Evening star., 1941-07-14
Nazi Troops Beaten
By Reds Said 10 Break
Down Like Babies
Winner of StoIin Award
Gives Account of
Two Weeks at Front
By ERSKINE CALDWELL,

by EKShlNE CALDWELI.t
Foreign Correspondent of The Star and PM.
MOSCOW, July 14-Yesterday I
interviewed Russian who gave an
eyewitness account of two weeks
warfare on the front. He was Paul
Nilin, 80, of Irkutsk, Siberia, now
Of Moscow, who recently was given
the Stain award of 100000 rubles
for a motion picture scenario of a
Soviet-made film, The Great Life"
Nilin, who is Short-story writer
and novelist, based his scenario on
life in the Donbas coal-mining
region. He went to the front as a
writer and observer the second day
after war began and returned to
Moscow several days ago.
One of the biggest engagements
saw lasted continuously for three
nights and four days" Nilin said.
THE Germans sent a large force
across a river. They were met by
a smaller force of the Red Army.
The battle ranged over an area
about kilometers square. Our
soldiers fought all this time with
out food or supplies and I presume
the Germans did, also"
AT the end of the fourth day
fresh Red Army troops came up
and that was the end OF the en-
gagement. The Germans. what
there were left Of them, retreated,"
Nilin declared.
He witnessed air battles. tank
battles and infantry engagements
during his stay in the unnamed
sector. He said that in one tank
battle both sides used their biggest
tanks and that Soviet tanks were
obviously stronger because they
were able to race headlong into
German tanks and upset them.
Russians Fight in Silence.
During infantry engagements"
Nilin said, Germans always did q
lot Of shouting at each other, gen.
orally calling for help and yelling
instructions, while the Soviet troops
fought in determined silence. Ger
mans have evidently been taught
they cannot lose a battle because
when they do lose they break down
like babies. They have up-to-date
equipment and they use it effective
ly. German uniforms are of poor
quality material, however, and their
boots are made Of leather substi-
tute."
Nilin said that when German
planes were brought down peasants
rushed up and surrounded plane
and airmen and guarded them with
axes and pitchforks. He said the
Germans were more afraid of be-
Ing hacked to pieces by angry peas
ants than they were of being cap
tured.
Several of the airmen Nilin talked
to had made many bombing raids on
England. He said two Of them wore
the Iron Cross first class and Sec
ond class and that their planes had
maps of England painted on the
fuselages
German airmen told him, Nilin
added, that their food ration con-
sisted OF half pound of bread 4
day. can of fish and potatoes and
that twice a week they were issued
a can of meat. He said infantry
troops received only one-fourth Of
the daily ration of airmen.
Germans that were captured had
two TASKS on them" Nilin said, "a
large water flash and a smaller
one for alcohol. When they were
taken prisoner their alcohol TASKS
were always empty and an alcohol
smell was always clinging to them.
A lot OF them were drunk when
captured"
Captured Czechs Weep.
Some of the prisoners told Min
that they had been in France a
few days before the war with the
U. S. S. r. started and that with.
out being told where they were
being taken they were put on trains
and brought to the Soviet border.
After they had reached the border
they began fighting before they had
q chance to find out what it was
all about. he said they told him.
Nilin said that bicycle troops ar
rived at the front holding to ropes
tled to trucks and that MANY of
the tanks contained bicycles which
spilled out on the ground when the
tanks were rammed by Soviet tanks
and overturned. Nilin said manv
OF the grounded German bombing
planes contained three Germans and
one Czech and that the latter was
always a machine gunner. He said
that captured Czechs wept and said
they had been forced by the Ger
mans to become machine gunners
because 1t was the most dangerous
position in the plane. Nilin Quoted
Germans as saying why do you ask
him 80 many questions about the
war? He is just a Czech
According to Nilin, Rumanians
proved to be willing captives and
that many of them rushed to the
Soviet line calling 'Russky, Russky,
Russky."
Rumanians ask for cigarettes say
ing, Give, give. give" 'The Ger
mans were afraid of bayonet at
tacks," Nilin stated. "They didn't
mind fighting with machine guns
and other fire weapons but they
began yelling and shouting and
surrendering by the hundreds when
the Red army launched bayonet at
tacks."
THE Germans always gave them
selves up by shouting "Genosse,
Genosse, Genosse," in German or
simply "Russky."
Nilin intends to return to the
front shortly.
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