THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 21, 1942
Reds Break Inner Ring OF Nazis Kharkov Defenses;
Strike Furiously At Diminishing Mechanized Power
Germans Are Unable To
Stem Tide Of Russians;
Big Tank Battle Rages
_By HENRY SHAPIRO
United Press Staff Correspondent
MOSCOW—The Red Army
has overwhelmed the main
German fortifications of
Kharkov and is battling in
the inner ring of defenses
around the besieged industrial
city, the Army organ
Red Star reported today in a
front line dispatch.
The Germans still fought hard.
Offensive In Pacific Resumed
By DON CALDWELL
United Staff Corespondent
MELBOURNE,— American and
Australian planes resumed their
aerial offensive, after a one day
lapse due to bad weather, with
heavy attacks on the two chief
Japanese invasion bases in the
area northwest of Australia. Gen.
Douglas MacArthur announced to-
day.
Moves
in War
By LOUIS F. KEEMLE
of the United Press War Desk
The Germans apparently
have thrown heavy reserves
into action in an attempt to
halt the Russian offensive in
the Kharkov area ' and
Marshal Semyon Timoshenko's
drive appears to have
been slower, although not
yet stopped.
The Moscow communique admits
German counter-attacks but
says they were unsuccessful. Berlin
makes no claim of having
gained the initiative but speaks
only of repulsing Russian attacks
with heavy losses.
The outcome of this highly important
battle therefore still is
uncertain, but it seems increasingly
probable that Timoshenko
has thrown a monkey wrench into
Hitler's plans for invading .the
Caucasus.
ADVANCE OFFSET
The German advance into the
Kerch Peninsula—which has not
yet been completely overrun—has
been offset by the action around
Kharkov As foreign military observers
see it a German push into
the Caucasus across the Kerch
Strait alone would leave the Germans
too exposed to Russian
counter-attack.
A parallel drive southward
against Rostov presumably was
.-—-planned by the Germans. Their
• losses around Kharkov and the
consequent disorganization of
their lines probably has delayed
such a drive, and if Timoshenko
is able to continue his offensive,
it may be set back indefinitely.
Reports of a Russian attack on
Taganrog, the German strong
point just west of Rostov, would
indicate that Timoshenko is making
an additional effort m the
south to upset the German program.
There have been surmises that
Hitler might attempt a direct invasion
of the Caucasus from Rumanian
and Bulgarian ports 1 100
miles across the Black Sea to
Batum. the principal oil port. Military
experts doubt such a move
however, because the Russian fleet
still dominates the Black Sea and
its principal base, Sevastopol, still
is in Russian hands.
STRENGTH NOT KNOWN
The strength of the Black Sea
fleet has not been disclosed but
Ankara reports that it includes
some good modern cruisers, a considerable
number of destroyers and
submarines and one old battleship
That is far stronger than anything
Hitler could present Roumama
has four destroyers and two submarines
and Roumania and Bulgaria
together have a handful of
gunboats The Germans are reported
trying to salvage a half-built
Russian battleship which
fell into their hands when they
captured Nikolaev on the Black
Sea east of Odessa, and are supposed
to have brought several U-boats
down the Danube in parts
for assembly at Costanza.
The Black Sea fleet presents a
menace to a German crossing of
Kerch .Strait, although if the Germans
can establish" complete air
mastery, it could be accomplished.
With air supremacy they might
be able to cover landings from
the Crimea along a several hundred
mile stretch of the Caucasus
coast.
A recent German communique
mentioned the''presence of assault
boats on the coast, of the Kerch
Peninsula, and Ankara reports
that some of about 400 barges
which the Germans accumulated
at the mouth of the Danube since
autumn have been moved, presumably
to the Crimea
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