Fresh Russian troops from the East led a vigorous offensive below Leningrad Sunday, seeking to shatter the whole left wing of the German invasion army, while further south other Soviet forces converged on Smolensk and doggedly fought westward in the Ukraine.

In Libya there appeared to be a lull, as the British communique said that patrols fanning out from their positions west and south of Tobruk had failed to make contact with any "important bodies" of the Axis troops.

Gen. Erwin Rommel, Axis commander, appeared to be pausing for reorganization and perhaps new supplies from rear bases before attempting to take Tobruk and drive the British back the remaining 100-odd miles to the Egyptian border.

There were increasing evidences that on the bitterly cold eastern front German resistance was stiffening and the Soviet offensive--now 10 weeks old--was slowing its rate of advance. It had not been stopped, however, and Russian salients below Leningrad and stabbing towards Smolensk and westward in the Ukraine constituted a real threat to the whole Nazi line.