The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1941-07-03
FIGHTING:
ClOuded

The Russo-German war was odd
in hat it was being carried on with
out the benefit of war correspond
ents.
OF little value as they are in mod
ern warfare, where they are scarce
ly able to keep up with the swiftness
of events, and where they are just as
apt as civilians Of other types to
become casualties themselves, they
were badly missed in this, the great
est battle from point of numbers and
power of all history.
1t would have taken an army of
them to cover a 2,000-mile front, to
begin with. and in the second place,
the Nazis barred all correspondents
from the front. and the Russians did
likewise. The Nazis we're using sol
dier correspondents" but the feel
ing among readers of communicates
was hat they we're more than usual
ly uncommunicative.
1t was impossible to do more on a
war map than to draw hazy lines,
with arrows pointed at the districts
where side or the other claimed
that the action was taking place.
Estimates of the number of men
and machines in action were of the
haziest conjecture, running all the
way from 100 divisions on a side to
200, and the plane guesses from
1000 on a side to 1000.
There were ever skeptics on the
street who asked who knows wheth-
er there's any fighting at all"
The answer to that was to be
found on the Western Front. where
bombing of England had been aban-
doned, and virtually German defense
of the air. Hitler, said wiser observ-
ers, would not have permitted that
unless the real Mccoy" in the way
Of a war blitz were going on at the
Eastern front.
Both sides made the most optimis-
tic claims. The Germans claimed
"~uncounted" planes shot down and
destroyed on the ground; the Rus
slams said the count in the first week
was 387 for them. 1882 for Germany.
The Germans claimed that they'd
wiped out a whole division and that
their blitz vas moving forward on
schedule and that a great victory
would be announced momentarily.
The Russians countered with the
statement that at no place had the
Nazis moved into actual pre-war
Russian territory, and that at some
points their own troops were on the
offensive.
One instance Of the difficulty of
getting facts from the communicates
came in the battle Of the Prut river.
which the Germans first claimed to
have crossed without difficulty: lat
er said they had established by
hard fighting a bridgehead across
the Prut," two days after they had
previously announced an easy and
swift crossing.
As to the Prut. the Russians said
40 barges Of the enemy crossed a
wide river under owe Of a fog,
but were hurled back later with ter.
rible losses"-and this river was
supposed to be the same Prut.
The Russians claimed Warsaw
and Constanta. important cities in
N~azi-occupied territory in flames,
and heavy damage on Helsin.l and
Danzig. The Germans said they
were burning up %Leningrad. Russia's
second most populous city.
~MISCELLANY:
BROOKLYN, N. Y: Public school
children were given an emergency
air raid drill. getting them lin on
the ground floor" in case Of air at
lacks on the metropolis.
LONDON: The Raj has 500
young pilots who were born in the
United States. according to an off,
cial report. Most Of them enlisted in
Canada.
DAYTON, OHIO: Fred Snite. the
Iron lung" daddy. Is practicing
with a portable outfit that will per-
nit him to walk about.