Evening star., 1943-07-09
Nazis and Reds Rush
Men Into Kursk Battle
Continued From First Page. }

| in which the Soviets are making
every effort to check our tempes-
tuously advancing armored spear
| heads"
Ut said the Russians lost AN
other 400 tanks" and sustained
high casualties. The German bull
letin also reported that the Rus
SLAMS lost lit aircraft yesterday.
"a later German broadcast es-
| timated that the Russians had
lost nearly 1000 planes in air
combat during the last four days
and declared that, according to
Berlin opinion, the offensive
backbone" of the Red Air Force
has been broken regardless of
the far-reaching preparations the
Soviets made before the battle
started."D
Dog Fights Above Kursk.
The sky above Kursk was over
cast with dog fighting planes. BY
day. Russian fighter-b m b $
brought down Junkers-52s and giant
gliders flying badly-needed reserves
to the Belgorod area. Russian heavy
bombers struck for the fourth con-
secutive night at vital German con-
centrations directly behind the
Kursk salient.
Despite the enormity Of the Ger
man effort to pinch of the Kursk
bulge by drives from the north and
the south, the situation of the de-
Tending Russian forces was re-
garded here as generally unchanged.
The communique gave high praise
to the Red Army men and COM
manders, declaring they were dis
playing supreme steadfastness and
staunchness"
Some of the days fiercest fighting
developed among the hills of the
narrow section of the OrelKursk
front. where the Russians said they
had killed 5000 of the attacking
force.
The Soviet communique acknowl-
edged indirectly for the first time
that the Germans had made some
gains along this northern section OF
the line. by counterattacks our
troops dislodged the enemy from
various places which he took on the
first day of the offensive" the wal
bulletin said.
Day-L0ng Fighting.
The German gain in the Belgorod
sector, the fourth reported by the
Russians in as many days, was at.
tanned only after day-long fighting
in which the Soviet troops inflicted
heavy losses and hurled back enemy
assault columns on several occasions
BY the end of the day a grouI
of German tanks succeeded in driv.
ing a wedge into our defenses,' the
communique said.
Great air battles ragged along
and behind the front. The Russian
communique said Soviet bomber.
caused heavy losses to the enemy
in attacks Wednesday night or
troop trains, tanks and trucks.
Red Army forces have destroyed
many enemy tanks, the Russians
announced. by the technique OF al
lowing them to pass through the
lines, then closing up the gap with
! infantry while artillery and anti
tank guns blast the tanks.
Under the blows of our troops,
the communioue said, "the German
troops are suffering enormous losses
of manpower and equipment. Hun
dreds of disabled and burned out
enemy tanks are left on the bat
tlefield as we'll as many smashed
trucks and German planes"
Front dispatches said swift ma
neuvers of German tanks frequently
were defeated by Soviet engineers
who rushed out and planted mines
in their path at the last minute
One Russian unit repelled an attack
by $50 tanks, including many Of the
Cotton Tigers.
The dispatches reported that 20 to
30 of these big tanks usually spear
head each Nazi thrust, with double
that number of motorized cannon
following close behind. Then comes
the infantry and oid-model tanks
such as Mark Ills and Tvs. Stimuli
taneously light and medium tanks
operate on the flanks.
Battle experience has proved
clearly, these reports ssid, that the
new Tigers are vulnerable to heavy
artillery and antitank fire and even
to aerial assault.
A Red Star editorial, observing
that the enemy had succeeded IN
advancing in spots, declared:
ut is the duty of our troops to
halt the enemy at any cost.
Our troops can and must hold all
lines" -.
Feint attacks are the main enemy
trick to guard against, the paper
said.