Women Gunners Fighting Shoulder to Shoulder With the Men
With Soviet resources stretched to the breaking point, the Babushkas are now pressed into service as anti-air gunners. Soviet officials does not deny the presence of all-women anti-air units - to the contrary, they state with unconcealed pride that our women are shooting down scores of Hitlerist aircraft every day.

Axis Units Pitching In
In the Don bend, the Romanian Corpul Areian, equipped with German Me 109s, have held their own and are also reported as having participated in offensive actions over Stalingrad. Military experts in London say that the increased dependency on Axis satellite forces is significant. While it is known that Romanian, Hungarian and Italian contingents are holding certain sectors of the Stalingrad front, their combat efficiency remain to be proven.

Strategic Target Bombed
According to our sources the German drive to the Caucasian oil fields has been thwarted by strong Red Army concentrations near Grozny. Russian officials yesterday confirmed that several key installations at the Grozny oil fields have been attacked from the air and set on fire. This attack appear to be an effect of the German Army's inability to capture this vital objective before the onset of winter.

German Alpinists Conquer Mount Elbrus
German Alpine troops are reported as having scaled the summit of Mount Elbrus late in August, where they planted the Reichskriegsflagge. It is not known whether this action was contested by the Red Army.

Stalingrad surrounded
Rumours of a major Soviet counteroffensive at Stalingrad has now been verified by official sources in the Kremlin. According to the Soviets forces of the Don Front, commanded by General K. K. Rokossovsky, has ripped a large hole in the front held by Romanian and Italian armies northwest of Stalingrad. A simultaneous attack delivered southeast of Stalingrad has torn another great hole in the Axis front, scattering the defenders for the winds. The two pincers have met near Kalach, trapping the German 6th Army in the very city they endeavoured to take. Sources state that Axis losses are severe, and that panic seems to be gripping the German command.

Fierce aerial combats reported
International Red Cross observers in Stalingrad report heavy action over the contested city with "fighters falling in droves". Apparently, the Luftwaffe was taken by surprise by the ferocity displayed by the heretofore benign Red Air Force. Strafing at Pitomnik airfield seems to have been rife, and the few fighters who managed to get airborne were promptly jumped by roving reds. Anti-aircraft forces are reported to have had a field day.

New Russian fighter observed over Stalingrad
Allied technical personnel attached to Russian units equipped with Lend-Lease fighters tell of new Russian fighters being introduced at Stalingrad. The aircraft designation is Yak-9 and appear to be a significant improvement over the old Yak-1 model. Although the new fighter display superior maneuverability and speed, the Allied aircraft appear to be holding their own judging by available statistics. The Russians seem particularly pleased with the Bell P39 Airacobra and its formidable punch.

"Explosions everywhere"
Sustained aerial attack against ground targets in Stalingrad and beyond have been reported. Unofficial sources state that airfields north of Stalingrad were particularly hard hit by Stukas and that several squadrons of Bf110 destroyers were launched against other Soviet airfields. All of last week, German bombers pounded city targets, leaving the Tractor Factory and the Volga crossings a smoking shambles. Despite this, German ground troops are reported as making only marginal gains, although Gumrak airfield appear to have been secured.

Russian airmen score heavily over Stalingrad
The VVS yesterday released a list of current Soviet aces (minimum 5 kills) on the Stalingrad front. The top scorers are:
-ratas 17 victories, --lk-- 8 victories, -lssl- 7 victories, afrosi 5 victories

New German aces
According to an official communique on the German Armed Forces Radio, the Stalingrad battle has produced two high scoring fighter aces:
-pjk-- 6 victories, -lest- 5 victories

German army in the Caucasus withdrawing
A partial retrograde movement appear to have been made by the German forces threatening the Caucasus oil fields. Admiral Oktyabrski's Black Sea fleet is reported as having shelled Tuapse in addition to sinking several German transports off the Kuban peninsula.

Gumrak airfield under attack
The German army surrounded in Stalingrad was subjected to heavy aerial attack yesterday as scores of low-flying Bostons and bomb-carrying fighters of the VVS attacked the principal airfield in the area. Extensive damage was done to installations and stores although the anti-aircraft batteries returned withering fire and hacked down many of the attackers. According to our sources, the Luftwaffe has withdrawn the bulk of its force from Stalingrad, with only a small fighter Staffel left to fend off the ever increasing Russian pressure. In yesterday's fighting, this unit appears to have made a tactical retreat from the scene and only engaged when the base was already well alight. Soviet sources claim that the airfield is a "gutted, flaming hell-hole" and that they "expect the enemy to pull back to Pitomnik and die there as dogs".

Russian offensive stalled east of Kalach
The main thrust of the Soviet ground offensive appears to have run out of steam along the Karpovka river (a subsidiary of the Don). German antitank guns are reported as having knocked out over 100 T34 tanks in a fierce battle east of Kalach, while numerous Stuka formations escorted by fighters pounded enemy spearheads near Bokovskaya (F21). According to official German communiques, the Luftwaffe maintain air supremacy in the area and is wreaking havoc on the now slowly advancing Soviets. Though lacking in definite intelligence, it appears that the Russians have been shy of sending their medium bombers westward in support of the ground offensive.

Against all odds
Signal, the German propaganda weekly, has been remarkably void of accounts from the Stalingrad front since the Soviet counter-offensive began. In the current issue however, the rag tells the story of one Unteroffizier -inet-: taking off with Russian fighters waiting to pounce over head, -inet- promptly shot down one enemy aircraft and chased the other away. This feat earned him a mention in dispatches and the Iron Cross, 2nd class.

VVS ace Ratas put Allied pilots to shame
The foremost pilot currently fighting in Stalingrad, Soviet ace Captain I.M Ratas, was hailed in the Kremlin yesterday in a well-publicised ceremony. With 22 victories to his name, Ratas has become the scourge of the Luftwaffe and an example to his fellows. Visibly impressed, American instructors in Stalingrad said that "if this is what they can do with our old iron dogs, they'd be in Berlin next week if we'd send them a bunch of P47s".

Running the gauntlet
With the German 6th Army surrounded and cut off from its supply source, the Luftwaffe now seems committed to supplying the garrison from the air. Allied intelligence reveal massive withdrawal of transport aircraft from all fronts and indicate a concentration of these assets to the Stalingrad sector. Lumbering Ju52's are reported as having made several shuttle flights to the pocket yesterday.

Surrounded Germans eat their horses
International Red Cross representatives in Stalingrad report wholesale slaughter of several thousand draught horses within the perimeter. The principal means of transport in the German army now also seems to be the principal source of food in the pocket. This fact no doubt spells disaster for the mobility and prolonged sustenance of the beleaguered army.

Encircled army breaks out
Following a masterful armoured thrust in the Aksai-Abganerovo sector southwest of Stalingrad, German relief forces yesterday established contact with the surrounded 6th Army. Correspondents following the German Operation Wintergewitter (Winter Storm) speak of horrendous Soviet losses as leap-frogging panzer units tore through to deliver critically needed fuel and ammunition to the beleaguered army. However, the Germans are reported to have abandoned the bulk of their heavy equipment in the city, and untold thousands of soldiers remaining to man the perimeter appear to have been cut off and left behind in the retreat. The most prominent among those left behind is the army commander, Gen Friedrich von Paulus and most of his staff.

Running battle on the steppe
Although total victory slipped out of their hand, the Red Army has succeeded in saving Stalingrad and put a stop to further German gains in the East. The retreating remains of the German 6th Army is in a sorry state and it now seems like the Caucasus will be given up altogether. Fresh Soviet formations are continuosly being fed into the battle, which has now shifted further north in an effort to push the Wehrmacht beyond the Mius.

German air superiority restored
Despite initial losses, the Luftwaffe in the Stalingrad region appears to have pulled themselves together and is again scoring heavily against the VVS. In an official OKH communique released yesterday, the Germans claim to have restored air superiority all over the front, this no doubt being a key factor leading up to the successful relief of Stalingrad.

Light Soviet attacks warded off
In an attempt to disrupt the German relief operation and pin down the defenders, several waves of low-flying Boston bombers hit Gumrak airfield yesterday. The attacks were pressed home with determination and resulted in much damage, but it appears that this effort was still too little, too late.

Successful airlift decisive factor
Operating out of Kalach, Oblivskaya and Tatsinskaya, lumbering Ju52's, augmented by converted He111's and the odd Condor bomber, have succeeded in delivering up to 400 tons of supplies per flying day to the encircled army. Albeit still short of the absolute minimum needed to sustain the army, this effort must be judged as one of the outstanding victories of the drama. Working from makeshift fields and under a deluge of shells from the nearby Soviets, the German transport corps contributed substantially to the successful relief operation, according to OKH sources.

VVS Aces
The VVS yesterday released a list of current Soviet aces (minimum 5 kills) on the Stalingrad front. Three pilots, mrbond, satrap and che--- distinguished themselves yesterday with claiming an astounding total of
32 victories. The top scorers over the past three weeks, with Ratas in the undisputed lead, are:
-ratas, 27 victories
mrbond, 12 victories
satrap, 12 victories
-lssl-, 10 victories
-digs-, 9 victories
--am--, 8 victories
che---, 8 victories
--lk--, 8 victories
afrosi, 7 victories
-cuca-, 7 victories
lite--, 6 victories
-ivan-, 5 victories
-kekc-, 5 victories
--ddmm, 5 victories

Luftwaffe Aces
According to an official communique on the German Armed Forces Radio, the Stalingrad battle has produced several high scoring fighter aces over three weeks of hard fighting:
-lest-, 19 victories
-pjk--, 15 victories
--joch, 12 victories
-inet-, 12 victories
-bodm-, 9 victories
paarma, 6 victories
ender-, 5 victories