The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-10-15
VIOLENT FIGHTS
 BREAK AGAIN


 CcOntinued from Page D effort to smash through to some factories. The entrenched Russians held their positions, killing 2,0O0 Germans and destroying % tanks.
 Only a narrow strip of debris filtered street separated the Ger mans from guardsmen defending approaches to the Volga river. The Germans dispatches said, have been stabbing at the strip for several days. constantly throwing in fresh troops against Req Army men who have been fighting for months.
 But the government organ Izves- tia said the guardsmen stood like iron among houses collapsing under artillery and mortar fire.
 No Change Anywhere
 The Soviet high command was able to report in the noon communi- que that there was mo change" on any front, q situation that has now prevailed for 48 hours.
 "In the Stalingrad area, German infantry supported by tanks several times attacked Soviet positions and were repulsed with heavy losses, ? the communique said. Soviet ar- tillery destroyed several tanks, eight guns and two trench mortar bat teries dispersed and partly wiped out up to two battalions."
 Above Stalingrad, where Marshal Semyon Timoshenko was on the of fensive between the Don and Volga rivers, German counter attacks were reported by the communique. One Red unit smashed five such at- tacks and killed 300 Germans, it said. Soviet scouts penetrated Ger man defenseS and killed SO soldiers. The battle of Stalingrad began 52 days ago. With the exception of one heavy attack, there had beeS 8 lull in ground fighting since last Friday. But 1t was still problemat- ical whether the Germans would re- sume hourly attacks with the great forces that once assaulted the city.
 The fury of fighting also increas- ed in the wintery Mozdok area of the eastern Caucasus, and south- east of Novorossisk, the Black Sea naval base the Germans occupied more than three weeks ago. Dispatches said the situation was more serious in the Mozdok area, where the Germans were trying to drive from a point south of the Terek river 40 or 50 miles to the Grozny oil fields.
 The Germans were reported to have intensified their pressure in several directions simultaneously, with individual tanks wedged into Soviet positions. Upwards of three battalions (probably 5000 men) of infantry with 60 tanks assaulted one narrow sector between now-fring- ed mountains.
 Swayed To and Fro
 The battle swayed to and fro. At some points the Russians managed to improve their positions.
 'In the Mozdok area, Soviet troops fought enemy tanks and infantry, the noon communique said. Ger man infantry attempted to capture one height, but Soviet troops re- pelled them, killing up to 400"
 The battle in the western Cau- casus centered on the Black Sea coast southeast of Novorossisk and in the mountain district, from which the Germans were trying to smash their way toward other ports Tuapse, Sukhum and Batum.
 No German progress was admit ted. Dispatches said small groups of tommy gunners had penetrated Soviet positions, but were being rounded up and killed.
 The noon communique reported fighting on the Leningrad front and elsewhere in the northwest. Three hundred Germans were killed in two days fighting around Leningrad, it said, and in artillery and trench mortar duels on the northwestern front" some enemy ammunition dumps had been blown up and a guards anti-tank crew had destroy ed six German tanks.
 A dispatch from Orozhonikidge terminus of the Georgian military highway, said some Germans had penetrated the farmlands of north ern OSetia. an autonomous area % miles southwest of Mozdok.
 Armed peasants, descendants oi fierce, ancient tribes, were tilline their land under enemy fire, anC focking to join the Army and de- fend their homes.