Evening star., 1939-12-10
Red Army Displays
Weakness, but Test
May Await Big War
Reports That Equipment
Is Defective Termed
Not Conclusive

Greatest military riddle of the
post World War period has been
the true polDer OF the past 1Dar
machine created by Soviet Rus
Sia. Parts OF it haze been tested
In the Spanish cipil iDdr, in the
Far East, in Poland and, cur
rently. in Finland. The JolloiD-
ing analysis Is based on intormn-
ton and opinions collected from
military authorities IN n1any
capitals.
BY the Associated Press.
How good are the claws Of the
Russian Bear7
Grown to impressive length ana
groomed to steely sharpness, how
effective can they be in a real
fight?
Is their length strength or weak
ness? Does their hard, polished
Glitter hide brittleness?
There is no conclusive answer to
the mystery, for the Soviet Union
has guarded well the secrets OF the
Red Army it built from the poorly
equipped troops OF the revolution.
But glimpses Of parts OF the
Soviet war machine in action have
been provided In the Spanish civil
war, in the Far East-the 1898 vest
pocket war at Changkufeng Hill and
the 1899 conflict between Japanese
Manchukuoan and Russian Outer
Mongolian forces-and in Poland
and in Finland.
Signs Of Weakness Found.
The picture is incomplete but In
1t observers have found signs or
weakness-or at least failure to
show impressive strength-to Offset
the picture the Soviet Union her
self paints in the spectacular
parades in Moscow's Red Square.
Generalizations remain danger
Gus, however, because it Is unknown
whether Russias best has yet been
tested in. conflict.
Finland's experiences in resisting
invasion have provoked the latest
doubts among neutral military
authorities concerning the true
strength of the Red Army.
Col. Alexander Mellbloom, COM
mandant of Finnish forces in the
Viipuri sector, said Friday that 100
Russian tanks had been disabled
because:
They were old fashioned
models with thin armor plate.
They we're poorly handled.
The Films met them with the
fire of powerful new anti
tank gun.
Hundreds Of Bombs Duds.
Russians also were shown to dis
advantage by Finnish assertions
that hundreds of bombs dropped on
Viipuri in the first two days of the
invasion were duds.
Are these examples and the slow
progress of the Russian invasion
symptomatic of a general weakness
of the Red Army?
An Associated Press correspondent
who was stationed in Moscow for q
year and who now is in Scandinavia
injects a note of caution.
Neutral experts, he said, point out
that the 100000 men given as the
minimum estimate of Red soldiers
engaged in the Finnish campaign
represent only a small fraction OF a
standing army Of more than 2,600, 900
men and potential war strength
of 11,00o.0 900.
Also the fact that out-of-date
equipment has been used in the
fighting Is no indication that the
most modern weapons will not be
used later.
Planes Believed Not First Line.
Bombers downed by the Firms are
not believed to be first-line planes
of the Russian Air Force, he said.
Russia is known to have hundreds
of fast, modern bombers.
Experts the correspondent con-
suited also largely ascribed the slow
ness of the Russian drive-compared
with the lightning thrust of the
Germans into Poland-to the excel
lent training and fighting spirit of
the Firms, to their up-to-date equip
ment and to their natural geograph-
ic advantages for defense.
They pointed also to the possibil-
ity that the Russians were waiting
only for hard freeze to trans
form Finnish lakes into solid sur
faces before launching a sharp drive
with their best motorized divisions.
Such freeze may be expected any
time after Christmas.
But if the Russians then are apie
to advance rapidly, analysts be-
lieve, they may run into another
diff1culty-the problem of maintain
ing supplies.
Observers Not Impressed.
Before the conflict with Finland,
the Red Army marched into Poland
by agreement with Germany after
Nazi troops had struck death
blow against the Polish Army from
the west.
AS now, the Russians failed then
to impress neutral observers, but
also as now 1t was not known
whether they were putting their
very best foot forward.
An Associated Press correspond
ent who penetrated Eastern Poland
for the first inside view Of the Red
Army on the march saw broken
mechanical equipment to the extent
that he wrote:
Disabled machinery alongside
rno dc or hainr found fnfo lad mara