was asserted that powerful as was the enemy Sa- sault, 1t was neither so powerful nor so determined as those of last sum- mer.
 A dispatch to the army newspa- per Red Star said the Germans had been checked in one important sec