Evening star., 1942-07-06
Fierce Battles FOUGHT
Around be|gorod
And voIchansk
-
Soviet Armies Fighting
Desperately to Stem
Nuzi Offensive
95 the Associated Press.

1s the Associated Press.
I MOSCOW, July 6.-Russia' s
defending armies sought desper-
ately today to stem an offensive
aimed beyond the important
Don River and the strategic city
OF Voronezh on the Moscow
Rostov Railway.
The bloody struggle which has
developed into a full-scale Nazi Of
fensive Is taking place in a rough
triangle, with Kursk and Kharkov
in the west and Voronezh in the
east as its points. The fiercest
lighting Is in progress around the
cities Of Belgorod and Volchansk
In the Kharkov corner.
Russian dispatches told OF stub
born fighting around these two cities
and said the Germans had sue
ceeded in driving a wedge into their
lines in the Belgorod sector, but the
government said the Germans suf-
fered heavy losses under a Russian
flank attack.
Fierce Battles Reported.
During the night fierce engage
ments" continued in the Kursk,
Belgorod and Volchansk sectors, the
Soviet midday communique said,
adding that Red Army tankmen had
wiped out regiment of German
infantry and an artillery unit in
"sanguinary battles" near Kursk.
In another sector, presumably
near Belgorod or Volchansk, Rus
sian airmen destroyed several doz-
ems OF German tanks and more than
10 trucks with infantry and brought
down II German planes, the COM
munique said. Tankmen were re-
ported to have killed more than 800
Germans and destroyed much equip
ment.
Russian resistance was stiffening
In the Kursk region where the Red
Army's heaviest tanks were being
thrown into the battle, late dis
patches from the front said. But
the weight of the German mechan-
tied forces was not minimized.
However, the tenor of the reports
was that the danger to strategic
Voronezh appeared to have dimin-
ished somewhat.
(In London, observers described
the situation on the Russian
front as potentially very seri-
ous," and said German reports
that they had reached and crossed
the Don might be true).
More than 300 Germans were re-
ported killed in two days of fighting
near Leningrad.
Furious Attacks by Naxis.
Southeast of Kursk, the Germans
were attacking furiously and in
cessantly with a force estimated
at more than 10000 men by the
Soviet high command. The Rus
SLAMS reported these attacks had
been repeued, but the Germans ap-
parently were throwing every avail
able reserve into the bitter struggle
to smash eastward toward the Don.
Signs of exhaustion among the
German troops fighting at Belgorod
and Volchansk were apparent, So
Wet dispatches said. Many Of these
troops had been brought hastily
from the rear or other fronts, 1t
was reported. These reports told
of one division of motorized In
fantry which lost 1900 dead during
an attack on narrow front two
days ago.
While last nights Soviet COM
munique indicated that the German
onslaught had been slowed up near
Kursk. 1t emphasized the bitterness
of battle and indicated 1t was con-
tinuing In full fury. The fighting
southeast Of Kursk was in its ninth
day with the Germans reported
using five infantry, four tank and
two motorized divisions.
Four Points Retaken.
. With this mobile equipment, the
fighting moved swiftly from one
point to another and Russian battle
front dispatches reported that q
Russian counterattack had recap
tured four inhabited points in the
Kursk region.
The Red Army was reported to be
holding strongly on the German
right near Kursk In an effort tt
block any attempted junction ol
these Axis forces with the German
armies striving to push northeast.
ward from Belgorod and Volchansk
Voronezh, the apparent objective
OF the Nazi drive, is about 130 miles
east of Kursk. 1t is the capital o1
voronezh province and has popu.
lation OF about 212,000.