Evening star., 1942-06-27
Soviets Mukino
COunteruttuck
At One Point
By the Associated Press.

ARMY has CIleCkeQ Ille new IeI-
man offensive in the Ukraine,
repulsing enemy attack east of
Kupyansk and at one point
counterattacking, while the Ger
man gains on the Sevastopol
front are measured in yards after
the bloodiest kind of fighting,
Soviet military dispatches said
today.
Severe losses were inflicted on the
Germans who were forced into re-
treat by the Russian counterdrive at
Kupyansk on the Oskol River 60
miles southeast of Kharkoy, the re-
ports said.
At Sevastopol, the Red fleet base
In the Crimea, the Germans were
estimated to have hurled so train
loads of bombs, shells and mines
into an effort to breach the defenses,
but their gains were said to have
netted them only few dozen yards
in two sectors.
A Sevastopol report to Pravda,
the Communist Party organ. said the
Germans continued to move up re-
serves and the presence of several
new infantry regiments evidently
transferred from another front has
been noted in the last few days.
Strain on Manpower.
At the same time it was declared
that assault groups there had
dWindled from regiments or whole
divisions to companies and bat
talions, an evidence Of the strain
OF the campaign on Axis manpower.
Pravda estimated the German
losses in the assaults at 200 tanks.
hundreds of aircraft and more than
$4,000 men killed and wounded.
AS a rule the engagements about
the beleaguered fortress begin with
long-range artillery fire and end up
in hand-to-hand combat, which
sometimes RACES for hours in the
trenches, Pravda's correspondent
said.
In 10 DAYS, one unit beat off about
30 such attacks he added.
The heroiSm of the Sevastopol
saN-1on. its unwavering staunch-
ness and devotion to duty stand out
with utter clarity" he declared.
On the Kharkov front the bat
ties were said to be Of exception
ally fierce character"
Tanks Counterattack.
Massed air attacks by the Ger
mans we're being matched by
mighty Russian counterattacks with
tanks.
In one sector, 81 air battles were
fought in single day and 81 Ger
man planes we're destroyed, Russian
reports said
The German high command
said today that German and Ru-
manian troops had captured
more Soviet positions and pill
boxes on the Sevastopol front.
Last night the high COM
mand claimed the capture of
1zyum, a railroad town on the
west bank of the Donets River,
10 miles southeast of Kharkov,
after bitter street fighting. Ger
man control of the whole trian-
gular area between Kharkov,
1zyum and newly occupied Kup-
yansk was impliedD
Places Change Hands.
"As the result of fierce battles,
populated places are continually
changing hands" the Soviet In
formation Bureau said concerning
the Kharkov front. We are in
flicting heavy losses"
"a Berlin broadcast said Red
Army defenses were strong and
intricate, this being coupled with
a statement that the high COM
mand considered the attacks,
aimed at shortening the front
line, full success" Engineers
of a single German battalion
were reported to have removed
1900 tank mines and destroyed
IS stationary flame -throwers in
front of their sector in a day.
Soviet land and sea forces in the 23d
day of a battle to save Sevastopol
and its Crimean naval base from
the assault divisions of Gen. Fritz
Erich Won Mannstein were declared
to have "repelled several enemy
attacks"
German infantrymen penetrated
Soviet position on the Bryansk
front southwest of Moscow, the in
formation bureau said, but added
we beat them back, killing $50
Hitlerites."
A subsequent communique indi-
Gated series of feeler thrusts was
IN progress in the Bryansk zone. 1t
told of frustrated attack in which
the Germans left more than 300
casualties on the field.
Bombers Shot Down.
The Russians said six of IA Nazi
bombers which approached Moscow
had been shot down Thursday night
without a Soviet loss and the
others turned tall
Red airmen were said to have
destroyed or damaged SO German
tanks and armored cars, 200 trucks
and II gun batteries and blown up
six ammunition dumps and freight
train Thursday.
The Free French news agency in
London reported several Nazi troop
ships were sunk and harbor install
lationS were fired in an attack by
more than 100 Soviet bombers on a
(See RUSSIA, Page A-2)