Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-07-23
Russians Smash
Last Defenses
=.
North Of 0re| :
II -~xy
Pincers Tighten on
City in Spite Of
Counteruttucks
BY the Associated Press.

MOSCOW, July %. Russian
forces have crashed through the
last strongly fortified link in
Orel's northern defenses and
closed their pincers tighter about.
that city despite desperate Nazie
counterattacks, a Soviet an
nouncement said today.
The Russians reported that their7
Today offensive has cost the Ger
mans $4,000 killed and 5000 cap
tured. Hr
Bolkhov. IS miles above orel,.
which Red Army column racing
down from the north had by-passed-
while driving to within 9 miles
northeast of Orel. crumbled before
the attackers. and its fall completed
the liquidation of strongly fortified
districts" in that direction, the
Russians said. -
Another Soviet column pounding
to within II miles of the key Ger
man defense city from the east,
and southern column moving up TO-
complete the three headed drive,
beat back Nazi tanks and infantry
to continue steady advance, &C.
cording to the Soviet announcement,
Altogether, the Russians said gains.
of to 5 miles were registered in the
Orel sector yesterday, while the.
Germans lost $500 killed and SO
tanks destroyed or captured Pris-
oners and supplies also were taken,
the Russians declared.
Much Material Captured.
The Moscow midnight commune
que which disclosed the losses in
manpoWer to Hitler's Army during
the Soviet offensive, placed German,
losses in material destroyed or
captured at these figures:
Nine hundred planes, 1,l48 tanks.
1902 guns of various caliber. 300
mortars and 400 machine guns.
(The German radio countered
with the assertion that the Red
Army had lost more than $4,000
in dead, wounded or captured
since July Is.
(Terming the struggle "the
greatest battle of attrition ever
fought" German sources pictured
the immensely of the armies
facing each other along the Rus
sian front by saying they were
made up of 900 divisions-from
100000 to 100000 men pres
emily engaged" .there.),
In the Belgorod sector, 165 miles
south of Orel, the Russian an
nouncement said Soviet troops over
came strong German resistance and
counterattacks to continue their ad-
vances. The Germans were driven
from several populated areas in that
sector, and the bodies of more than
1000 enemy dead were counted on
the field following a two-day battle,
the Russians said.
Local Engagements.
The Soviet communlque con-
tinued to term engagements in the
Donets River basin south of Izyurn.
and southwest of Voroshilovgrad as
of local importance" and said the
Germans were defending their po-
sitions from tanks dug into the
ground. The Russians are blasting
at those positions by f1anking move
ments and short attacks, and are
beating off Nazi counterattacks
there, they said.
Front-line dispatches describing
Bolkhov's capture said Russian
columns closed in on the town from
the north, northeast and southwest
after the northern prong had broken
through defenses the Germans con-
sidered impregnable.
Heavy fighting was reported 70
have continued into the heart of
the town, with some Nazi garrisons
fighting until they were exter-.
minated.
The Russians said German pris-
oners taken in one sector of the
Orel battle said they had received
orders to fight to the last man.