The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-11-20
PEACE IN SIGHT
AFTER SWEEPING
VICTORY BY REDS
Wave of Rejoicing Travels
Across Soviet Russia After
Victory Flash - Capture
Many WrangeI Troops.
BY LOUISE BRYANT,
fspeeial Correspondent of the In
ternational News Service.l

ternati0nal views 00i N'SS|
MOSCOW, Russia, (By wireless to
Berlin) Nov. 20.--So enormous was
the booty captured from Gen. Wran-
gel. in Crimea, that the soviet gov.
eminent has appointed a special
commission to supervise It's trans
portation from the battlefront Inc
CAPTURES embrace every kind of war
materials, including many french
airplanes, tanks, guns, munitions Tor
artillery and small arms and unused
uniforms. The prisoners jncluded
soldiers from 30 different units OF
Gen. Wrangers army.
A great wave Of rejoicing swept
soviet Russia when news of the vic
tory was flashed over the govern
ment wireless system. Real peace
appears to be I'm sight for the first
time since the\ soviet government
came into power.
The antired forces under Gen.
Balachovitch and Gen. Petlura,
which are operating in the western
part of White Russia and Jkrainla,
are not regarded as serious obstacles.
Military men say these forces can
be disposed of in a very short time
Cessation Seems Close.
With prospects of a complete ces-
sation of hostilities all departments
of the soviet government are now
discussing reconstruction plans.
The storming Of the defenses OF
Northern Crimea by the red army
was one of the most dramatic bat
tles of modern times. Russian mill
tary men say that it compares with
the battle of Verdun. The powerful
defensive works which were believed
by Gen. Wrangel's engineers to be
impregnable, were first preached
with violent artillery fire and then
the troops poured through the gaps.
Leon TrotZky, commissar OF war
in the soviet government, personally
directed the final phase of the at
tack. AS soon as the Russo Polish
armistice was signed Trotzky left for
the Crimean war theater and organ
lied the advance. The concentration
of red troops was completed in Oc-
toher and the battle opened on Oct.
IA north of Perekop, the town at
the bottle neck where Crimea joins
the Russian mainland.
Shock Troops Win.
The IlrSt Russian victory was "oIl
north of Perekop at enormous costs.
Trotzky sent in his best soldiers
shock troops-and they justified
Trotzky's expectations.
II now Is apparent that the de-
moralization Of Wrangels soldiers
had been under way for some time
before the collapse. Twenty-four
hours after the fall of Simferopol
and Sebastopol. local soviet govern
ments were administering all pub
lie affairs. They had been estab-
lished a month previously. but had
to conduct their affairs by under
ground system
The first telegram from the Cri-
mean soviet government was re-
ceived by the Moscow government
on Tuesday night. At that time 1t
was not known definitely that Gen.
Wrangel had escaped to Turkey upon
a ship and the message aroused some
expectation here that Wrangel might
be a prisoner.
Red soldiers captured an order OF
the day signed by Gen. Wrangel,
saying that, as the allies were CIV
ing him no further military assist
ance, he extended permission to all
his soldiers to surrender themselves
TO the reds.
: Military experts writing in the To-
cal newspaper, Pravda, say that the
importance of the victory in Crimea
can not be oVer-estimated.