Evening star., 1942-05-28
Ponzers IS Miles From Tobruk;;
British RepeI 2 Flank Drives;
Nozis Give Ground, Reds Claim
Germans Declared
Prevented From
Digging In
By the Associated Press.

MO0AOW, May Zo.-3 ne GCI-
mans are being forced to give
ground in both the Izyum-Bar-
venkova and Kharkov sectors,
the Russians declared today, in
dicating the initiative on both
those major battlef1elds Of the
Ukraine was firmly in the hands
Of the Red Army.
Front-line dispatches said the
Germans, blocked in their offensive
in the Izyum- -Barvenkova area. were
trying to dig in on new. defense
lines, but that constant heavy pres
sure from the counterattacking
Russians was forcing them to fall
back.
4S Tanks Knocked Out.
From their own freshly fortified
lines before Kharkov, the Russians
said they were pushing forward
They battled fercely overnight
against German tank and infantry
forces in both sectors and reported
that before Kharkov one three-day
battle had burned or otherwise
knocked out 46 German tanks.
Russian accounts said the Ger
mans had resorted to ruses in which
some Of their tanks flew red banners
and displayed red stars and some Of
their troops wore Red Army uni
forms.
There also were several psyche
logical attacks" in which the Ger
mans charged the Russian lines,
firing wildly and shouting at the
tops Of their voices.
In one such case they tried the
stunt three times, but finally fell
back. leaving 1000 dead "psycholo-
gists" on the field, the Russians
said.
The Red Army unit which broke
this assault was credited with hav-
ing repulsed II counterattacks and
then developed its own offensive in
the Izyum- sector.
How Thrust Was Checked.
Today's Russian dispatches gave
this story Of how the Germans main
thrust In that sector was checked:
The 1o1st German Infantry Di-
vision was assigned to cross . river
II miles south of 4 fortified settle
ment which was holding up the Nazi
advance.
The Germans marched up with .
brass band as though on a parade
ground, deployed along the high
right bank of the river and started
down to the water.
Russian forces on the left bank
remained silent and hidden until the
Germans were within easy range on
the rivers edge. Then they opened
up with everything at once, turning
the bank into mass of broken trees,
flying earth and shattered German
bodies.
As dense clouds Of smoke and dust
rose over this scene Of carnage, Rus
sian infantry crossed the river and
finished the job with bayonets and
hand grenades.
Some OF the remaining Germans
assembled again later in the day,
without their band, and tried to ad-
vance by stealth, but again the Red
artillery crushed them.
Germans Death Toll.
In the Kalinin and adjoining
northwestern front sectors between
Smolensk and Leningrad 1t was re-
ported that q series Of Nazi attacks
and Red Army thrusts recently had
cost the Germans ! 100 men killed.
Russian artillerymen and infan-
trymen were cited for turning back
two thrusts In the Donets River
Basin battle-ground below Kharkov.
maneuvers by which 1t. Gen. Viktor
Won Schwedler hoped to imperil
Marshal Semeon Timoshenko's left
wing about that Nazi-occupied steel
center.
After q two-day lull, aerial war
fare evidently picked up. The Rus
SLAMS announced they had destroyed
81 planes and lost q, in operations
Tuesday.