The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-08-12

Russians had ignited in their oil wells"
 CThe Germans claimed today that they had taken Slavyanskaya, 20 miles northwest of Krasnodar and 30 miles from the Black Sea mouth of the Kuban river)
 The Russian position in the North Caucasus, 1t was said, appeared to be irretrievable.
 What the Russians had not de- stroyed in their scorched earth cam paign, the Germans now savagcly demolished. The fertile Kuban valley, few weeks ago filled with golden, waving Wneat, tasseling corn and peaceful Cossack villages, was in waste.
 Not a hamlet, it was said, es- capped the torch of the Germans, apparently venting their anger be- cause the Russians had destroyed most of their crops.
 The Soviet noon communique re- ported Russian forces engaged in defensive battles with numerically superior enemy in the Krasnodar area, some 65 miles northwest of the oil town of Maikop, which the Ger mans had stormed.
 "The enemy is bringing up re- serves and in spite of huge losses in- cessantly attacking" the commun- ique asserted.
 In the Maikop area and around Cherkess, ITS miles northwest of the oil fields of Grozny, where the Ger mans had commenced new drive toward Grozny and the Caspian Sea, the communique reported fin tense fighting with enemy tanks and motorized infantry"
 Stubborn battles were reported in the areas of Kletskaya and north east of Kotelnikovski, 75 miles north west and 90 miles southwest of Stall ingrad, respectively, but the com munique indicated that the prongs of the German pincers aimed at in- dustrial Stalingrad from those points had not gained.
 Dispatches from Kletskaya said Russian tanks had surprised troop concentrations behind the German lines and plowed into them, grind ing German soldiers beneath their treads. The Russian tanks made a surprise attack after getting behind German motorized infantry which had penetrated Russian positions. It was not made clear, however, whether the penetration was recent, or one reported several days ago.
 The Soviet army organ Red Star reported difficult situation in the Maikop area. It said the Russians were counter attacking and slowing down the German advance, that both sides were suffering enormous losses, that the Germans were in- tensifying their efforts to drive into the Black Sea fleet base of Tuapse, 60 miles away.
 Krasnodar, where the Russians also were trying to stop the Ger mans, is about 60 miles from the first Soviet Black Sea base of Novo- rossisk, from which the Black Sea fleet has operated since the fall of Sevatopol.
 It was emphasized that the Ger mans were pouring in new rein forcements every hour, recklessly at- tacking day and night in a deter mined effort to reach the sea.
 Fighting constantly spread to new areas, and in most of them, it was admitted the Germans were advanc- ing, but gallant Russian rear guard actions were taking heavy toll.
 Around Krasnodar, the enemy drove an armored wedge into Soviet defenses on narrow sector and rushed up reserves to widen the breach. The Russians regrouped, counter-attack, pinned the enemy's Hanks and wiped out the vanguard of the wedge.
 The Germans hurled immense forces into their new effort in the Cherkess area. Cherkess is an province.
 Attacking in force in the vicinity | of large, inhabited point, the Ger mans pierced Soviet defenses on | one sector and threatened to en- velop the entire Russian defense system.
 The Russians threw in reserves, however, cut off the Germans and | them to retreat.
 The situation in the whole Ku- ban valley, Russia's richest agri- tultural district, was rapidly ap- climax.
 (The Germans said their forces, from Maikop, were only 52 miles from the Soviet Black Sea base of Tuapse, and that units driv- ing from Krasnodar were 81 miles from Novorossisk, the main Black Sea base.
 CThey claimed that they were only 142 miles from Grozny)
 Panzer reserves were thrown into | the battle south of Kletskaya, which | is 75 miles northwest of Stalingrad, but the Germans were unable to advance and were suffering a heavy from Russian artillery. | The Germans have been futilely try ing to advance a wedge driving into | Russian positions at Kletskaya for three days.