Evening star., 1942-01-12
Trapping Of Two
Nazi Regiments
Claimed by Reds
Tank Group Coueht
South of Moscow,
Russions Soy
Pv the A Associated press

z, the Associated Press.
The Russians today claimed
the trapping of two German
regiments and a tank group in q
large city encircled south Of
Moscow as they pressed to close
pincers about a Nazi stronghold
at Mozhaisk, 81 miles west Of
Moscow.
The entrapment claim appeared in
dispuatch to the Soviet Army
newspaper Red Star, which did not
name the city, but said the tempo
of the Russian offensive was rising
on all sectors of the Moscow front
and that 157 settlements had been
taken in the last three days.
Bryansk and Orel are two large
cities which have been menaced with
encirclement by recent Soviet
thrusts
Nazi Line Declared Breached.
Russian soldiers smashing forward
against the Germans from the Arc
tic to the Black Sea were reported
earlier to have preached q new Ger
man winter defense line on the
central front.
The Russians said officially that
they had captured the steel-produc-
ing city of Lyudinovo, 40 miles south
of Bryansk and directly on the Bry-
ansk-Vyazma defense line, which
British reports have said Adolf Hit
Ter told his men to hold at all costs.
The Russians also said they had
reoccupied the railway junction Of
Tikhonova Pustyn. few miles north
Of Kaluga, which is about halfway
between Moscow and Bryansk.
Fleet Shells Nazi Troops.
Reports reaching London said
Russia's Black Sea fleet. operating
from the great Sevastopol base
which the Nazis failed to destroy
or capture, was shelling retreating
German columns in the Eastern
Crimea today.
One object of the Nazi drive into
the Crimea was to restrict the Black
Sea fleet. Failure of that aim was
apparent when the Red Navy took
large and successful part in Soviet
landings on the Kerch Peninsula
December 26.
On the central front, where the
Red Army continued to press the
scene of battle away from the gates
Of Moscow, reports told of German
activity apparently prompted by
| desperation as the situation grew
steadily worse.
Soviet war dispatches said cap.
tured documents of the 289th infan-
try division revealed that the divi-
sion had been reinforced in the past
two months by men with wounds in
the first stages of healing.
Soviet troops have captured many
locomotives and railway cars in the
Crimea and workers rapidly are
putting the lines in order for traffic,
Tass broadcast said.
In Position to Chose Pincers.
A military commentator in Lon
don said the capture Of Lyudinova
placed the Red Army lin a good
position" for closing a pincers on
German forces in the Mozhaisk
sector.
The Russians have driven salientS
westward both below and above
Mozhaisk, which represents the
closest point to the Russian capital
at which the Germans still remain.
The British radio quoted a spokes-
man in Kuibyshev. alternate Rus
sian capital, as saying the Russians
were within 80 miles of Smolensk,
the ruined Russian city. 220 miles
west of Moscow, in which. Stock
holm reports to London have said.
Hitler set up headquarters on TAX
ing personal command Of the Ger.
man Army.
A Vichy France) news agency
dispatch said the Russians had re-
captured the famous city Of Bala-
klava. in the Crimea, gain which
If confirmed would give the So
viets dominance of the southern ex-
tremity of the Crimean Peninsula.
The German high command re-
ported that sharp fighting was con-
tinuing on the central sector Of the
eastern front before Moscow and
in the Valdai region between the
Soviet capital and Leningrad
"On other sectors of the front
there were no considerable opera
tions," said the Berlin communique.
The Germans said that in the
Russian landing at Yevpatoriya, on
the Crimean Peninsula. the Rus
slams left 600 men and 1900 par
tisans" on the battlefield after stub
born house to house and street fight
| lSee RIISSIAN page A-6l