The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-06-24

forced Russian withdrawals on both the Sevastopol and Kharkov fronts today.
 The Soviet navy newspaper Red Fleet said Russian units on one sector of the Sevastopol front had been forced by overwhelming and relentless pressure to fall back to new positions. They continued their stubborn resistance, inficting ter. rible casualties on the Germans.
 In 8 dispatch from the Kharkov front, $50 miles north of Sevastopol, the Soviet army newspaper Red Star reported that 200 German tanks had managed to wedge into Russian defenses on one sector. On neighboring sectors, groups of 20 to 30 tanks, after 8 battle lasting a day, had slightly pushed back" inc dividual Russian units to new posi- tions. Red Star said.
 Col. Gen. Fritz Erich Won Mann stein hurled more divisions of in- fantry, masses of tanks and clouds of planes against the hard-pressed defenders of Sevastopol. It was un- derstood that he was using more than 2,000 planes against 8 consid- erably smaller Soviet air force.
 AS many as two divisions of Ger mans (20,O00 to 30,00O mem, sup ported by artillery and aircraft, at- tackled the Russians on one small sector.
 Repulsed Once
 The Germans were repulsed once, but attacked four more times in small groups, using bomb craters and ditcheS for shelter.
 Soviet soldiers and marines held them with rife, bayonet and hand grenade.
 This apparently was not the sec tor on which the Russians were forced to withdraw.
 The Soviet Black Sea fleet cease- lessly pounded the Germans with its big guns, and supplied the Se- vastopol garrison, Red Fleet said. Its air arm ranged far behind the enemy rear, pounding t-:oop con- centrations and supply lines.
 (The British radio. heard by CBS in New York, said sailors of the Russian Black Sea fleet brought the attacking German troops to a "standstill" by tying land mines to themselves and throwing thenl- selves under advancing German tanks.)
 First Soviet COmlnuniQue
 The first Soviet communique to- day said that during the night on the Sevastopol front "our troops continued fighting against numeri- cally superior enemy forces" On other fronts, nothing important oc- cured, 1t said.
 One of the mightiest assaults Adolf Hitler ever had undertaken was in its 18th day, and though 1t already was a hellish inferno that had devoured thousands of his fin- est troops and hundreds of his first line planes and tanks, 1t appeared to be growing in intensity.
 The Germans had brought up still more reserves and new herds of tanks.
 Sevastopol's defenders. sworn to fight ito the last drop of blood" still believed the, German attack would be smashed, party because the Soviet garrison had been reinforced by the Black Sea fleet.
 Of the situation at SevastopOl. last midnight's communique said only that "our units repelled firece attacks by numerically superior eEi- emy forces"
 But 1t revealed that the new Ger man drive on the Kharkov front, $50 miles north of Sevastopol, had gained. saying "our troops were en- gagged in fighting with the ad- vancing enemy. Our troops re- tired somewhat to new positions.
 Apparently the Russians had fall-- en back in the Izyum.B Barvenkova sector south of Kharkov, where Marshal Semyon Timoshenko, Srlnell- ing an impending German offen- sive, had struck first and pushed back the Nad lines.
 No Change As . Whole
 Otherwise, the communique said, there was no change in the front as a whole, though 1t revealed an apparently heavy German tick on the northern front. The dermns were thrown back, 300 being Killed, and the Russians captured four