Evening star., 1943-03-10
Germans Are Held by Russians
After 1O0-MiIe Donets Advance:
Khorkov Is |mperi|ed by Nozis
Enemy Losses Heavy;
Reds Push Ahead
On Other Fronts
MAP on Page A-12.J
By the Associated Press.

Swept back 100 miles, with the
loss of eight key cities, Russia S
armies battled today to save the
great prize of their 112-day-old
winter offensive as Adolf Hitler
threw approximately $4,000
troop reinfOrCementS into a
counterdrive against Kharkov
and the upper Donets River
Valley.
Pierce battles in which the Ger
man Fascist troops are suffering tre-
mendous losses in men and material,
especially in tanks, are continuing
in the district to the south and west
of Kharkov," Soviet headquarters
announced.
Soviet dispatches claimed the
German drive was being held after
surrender Of the eight cities despite
the fact that the enemy had su-
perior numbers in the area,
In at least one sector south of
kharkov, the Russian Pittsburgh"
which the Red Army retook Febru-
ary Is, it was said the Germans were
forced to retreat and the Russians
were reported beating off every
enemy effort to win back the city.
The Germans yesterday said they
were IL miles from Kharkov.
Reds Push Westward.
On the central front, the Soviet
forces continued to push westward
from Gzhatsk, 100 miles west OF
Moscow, and southwark and south
westward from Rzhev and got with
in striking distance of the tip Of the
German salient at Vyazma. East OF
wanna the Russians commanded
places on both the railway and the
Smolensk highway.
Resistance was determined, how
ever. and a Red Star dispatch said
it took four hours to capture Tenn
kino, with the Germans burning VII
lagos as they retired.
The German high command, car
rying out another of its Withdrawals
according to plan," announced the
evacuation of Belly, 60 miles south
west of Rzhev and about the same
distance northwest of Vyazma. The
communique claimed fresh advances
In the Kharkov sector, however.
South of Bryansk and southwest
of Orel, the Russians were still on
the offensive, and reported the cap
ture of a populated place in the re-
gion of SeVsk.
Towns Are Captured.
On the northern front Marshal
Semeon Timoshenko's hard-hitting
offensive pushed the Germans closer
into their fortress of Staraya RusSa
below Lake linen by capturing
stare Ramushevo and Novo Ramu-
shevo, IS miles from their objective.
News of the Soviet setback in the
Donets area. which imperiled the
center of the 400-mile front from
Orel to Rostov, was frankly &C
knowledge by the Russian command,
which declared, however, that the
Germans had lost 10000 killed since
the end of February.
No Signs of Major COLLAPSE.
While the situation was undoubt-
edly critical, military analysts saw
no signs of a ma jor Soviet collapse
nor did the Germans make such a
clain-and it was pointed out that
even the greatest Nazi offensives of
the war eventually dwindled and
stalled through sheer physical eX-
haustion. Day and night, without
pause, the Russians had been on
the attack since last November 19.
Italian dispatches to Switzerland
said Hitler had been able to trans
fer 100000 troops from France to
discriminating three armored di-
visions and nine infantry divisions
because the Allies had not estab-
lished a second front"
Red Army headquarters said the
Germans had shifted II divisions
from Western Europe and also were
using 13 other divisions rested from
early defeats of the long winter
campaign.
Cities Listed by Soviets.
The eight lost cities marking the
l00-mile trail of Soviet retreat were
listed by the Russian command as
Pavlograd, 35 miles from the
Dnieper River bend; Krasnograd
Jozovaya. Krasnoarmeisk, Krama-
torsk. Barvenkovo. Slavyansk and
LiSichansk
There also were indications that
the Russians were in danger Of los
ing VoroshilovgTad. about IS miles
north of Rostov. where Red Army
sappers were reported sowing land
mines to cover the Soviet retreat
~ ALnnt