The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-12-20

against all sensations of battle as was humanly possible. It was dif- ferent with those troops which were thrown into the battle on the isth- mus at the end of February or at the beginning of March. The ma- terial of which these men were made certainly was not worse but the strain on nerves was too great for these troops who, after a short pe- riod of training, were thrown into the worst phase of the winter cam paign. Nobody has the right to reproach these men. They had not the same Steel-like force of resist ance as the veterans, but from the human and patriotic point of view they gave the same as these-name- ly their best"
 Russians Dominated Air.
 Gen. Oehquist then reviewed the different weapons which the Rus sians used and their effect on the outcome of the war. "In the be- ginning of the war;" he declared, "the Russian airforce surprised by its qualitatively poor performance but not less surprising was it that the same weapon later on showed such boldness and skill as it ac- tually did. Those who had be- Ieved that the Russian air force would be able to decide the entire war were mistaken however. Not one of our routes of Supply was decisively interrupted despite the almost unchallenged dominance in the air of the Russians"
 Regarding the tanks, Gen. Oeh- qtlist remarked that the effect of the light tanks which the Russians used in the beginning of the war was not so very impressive. Most of these tanks were destroyed or had to return to their lines. Hunt ing tanks became a sort of sport. like a big game hunt, only that the game in this case had much better chances on his side than any lion in Africa.
 Later the Russians used enor- nous machines of 25 and 45 tons with at least two cannonS and four or five machine guns," he said. Also the tactics of these tank units improved. Our anti-tank guns could not destroy all of them. Thus the tanks became really terrible weap- on in the battle along the Manner helm Line. They forced their way deep into our lines and thereby forced us to give up our positions. It also was surprise for us that the Russians had so many heavy and medium heavy tanks at their disposal. These tanks were of the latest design and represented the last word in tank construction"
 Fast Artillery Fire Cited.
 "An equally great surprise was the Russian medium and heavy artil- lery, of which the Russians had enormous quantities on the Isthmus front. These guns were of modern construction had 8 wide range and could fire fast. Their often inferior accuracy was made up by an appar- ently inexhaustible supply of am- munition.
 Our artillery was good but less modern. Moreover it had to econ omize with ammunition which di- unfinished its effect. The Russian superiority as far as artillery was concerned therefore was over whelming. It had not been fore- seen that the Russians would be able to bring such quantities of artillery up to the front.
 "Our soldiers had to endure bar rage which can be compared with the worst drum fire at the Somme, Verdun or in Flanders during the World War"
 Speaking of the Russian infantry, Gen. Oehquist declared that it was true that the Russians in the be- ginning of the war used vast masses of troops of inferior quality. But especially toward the end of the war we often met real elite troops, men who were defying death, of reckless energy and stubbornness in their attack" he said.
 As one of the lessons of the war, Gen. Oehquist described that the number of officers in active service at the outbreak of the war was not sufficient. The reluctance of the gov ernment and the Parliament to make the necessary appropriat tionS in peace time had proved fatal.
 "The economy in peace time had to be paid for-in irreplacable blood" he declared.
 
 In normal times, England ex-