The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-07-10
tion of Rossosh. no miles south of

Voronezh.
 At this point, the Germans wer only 200 miles from Rostov, key t. the Caucasus where Russian vic tory turned the tide last fall, an, the same distance from the Stalin grad war industry center.
 The Soviet noon communique, re porting heavy fighting on the Ka linin front, northwest of Moscow said fighting ragged throughout tht night west of Voronezh, the com. munique did not preclude that Ger. man forces have crossed the Don.
 Red Star said the Germans were paying an exorbitant price for eacf step of advance, and that Marsha Semyon Timoshenko had counter at- tackled on a neighboring sector, di- verting considerable forces prepar- ing to pour in the break through across the Don.
 Nevertheless, "bitter fighting is proceeding there which may serious ly affect our position near Vor- onezh," Red Star said.
 The Germans, probably the big gest tank battle in historyfi had pounded necessarily at Russias' Don defenses for six days, trying to get across, take Voronezh and cut the vital Moscow -Rostov railway. A new German spearhead thrust ing forward around Rossosh, 11C miles south of Voronezh, raised still another threat to the Don Basin.
 The Soviet noon communique re. ported that Russian forces had killed 4,OOO Germans and destroyed 2I tanks and five armored cars on the Kalinin front in three days, indi. eating the Germans were opening ar offensive In that mortimer sector.
 Huge Force Hits Them
 The Germans had thrown 2,00( tanks, hundreds of planes and gum and hundreds of thousands of mer against the Russians on the Dor river front.
 (The Exchange Telegraph agency said in a dispatch from Moscow that the Germans forced the Dor in two places yesterday and hurled 100 tanks on a settlement. A fierce counter attack stopped the Germans who tried to throw their main forces across the river with 8 complete disdain of losses, the dispatch said
 (The dispatch said the Red army stubbornly was holding positions west of Voronezh and simultaneously fighting enemy tanks and motorized infantry. On the east bank of the Don (the side on which Voronezt Is located), 1t said, Soviet tanks and infantry hurled German infan. try to the river bank and Soviet artillery laid down such barrage that the retreating enemy was un. able to recross to the west bank Hundreds of Germans were report. ed trapped and killed.
 { (Exchange Telegraph reported that the Germans continually were bringing up endorsements of tanks planes and motorized infantry anc that tank battles and dog fights ragged night and day)
 The government newspaper Iz. vestia said: Mountains of enem, corpses are rotting on the feilds un- der a blazing sun. Dozens of trains are taking (Germap) wounded tt rear areas"
 Some of these losses were des- cribed in the noon communique. On a sector west of Voronezh, the Rus- sians beat back three attacks of g German infantry regiment, killed more than 800 officers and soldiers and destroyed seven tanks. On 6 l second sector, 1t asserted, Soviet tankmen routed an enemy motorized column, destroyed 26 trucks and killed 300 Germans.
 The German advance to the vi- cinity of Rossosh, revealed in last midnight's Soviet communique, wa one of the major developments tr the battle for the Don Basin.
 Stubborn Fighting
 "Yesterday our forces engaged ir stubborn fighting with the enemy west of Voronezh and in the vicinity of the town of RoSsosh" 1t said.
 The Germans had widened theii Don River front to 110 miles, d. though there was no news of fight ing around Stary Oskol, 6S miles southwest of Voronezh. The Rus- sians evacuated stary OSkol several days ago. and from 1t the Germans apparently intended to drive 0C miles southeast to Svoboda, junction of the Moscow Rostov and Don Ba- sin and Kuibyshcv railroads. svo- boda IS midway between Voronezt and Rossosh.
 Rossogh also is 100 miles closer than Voronezh to RoStov at the mouth of the Don, if that Is the ultimate aim of the German drive
 (Advices reaching London said 4 was not yet known whether the ad- vance of the German right flank was a meneuver to draw Russian strength from Voronezh. Some Bri- tish observers believed that if thu drive penetrated much farther south the Russians might have to with. draw from the Dorets to protect voroshilovgrad and Kamensko. They said the thrust was a fiankinl threat to all Russian forces in ths Don river area between Kharko' and Rostov).
 The midnight eolmi1uriQue sait there was no change on other frouti but 1t reported that Russian nava units in the Baltic See had euIll