Evening star., 1942-11-25
Axis Armies on Defensive on Russian Front
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from Stalingrad through Kotelni-
kovski and into the Northern Cau-
casus, another Russian column was
reported to have pushed 6 miles
farther across the Kalmyck steppe
without meeting any firm German
resistance.
Red Star said it was impossible to
count the spoils which fell to the
advancing Russians as the Germans
withdrew Automobiles, tanks and
! even airplanes were left behind.
Russian dispatches acclaim the
surrounding and capture of three
Nazi divisions in the Don bend
southwest of Kletsfaya, and the
elimination of narrow wedge the
Germans had driven to the Volga
north of Stalingrad as the greatest
Of the new victories.
Kletskaya, on the Don, 100 miles
northwest of Stalingrad, was left
apparently pocketed.
The clearing of the German wedge
to the Volga banks put a Nazi-held
airfeld back in Russian hands and
opened a new route for supply and
reinforcement to the garrison of
Stalingrad.
German forces arrayed before
Stalingrad still were described as
strong, and Russian dispatches said
the Nazis showed no signs of falling
back from their positions although
their case grew more desperate
hourly as the corridor behind them
narrowed.
Cheered by this direct and indi-
rect relief, the hardy defenders of
the war-torn city pushed ahead
slowly in their own offensive, the
regular midnight communique re-
porting the enemy cleared out of
several dozen blockhouses and
blindages in the factory district with
900 invaders killed. A slight ad-
vance also was claimed for Red
troops in the southern outskirts of
the city.
Today's midday communique re-
ported continued advances over
night within Stalingrad as we'll as
to the northwest and south of the
city 'in the same directions as pre-
viously."
Red Army soldiers were said to
have advanced farther in the fac
tory district, although no details
were given, and in the southern out
skirts 400 Germans were reported
killed when Soviet troops occupied
q number of fortified positions.
Nazi Regiment Wiped Out.
One German regiment was de-
clared wiped out in futile counter
attacks northwest of the city and
the Russians moved ahead, but no
details were given on this advance.
To the south 5000 Germans were
reported killed when the Russians
occupied several towns, the names
Of which were not given.
Local German attacks were said
to have been repulsed in the Black
Sea zone near Tuapse and in the
Caucasus near Nalchik. while small
scale thrusts gained some ground
for the Russians in the Leningrad
area.
(The German radio said today
that the Russians had succeeded
in temporarily penetrating" Ger
man positions on the Rzhev front
west of Moscow.
(Rzhev is about 1870 miles
northwest of the Soviet capital.
(The Berlin radio asserted,
however, that all Russian attacks
between the Volga and the lower
Don were repulsed after violent
fighting, with heavy losses for the
enemy.'D
1t was on August 25 that the
Axis armies, strong and confident
after sweeping more than $50 miles
eastward in about two months, ar
rived before Stalingrad and began
trying to crack it in direct assault.
They have torn it to shreds with
shell and bomb and they've bought
strips of its ruins by paying a price
of untold tens of thousands of lives
the Russians estimated 100000
besiegers were killed in the first 60
days-but today Hitler apparently
was faced with a choice of with
drawing the estimated 100000 men
still at the bloody job or running
the risk of having them encircled
and annihilated.
A special communique last night
and the regular midnight battle re-
port did not make clear the exact
strategy being followed by the Rus
slams but they did tell an impressive
story of mounting Axis losses and
hinted significantly of deteriorating
German morale.
In yesterdays fierce fighting $4,000
more Germans were reported killed
and 10000 captured, bringing the
total dead to $4,000 and the prison.
ers to $4,000 in the offensive which
the special communique indicated
was launched November 10.
Indicative. perhaps, of weakening
Nazi morale under the weight Of the
Russian attack and the cold of the
Russian winter was the communi-
cues claim that the remnants of
three German divisions along with
their three generals and the COM
manders' staffs had been captured
after being encircled south of
Ketskaya. The latter town is Ger
man strongpoint on the Don about
30 miles northwest of Stalingrad.