Evening star., 1941-08-31
Germans Declared
Nearing End Sooner
Than Expected
By the Associated Press.

by tne hSSOtldleC fIeSS
MOSCOW, Sunday, Aug. 81
! Red Army forces, declared Off
cially to be battling with gather
ing strength against German
armies weakening noticeably'
and heading for their end much
sooner than expected" were re-
ported throwing the Nazis back
on the center bulge toward Mos
COW today and standing off un-
ending assaults on Leningrad
and Odessa.
After 10 weeks of fighting, the
German drive on the Soviet capital
was reported at standstill, with
counterattacking Red Army troops
on the offensive across a battlet1eld
Uttered with dead.
With accounts of this action COM
ing from the front line, the Soviet
Information Bureau clung to its ST.
lence on details, saying merely that
the Red Army was offering fierce re-
sistance up and down the l,SOO-mile
front.
Leningrad Still in Peril.
On the north, Leningrad remained
in imminent peril. but the Red
Army, backed by a peoples army,
held firmly the approaches to that
second city of the Soviet Union.
In this area Red Army forces be-
L
too, to be holding two huge pockets
along the coast of the Gulf of Fin
land, where Tallinn, capital of
Sovietized Estonia. was declared still
in Soviet hands despite German
claims of its capture.
On the central front the Red
Army struck back savagely in coun-
terattacks across -churned bat
tlefields in the direction of Smolensk
and Gomel, repeatedly taking a toll
of 10000 German dead and wounded
and many prisoners.
Russia's Black Sea feet was de-
clared keeping communications open
from Odessa, which is under con-
tinual German Smelling and aerial
bombardment. The Russians said
life in the big port city was going
on as nearly normal as possible, with
stores and restaurants open, street.
cars running and factories still pro-
ducing tanks and arms.
Heavy Price Paid by Nazis.
S. A. Lozovsky, assistant commits
sar of foreign affairs and govern
ment spokesman, told a press con-
ference today:
In 10 weeks of war Germany and
her allies have paid a heavy price
for certain territorial gains. The
strength of the German Army and
the armies of her vassals is weaken
ing noticeably, while the Red Army
is continuing to gather strength end
to grow incesssntly.
Having lost some territory, the
Soviet Union has gained time. shat
tered the legend of the blitzkrieg
and the invincibility Of the German
Army"
Lozovsky declared further that
Germany had been forced to with
draw a considerable part of her
forces from occupied countries,
Thereby creating conditions for de-
velopment of intensification of the
struggle in all occupied countries"
Asserting that the shooting of
Pierre Laval in Paris would have
been impossible before the Russian
German conflict, he said that "Eu-
rome now is not what il was 10
weeks ago.
5 Supporting Points Cited.
He cited five points to bear this
out:
/. The fierce resistance of the
Red Army.
q The military political alliance
between Russia and Britain,
3. American aid to Russia, as
well as Britain.
4. establishment of Soviet re-
lations with Poland, Czecho-Slo-
vakia. Norway, Belgium, Yugoslavia
and Greece.
5. THE united front of freedom
loving people of the whole world"
The announcement that w. Aver
ell Hartman had been named head
of the American delegation to the
war supply conference in Moscow
aroused interest Of Soviet official
circles. The press recalled that
American and British supplies al
ready are en- route to this country.
Lozovsky said the Germans no
longer were foreseeing an early end
Of the war. Referring to Italian
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