Show Smuts Says Allies on Threshold Of Offensive Phase of W War or Nazis Retreat Several Miles South Of Stalingrad as Rains Bog Down Enemy ions By fly HENRY MOSCOW MOSCO Oct 21 UP Front UP Front dispatches said Wednesday I that the Russians seized the initiative south of Stalingrad and I drove the Germans back across several miles of open country amid d drenching r e n C chi h i n a g rains that thai bogged the enemy's communications The German high command admitted significantly that Marshal Marshal Marshal Mar Mar- Semyon has sent fresh reinforcements into his drive from the north between the Don Donand Donand Donand and the Volga rivers Radio Berlin Berlin Berlin Ber Ber- lin had reported Tuesday that there were preparations for a big attack northwest of Stalingrad Some of the biggest battles battles- of the campaign in the Stalingrad area were being fought in the barren barren bar bar- ren and unfortified steppes for possession of isolated water wells the main mam objective on both sides Domination of a single well often means control of an area of hundreds hundreds hundreds hun hun- of square miles dispatches said The wells are a necessity for the opposing tank cavalry and motor patrols Rumanians Fall South of Stalingrad an enemy village manned by a Rumanian garrison fell easily before the Russians experienced in steppe fighting In Stalingrad itself the Germans Germans Germans Ger Ger- mans were throwing storm troops and 60 tanks into a narrow sector in a frantic effort to take the city before winter settles The red army was smashing every attack The communist newspaper Pravda Pravda Pray Pray- da reported that the food situation situation situation situa situa- tion among the German assault troops had become severe while heavy rains that had fallen unabated unabated unabated un un- un- un abated for three days threatened to bog down their drive The The conclusion was Implicit th though not stated t t d in hr th the com communist party organ Pravda's documented documented documented docu docu- description of hunger among the German hordes at Stalingrad Stalingrad Sta- Sta Ingrad that the nazis' nazis mile 1900 long communications which had for weeks supported one of the greatest battles in history were I at last faltering Transportation Difficult There also was a possibility that the heroic Russian resistance had forced such an expenditure of munitions mu mu- that the Germans were now being compelled to transport more munitions and less food for their troops Pravda said the Germans were reduced to eating stray dogs that wandered into their lines The defenders on the other hand had two wo substantial hot meals a day including plenty of meat and fish Fish was especially plentiful Fishermens Fishermen's wives were cleaning and cooking them in sight of the starved d Germans Pravda said The g letter which German German Gernan Ger- Ger man nan Corporal Hermann Continued on Page Paje Four Column One I ALLIES INCREASE AIR MASTERY Continued from Page PaJe One I fires Jn ln the camp area The com com- I made no mention of any further aerial resistance last encountered encountered en en- countered early sarly this month Meantime MacArthurs MacArthur's Austral Austral- lan ian an troops further reduced the Japan Japanese se threat to the allied Port Moresby base in New Guinea by pushing the enemy back three miles niles In the Owen Stanley mountains moun- moun Attack Forming T The e expected Japanese assault to o recapture Guadalcanal air field from rom which the American aerial attacks are being launched ap pea eared red still to be forming although although al- al though hough the navy declared the enemy enemy enemy en en- emy had not landed additional reinforcements reinforcements re- re on the island since October 15 5 Presence of pf U S 8 S. S warships In fn Inthe the he Solomons was disclosed by the navy two days ago and for the last several days American bombers and fighter planes have maintained steady attacks on Japanese shipping shipping shipping ship ship- ping supply dumps and troops |