The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-12-14
Russians Penetrate Sec. ond Enemy Defense Line
 in Stalingrad z,OOO MORE AXIS MEN
 KILLED IN "A HOURS Enemy Battalion Trapped and Encircled East of
 Veliki Luki
BY M. S. HANDLER

United Press Staff Correspondent
 Moscow, Dec. 14-(UP)- Russian troops have smashed Z a German attempt to crack the southern arm of the So viet pincers encircling Axis forces in the Stalingrad ares and have penetrated the sec ond enemy line of defense irl the city's southern outskirts, front dispatches said today.
 Battle line reports said 2,000 mors Axis troops had been killed at Stall ingrad while on the central front west of Rzhev, upwards of 1,500 mOre enemy troops had been killed in the last 24 hours.
 German casualties, already esti- mated by the army newspaper Red Star at more than 5000. GOO killed. wounded or captured since the start of the Russian war, were mounting rapidly on all active fronts, it was said.
 Soviet communiques reported that the Russians had surged through the first line of German trenches and now were fighting in the sec ond line in the southern outskirts of Stalingrad. Shock troops bat tered into the German positions capturing 150 prisoners and destroy ing three field guns and four ma. chine guns.
 The Germans continued futile stabs at the Russian ring encirClins their forces between the Volga ano Don rivers. Driven of at one point front dispatches said, they reformed their infantry and tank groups and drove 8 wedge into another section of the Russian lines where Russian Artillery hemmed them in. When the battle cleared, 800 enemy troops were dead and 9 German tanks were damaged or burned out. Ten additional tanks were lost in fruit less subsequent attacks. Northwest of the city, the Rus. sians further improved their posi-. tons despite determined German counter-attacks. The enemy gained nothing and lost an additional l. 200 men, front reports said.
 West of Rzhev, 130 miles north- west of Moscow, the Germans con- tinued to lose heavily in tanks and manpower, driving their troops into determined counter attacks which failed to halt the slow but steady Soviet advance. Tn the last 24 hours, the enemy had lost 1,500 men and 16 tanks.
 Soviet bombers and Stormovik dive-bombers stepped up the pace of their activity in the Dzhev-Vy- azma-Veliki Luki triangle where large groups of German tanks were reported attempting to localize a Russian breach east of Veliki Luki An enemy battalion that tried to penetrate the Soviet lines was trap ped and encircled east of velild Luki.
 The fighting was bitter in the streets of ruined Stalingrad.
 Three Steamers Sunk (Enemy orig1n-noC uled py
 UP Correspondent Berlin, Dec. 14-(German broads cast recorded by UP in New York -The German high command said today that German E-boats tor. pedoed six merchantmen in a strongly protected convoy off the British east coast Saturday night, sinking three steamers totaling 5000 tons immediately.
 A communique reported that the E-boats broke through 6 strong destroyer screen to make the attack It said a 3.OO0-ton tanker caught fire and the remaining two ships attacked also probably sank"
 The communique made little Tote of the situation in Libya. Tn Cyrenaica." it said, Lively xscC1. 1 fryOY&aTlaed 0sa pauA &1