The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-10-07
Desperate Germans Fight Bitter Fight But Little
 Progress Admitted
CITY STILL BEING
 HELD AT ANY COST
TimOshenkO's Advance Covers Wide Area Near
 Don, VOlga Rivers
BY HENRY SHAPIRO United Press Staff COrrespondenEl

United Press Staff COrrespondensD
 Moscow, October 7.- (UP) = Marshal Semyon Timo~ shenko threw strong forces of Stormovik bombers into his counter offensive above Stalingrad today, and his columns, advancing over a wide area, drove into a town, cut off fleeing Axis forces and killed 1,200.
 The desperate Germans, trying t0 take Stalingrad before TimoShenko'a relief offensive and approaching winter trapped them, steadily in- creased the force of their thrusta within the city.
 Dispatches said several German divisions (probably 45,0OO nnenl tanks and 1,000-plane sorties were hammering necessarily at small industrial district in the northwest- ern section of Stalingrad. Scores of attacks have failed there in thel last week.
 No Advance Admitted
 But at no point. the Soviet higl1l command said. did the Germans advance.
 General Rodimtsev, one of thal great heroes of the battle of Skalia~ grad now raging in the 4Ath day ordered the city held at any cost
 T am confident that in spite ofl all difficulties and trials we wiIRl smash the German hordes at tIle wall of Stalingrad," he said.
 The Germans rushed new i1fan- try, aircraft and tank divisions to the city. The army organ Red Star said the defenders were withStand- ing the heaviest attacks Of the siege, and that the Russians were exacting the highest price the Naxis had ever paid for an inch of corls quered land.
 Hits Left Flank
 TimoShenko's counter offensive stabbed into the German left flank with greater and greater force. He not only had brought up powerful Stormovik bombers to clear the way for his advance, but also strong forces of fighters to take care 0e German planes.
 His advance extended over wide area between the Don and VolgA rivers, and along the bank of tho Don, northwest of Stalingrad.
 The Germans buried hundreds of damaged tanks and used their tl1rs rets as mounts for fixed artillery, while their undamaged tanks scutt while their undamaged tanks scuttled across the SteppeS. counter attacking in vain efforts to stop the Russians. The hard 5reSSed enemy was still firing dry grasslands. in the hope that the Russians would be impeded.
 The town in which, the Axis forces, mostly Rumanians. were trapped presumably was the one mentioned in last midnight's C0Ea~ munique. At that time the Rus~ sians were in only the outskirts.
 Splitting Tactics
 The government organ IzvestAA said timely Russian counter-at~ tacks in the industrial section ek northwest Stalingrad had thwarte& a German plan to split the Soviet forces and smash through to the center of the city. At the end of two days of uninterrupted battle, the enemy, with vast numerical su- periority, was still pinned to hts initial positions.
 Other front-line dispatches re- ported that the Germans had flown up from Kersh four sapper hat< talionS and one construction ba6r talion, all of which had fought ln the battle of Sevastopol. These veterans were immediately thrown against the industrial dis. trict.
 German bombers showered incen- diaries over the area. Almost every ruined house was blazing.
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